DNF&Y is a feature hosted by Lindsi at Do You Dog-ear? According to Lindsi, "DNF&Y is used to explain why I gave up on certain books, and what about them just didn't work for me. What I disliked about a book might be something you love, so it helps to share your thoughts even when they're negative!" Since I tend to DNF quite a bit, I thought it would be fun to participate!
Verify by Joelle Charbonneau (2019)
I saw this one on my Goodreads "Want to Read" list and my library happened to have an audiobook copy of it, so I decided to try it. In a vaguely dystopian near future, Meri tries to figure out the meaning behind her deceased mother's artwork and begins to realize that the government may be hiding some serious things from its citizens. I ended up DNFing this around 33%. The writing wasn't great - very repetitive (it felt like the characters were saying "mother" or "artwork" in every other sentence) - and the world-building seemed fuzzy and non-descript. Maybe 5-10 years ago a dystopian like this could have worked, but these days, the genre has come so far that a story needs to be more defined and have more of a hook. It's not enough that people don't use paper anymore or certain words have "disappeared" from usage. It also seemed pretty obvious where the story was going, and I wasn't totally interested.
I've never actually read the original Alice in Wonderland books, but I've seen movies and have a general idea of the story. I think Wonderland is just not my thing - whimsy that's confusing for the sake of being confusing. I ended up DNFing this one around page 63. In this retelling, Alice finds herself back in Wonderland after a stint in an asylum and now she's being tasked with killing the Queen of Hearts. I felt like the author was just trying too hard, and I think you need to be careful when you're doing a retelling that is still set in the same world as the original. It can feel too similar, like too much is being borrowed. I would have preferred the author come up with an original idea that incorporated elements of the classic story.
Oh dear, these sound good on the surface, but it sucks they didn't work out.
ReplyDeleteYeah! I guess every book can't be a winner, though!
DeleteSad that these weren't for you but damn I wish my library had audiobooks. They don't do that here yet... :(
ReplyDeleteOh, that's too bad! I'm lucky my library has such a great selection.
DeleteSuch a shame about Ever Alice, that sounds like such a good concept!
ReplyDeleteAnika | chaptersofmay.com
I know! :-(
DeleteThat's a shame about both of these. I'd had mixed success with Alice in Wonderland retellings too. I'm not sure why but I tend to agree that sometimes it seems like they try to hard to make it fit.
ReplyDeleteExactly! It's such an iconic piece of writing, and it's really iffy to me to try to imitate it.
DeleteVerify is one that caught my eye a few times, but I'm sort of glad I haven't picked it up, now--those sound like things that would bother me, too. And I know exactly what you mean about Every Alice! Bummer these didn't work out!
ReplyDeleteI probably should have gotten a hint by the Goodreads ratings on these!
DeleteI did read a Joelle Charbonneau that I liked but I haven't read anything by her since. This one yeah doesn't sound super great.
ReplyDeleteI read another of her books, too, and I wasn't wowed by it.
DeleteI really appreciate when bloggers own up to not finishing books and knowing why is even better. Thank you for doing it!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Susie! Lindsi came up with a great feature!
DeleteHaven't read either of these, but it's definitely good to DNF a book when it's just not working for you. It doesn't have to be a bad thing - sometimes a book is just not our thing, when it could be someone else's. That said, I'm TRYING to DNF more quickly myself :)
ReplyDeleteExactly! I do tend to DNF pretty quickly, especially if there's something about the writing style that I know isn't working for me.
DeleteEver Alice is one I DNFd, too. It was waaay too confusing from the start, and like you said... I felt like the author was trying too hard. I love the original Alice in Wonderland, and have liked only one other retelling so far (Through the Looking Glass). It was a unique spin on a story I'm very familiar with.
ReplyDeleteLindsi @ Do You Dog-ear? 💬
I'll have to check that one out!
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