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Above Leah Bobet Books

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Above Leah Bobet Books

Now, I'll tell you this, from the reviews, I was a bit wary going into this book. Most of the reviews say something about how the language is strange and the "slang" is hard and so forth. But honestly, the cover looked amazing to me and I'm willing to try to get through a few language difficulties to get to a good story. And I had just purchased my Kindle, and it was only $10 or so - not a bad price!

First things first: people, get over yourselves. This book was not hard to read. Try reading the first part of The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner and then come back to this book and tell me it's hard to read. If the "slang" is a problem, try reading A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess and tell me THAT isn't confusing. Tell me Finnigans Wake by James Joyce isn't hard to read. I'm sure there are numerous other books to put here that have a rather challenging narrative. (And if you're asking, yes, I have read all of those books...or at least tried. Finnigans Wake was too much for me!) If the reason you pass this book is because of the reviews saying it was too hard to understand, don't. Yes, it's written in Matthew's point of view, and Matthew does have a very interesting point of view. But the way he tells the story isn't difficult to get through. When you read this, know that it's not all told to you upfront. Things will be explained. The book isn't written in usual prose, but it certainly wasn't enough to stop me from enjoy the story. Think of a ten-to-twelve year old telling a story (even though Matthew is around seventeen or eighteen, I believe). Comparing it to A Clockwork Orange, I mostly understood what Matthew would say in Above versus having to look up various bits of slang that Alex would pepper in his narrative in ACO because it sometimes would get to the point I would have to look up the word because I couldn't understand it in context. In Above, you do not need a glossary, you just need to pay attention to context clues. Matthew will usually explain what some items are as well, which helps.

It comes back to the fact that this is a fantastic story. This is a world where people are Sick, meaning anywhere to having giant crab claws for hands to being able to kill people with a touch. And the Sick people, they didn't like how they were treated Above - in the world we would recognize - so they escaped and made their own world, Safe. Matthew was born in Safe. Matthew also happens to be a Teller, which means he gathers the stories of the people of Safe and tells them, may it be through words or wood, since he happens to be a gifted carver. One day, Safe is in peril, and the inhabitants that aren't trapped below have to escape to Above and find out what happened and how to get their Safe back. This, of course, is a VERY simple explanation to a very intense, amazing story that I'm surprised doesn't have more reviews. It is a rich world with wonderful characters, most of which get fleshed out with an interesting backstory of how they found out they were Sick and ended up in Safe. (I personally didn't like Ariel for most of the book, but you eventually get her entire story, which makes rounds her out and made her more sympathetic in my eyes.) Remember what I said, how the story will fill it in? It does wrap all of its questions up relatively nicely. There's no gaping plot holes to get lost in that took me away from the book.

The story is told in a unique manner, but if you let yourself go a little and just read, you should be able to pick up on enough things that it shouldn't get frustrating and you should be able to enjoy it. Sometimes I didn't know what was meant by a certain word, but you figure it out. The story will give you clues. Yes, there are words made into proper nouns, but we as the reader have to understand it is because they are important words to Matthew. When everyday words are put into a proper status, it is because the author is making us take notice and think about them. Like I said, we are reading in Matthew's voice. Even though Matthew is almost an adult by our standards, you have to read it like a child wrote it. There's a sentence in the beginning chapter that reads, "I've told-asked-begged her to stop running." I loved how that read; it's a very childlike thing to say, but you can imagine what he means perfectly. If you are going to get so caught up in the way the story is told, then this book is not for you. It does lag a bit when the story goes Above, but the Doctor Marybeth character was certainly interesting enough to keep my interest. (The good doctor knew the characters who founded Safe from the hospital she interned at, and she was one of my favorites in the story.) Like I said, the parts concerned with Ariel lagged for me because I didn't prefer her character, but it wasn't enough to bog the story down for me. Then again, I'm one of those people who will skim the parts I don't like and then go back and read them. The world building was good enough in my eyes that I could see it in my mind, but the characters are what really pull this story together for me and make it shine.

My advice? Lose yourself in the story. Put aside your annoyances for reading something grammatically perfect and lose yourself in this book. It's worth it. Once I got into it, I couldn't put it down. This author has a wonderful gift and I'd ask you to take part in it. I can't wait to see what else she has to write.


Tags : Amazon.com: Above (9780545296700): Leah Bobet: Books,Leah Bobet,Above,Arthur A. Levine Books,0545296706,Fantasy - General,Romance - General,Social Themes - Runaways,Fantasy,Fantasy fiction.,Fantasy.,Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9),Fantasy & Magic,Fantasy fiction,JUVENILE FICTION Fantasy & Magic,JUVENILE FICTION Love & Romance,JUVENILE FICTION Social Themes Runaways,Juvenile FictionLove & Romance,Love & Romance,Science fiction (Children's Teenage),YOUNG ADULT FICTION Fantasy General,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Romance General,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Social Themes Runaways,Young Adult Fiction

Above Leah Bobet Books Reviews

Reading these reviews I found few people discussing the points that I thought were really important about the book. The biggest of these is the way the book treats its audience, young adults.

For anyone who has grown up in a poor town filled with drugs, gangs, and violence, Above addresses many familiar aspects of young life. While most YA seems written toward parents who might be paying for a book--a sound economic strategy if not a very reader oriented one--Above instead seeks to speak to a population just as young, but going through trials much more adult. The honesty of this approach and the respect it shows for the audience is something I feel that readers who have encountered these circumstances in their own lives will be able to appreciate.

I was surprised to see so few reviewers addressing some of the real social aspects of the book, such as runaways, abuse, and institutionalization by parents or authorities. Anyone who has been touched by these often life altering events understand how devastating they can be while rendering a young person essentially powerless. It's a strength of the book that I think socially minded readers would appreciate. It deals with these issues respectfully without patronizing young readers.

