Wednesday 7 November 2018

Book Review: Unconventional by Maggie Harcourt

Yes, let me to criticise a book about conventions when I have never been to one.

Lexi Angelo is a convention Kid - she got a slip-board and a walkie talkie to prove it.

Aidan Green is a messy-haired, annoying arrogant author and he's disrupting her perfect planning.

In a flurry of awkward encounters, lost schedules and late-night conversations, Lexi discovers that some things can't be planned...Things like falling in love.

Lexi's, our protagonist and narrator, life revolves around conventions. Helping to plan and run them, even when she should be doing school work. A big part of the book is actually about Lexi feelings towards conventions and what they mean to her.

Besides the obvious romance, we also have Lexi dealing with her dad deciding to get married to a woman he's never lived with.

Some of the novel I felt unrealistic, like the marriage being at a convention, maybe if it had been explained exactly why it had to happen then and there, besides the main events of the novel happening at conventions. There is generally a bit of disbelief when it comes to this book, but could technically happen, like a film actually being made straight away when the film rights are sold. There a lot of books that had the film rights sell before publication and were hits but are still not out years later. The fastest I've seen a book to film adaption would be the 'The Hate U Give' by Angie Thompson but that didn't have casting confirmed three months after it's release and the films rights were sold a month after the book did, and that was a contemporary novel with a very timely story to tell. I guess this meant to be Harry Potter level but stuff still takes time script writing, casting, location scouting, hiring a crew and if it going to need a lot special effects that has to be considered in the pre-production as well. Though, maybe the film is just going to be garbage fire because they rushed it. That does happen too. You do just have to accept that this book gets massive as soon as it published. It can happen, often doesn't. No one has really got HP or Twilight big over night which I think this fictional book is meant to be. I mean even pre-publishing buzz doesn't mean success. Okay, this was weird tangent, it just did take me out of the story a little.

There is a lot of characters in this book, probably due to the fact that it takes a lot of people to run a convention, including Lexi's best friends Samira, Nadiya and Bede. We don't get a lot of time with these characters, but it's still believable friendships and history behind these characters. Harcourt does a good job of suggesting this history from the start. The romance side is okay, it's kinda hate to love thing and the characters talk to each so it more than just surface nonsense.

Overall, I give this book 3/5 stars for Running Trays. It's fun and does a pretty good job of building this Conventional community. It's a fun book, so if don't think too much about publishing and how film work it's fine. That's just me.

No comments:

Post a Comment