Review:
Title: Caterpillar
Author: Kate Oliver
Book Summary:
“In
a small college town in northern California, a lonely young man is working himself
to the bone to solve a sixty-year-old problem ... a stranger with a will of
iron and eyes the color of ice is searching for someone he can't identify ...
and a girl who loves plants is about to grow roots of her own.
When
Cara Gallagher's parents are transferred overseas again, she's off to spend her
senior year of high school living with her sister, a graduate student at the
famed McNair University. Cara, a girl with a passion
for science and an indifference to people, hopes this move will be her first
step in claiming the independence she craves. Cara has her future planned down
to the letter: her college, her major, her career.
Then
she saves Will Mallory's life, and both of their futures are completely
rewritten.
The
last years of Will's life have been spent shifting from one identity to the
next, dodging the FBI, and trying desperately to find a way home. But Will's
home is forty-four light years away, and to reach it he'll have to outwit the
man who's hunting him--and leave behind the only love he's ever known.”
Cara’s family life really
sucks. Her parents are moving over seas
at the beginning of her senior year and Cara will be living with her
sister. Living with her sister
definitely has its ups and downs, the ups—living in the same house as her best
friend. The downside is that her best
friend seems a little overprotective now.
When Cara goes for a drive to explore the beach near her new home she
comes across a troublesome sight, a boy who looks like he’s trying to get
himself skewered on the jagged rocks below.
As Cara decides to intervene she unknowingly instigates a bond that
neither of them could have ever imagined…
Okay the premise was pretty
captivating, I mean the GIRL saves the GUY.
Major brownie points right there!
I am really interested to read this because of the alien theme… I haven’t
read very many YA alien books but I really enjoyed the ones I have read. I am a little worried because when I read
books like this there’s always that fear that the two MCs will be so different
that it can’t work… I do NOT want that to happen!!
From the
very first chapter I was hooked, it just really fell into place. I didn’t ever find myself feeling like it was
to fast of a pace—it felt really comfortable.
It was incredible how at each turn I would still be surprised with some
detail of the plotline, and towards the end I kept thinking;
“Poor Cara, she
really can’t catch a break!”
One of the
things that I was really happy with was the relationship between Cara and
Will. First off, I LOVED that she
rescued him and that he seemed very dependant on her emotionally… it was really
touching but still managed not to feel creepy and overbearing. The other thing about their relationship that
was well done was how it evolved: it was insta-attraction not insta-omgIamsofreakinginlovewithyou. They start off as friends and it’s really
nice to see the evolution of their feelings and thoughts, it helps them develop
as characters.
From the
very beginning it was clear to me that Cara was a soft spoken individual who
loves to create magic. Her soft-spoken
nature is revealed immediately along with her willingness to let things go for
the sake of now causing a scene. The
love of magic is something that I saw when she got back to her sister’s house,
Cara loves gardening. She gets such a
great feeling from knowing that something comes from plain old brown dirt. Beautiful things, horrifying things,
unexpected things… all you really have to do is use your imagination! I think in part her deep connection with
gardening has to do with the fact that she looks at herself as simple, and
unimpressive—just like the dirt she so dearly loves.
Cara really needs to find a four-leaf
clover or something because the WORST things keep popping up. First there are HORRIBLE people at school,
then you get to tack on family problems, senior year school/college prep, a new
(ALIEN) boyfriend, AND oh by the way the FBI are chasing them. How’s that for normal?
The Cover:
I really like the moth on the girls
hand… it really ties in the caterpillar/biology themes that are introduced
throughout the story. The green in the
dress is really beautiful against the night sky and I really like the soft glow
that seems to encompass the girl. This
cover just seems to have a soothing effect and I really like it!
I give Caterpillar 4.5 out of 5
hearts: Very Highly Recommended!
Giveaway:
(Open Internationally)
a Rafflecopter giveaway
(Open Internationally)
I am going to go look up this book now. it sounds great!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad it sounds good to you!! I hope you enjoy it :)
DeleteSounds like a great read! :)
ReplyDeleteIt was!! :)
DeleteI like a fast paced book now and then and this one sounds good!
ReplyDeleteYeah it was a really long book but it held a good pace!
DeleteWell, the part of "a girl with a passion for science and an indifference to people" and "Then she saves Will Mallory's life" caught me most. Never read any YA with Alien theme before. So perhaps it would be my very first. ^^
ReplyDelete