Another great element that no one has touched on--spoilers--is some of the creepier scenes. The hospital scene in particular was very creepy without degenerating to jump scares or gore. Any reader that's familiar with survival horror video games will enjoy this part. It's no sin to craft scenes that may be visually identifiable to your audience. Loved the creepy, rusted hospital.

One more thing the author does well is establish Above as a strange, dangerous place in which the reader very quickly feels uncomfortable. This is again a strength especially for readers who may have been runaways or trapped in abusive relationships. Simultaneously establishing the sewers as a normal, safe place for the reader was also really well done while, again, illustrating what it can be like for young people running from abuse. Anyone who grew up with a runaway knows that a friend's garage floor might be safer than some abusive alternative.

Above is an important book for these reasons alone and shouldn't be missed because of some of the complaints by reviewers. It's NOT that difficult to understand the narrator, especially if you've spent more than a minute deciphering online posts or text messages from young people.
You might struggle at first to get into Bobet's début Above. The setting is straight out of Futurama's sewer (where Lela's parents live,) the prose is almost a little too original, and the use of Capital letters is somewhat disorientating.

In saying all that Bobet deserves a gold medal for not kowtowing to YA standards. You won't find pining waifs and perfect vampires, nor love triangles or melodramatic reality TV.

Above is not a trite read, and errs more towards the, makes you think, makes you cry, sort of novel. Not a novel to read if all you need is a few hours of escapism.

You will find however some pretty awesome prose, and probably the most original story of 2012
Now, I'll tell you this, from the reviews, I was a bit wary going into this book. Most of the reviews say something about how the language is strange and the "slang" is hard and so forth. But honestly, the cover looked amazing to me and I'm willing to try to get through a few language difficulties to get to a good story. And I had just purchased my , and it was only $10 or so - not a bad price!

First things first people, get over yourselves. This book was not hard to read. Try reading the first part of The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner and then come back to this book and tell me it's hard to read. If the "slang" is a problem, try reading A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess and tell me THAT isn't confusing. Tell me Finnigans Wake by James Joyce isn't hard to read. I'm sure there are numerous other books to put here that have a rather challenging narrative. (And if you're asking, yes, I have read all of those books...or at least tried. Finnigans Wake was too much for me!) If the reason you pass this book is because of the reviews saying it was too hard to understand, don't. Yes, it's written in Matthew's point of view, and Matthew does have a very interesting point of view. But the way he tells the story isn't difficult to get through. When you read this, know that it's not all told to you upfront. Things will be explained. The book isn't written in usual prose, but it certainly wasn't enough to stop me from enjoy the story. Think of a ten-to-twelve year old telling a story (even though Matthew is around seventeen or eighteen, I believe). Comparing it to A Clockwork Orange, I mostly understood what Matthew would say in Above versus having to look up various bits of slang that Alex would pepper in his narrative in ACO because it sometimes would get to the point I would have to look up the word because I couldn't understand it in context. In Above, you do not need a glossary, you just need to pay attention to context clues. Matthew will usually explain what some items are as well, which helps.

It comes back to the fact that this is a fantastic story. This is a world where people are Sick, meaning anywhere to having giant crab claws for hands to being able to kill people with a touch. And the Sick people, they didn't like how they were treated Above - in the world we would recognize - so they escaped and made their own world, Safe. Matthew was born in Safe. Matthew also happens to be a Teller, which means he gathers the stories of the people of Safe and tells them, may it be through words or wood, since he happens to be a gifted carver. One day, Safe is in peril, and the inhabitants that aren't trapped below have to escape to Above and find out what happened and how to get their Safe back. This, of course, is a VERY simple explanation to a very intense, amazing story that I'm surprised doesn't have more reviews. It is a rich world with wonderful characters, most of which get fleshed out with an interesting backstory of how they found out they were Sick and ended up in Safe. (I personally didn't like Ariel for most of the book, but you eventually get her entire story, which makes rounds her out and made her more sympathetic in my eyes.) Remember what I said, how the story will fill it in? It does wrap all of its questions up relatively nicely. There's no gaping plot holes to get lost in that took me away from the book.

The story is told in a unique manner, but if you let yourself go a little and just read, you should be able to pick up on enough things that it shouldn't get frustrating and you should be able to enjoy it. Sometimes I didn't know what was meant by a certain word, but you figure it out. The story will give you clues. Yes, there are words made into proper nouns, but we as the reader have to understand it is because they are important words to Matthew. When everyday words are put into a proper status, it is because the author is making us take notice and think about them. Like I said, we are reading in Matthew's voice. Even though Matthew is almost an adult by our standards, you have to read it like a child wrote it. There's a sentence in the beginning chapter that reads, "I've told-asked-begged her to stop running." I loved how that read; it's a very childlike thing to say, but you can imagine what he means perfectly. If you are going to get so caught up in the way the story is told, then this book is not for you. It does lag a bit when the story goes Above, but the Doctor Marybeth character was certainly interesting enough to keep my interest. (The good doctor knew the characters who founded Safe from the hospital she interned at, and she was one of my favorites in the story.) Like I said, the parts concerned with Ariel lagged for me because I didn't prefer her character, but it wasn't enough to bog the story down for me. Then again, I'm one of those people who will skim the parts I don't like and then go back and read them. The world building was good enough in my eyes that I could see it in my mind, but the characters are what really pull this story together for me and make it shine.

My advice? Lose yourself in the story. Put aside your annoyances for reading something grammatically perfect and lose yourself in this book. It's worth it. Once I got into it, I couldn't put it down. This author has a wonderful gift and I'd ask you to take part in it. I can't wait to see what else she has to write.