Alone by Robert J. Crane
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book was definitely a quick read. Clocking in at around 180 pages, it took just about 2 days to breeze through. That’s the most positive thing I can really say about this book. Not that it was bad – it definitely wasn’t – it just wasn’t particularly good.

My main issue was that I absolutely hated the main character. She was the typical snotty teenager, but there weren’t really any redeeming qualities at all in her apart from her superpowers (which doesn’t make someone a good person). Her cavalier attitude with the lives of others, as well as her snotty snarkiness to adults trying to help her or who were simply grieving the loss of friends, left a sour taste in my mouth. I believe the author’s intentions were to make her witty, but instead, she just came off as cruel.

My other major problem with the book was the two-dimensional characters. No one is really fleshed out. Even the bad guy, who is lots of fun with his murderous behavior, is really a one-note character. Likewise, the plot was thin – there weren’t any twists or turns or really even any setbacks. The story moved from point A to point B, and then ended.

The one redeeming quality was the uniqueness of the takes on certain mythological creatures. I also should add that my favorite part of the book was the last few pages, where the main character had a second internal voice join her. It was interesting enough to make me consider reading the next book, but the drawbacks of this book were enough to stop me. It was a quick enjoyable read, but not very good, and not worth investing my time any further into the series.

Of course, this is the first book in a series (of 49 so far!), which leaves plenty of room for growth. I wouldn’t be surprised if later books are more competent and compelling.

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