Helpful Score: 2
The idea was great. I wanted to love it. Kizer's writing is very poor and it's a bit distracting while reading the book.
from my blog Reader's Enchantment at http://readersenchantment.blogspot.com/:
With a slow start, Meridian can be hard to stick with, but it's so worth it!
Meridian Sozu is a teenage girl who has always had things die around her. Ants, turtles, rabbits, all seem to come to her to die. She and her family avoid taking about what is going on, until suddenly, on her 16th birthday, she is sent from her home and family to live with an Aunt she hardly knows. It turns out that Meridian is a fenestra, a window to the afterlife, that souls pass through. She is not Death (which is what she was afraid of all along) and she is one of a dwindling number of fenestras in the world. As with everything else, there is a bad side, an evil side, that wants her to join them in the destruction of life. With her aunt's help, Meridian must learn to control her powers, and she has just a few weeks to learn how to allow souls to move through her without taking her with them.
This is the first book in a series, and it's easy to see: a lot of world building happens in this book. However, the next book in this series is not coming out til Fall 2011! That's a long time to try to keep readers, especially young adults, interested. That's pretty much my only complaint about this book. The last 50 pages or so is when the action really heats up, and of course the book ends just when things really get good. I give Meridian 4 stars for its unique storyline. In the meantime, you can check out Meridian's website at Meridian Sozu.com (Interesting note: the cover to the Turkish edition of this book has Amy Lee, the lead singer of Evanescence, on it.)
With a slow start, Meridian can be hard to stick with, but it's so worth it!
Meridian Sozu is a teenage girl who has always had things die around her. Ants, turtles, rabbits, all seem to come to her to die. She and her family avoid taking about what is going on, until suddenly, on her 16th birthday, she is sent from her home and family to live with an Aunt she hardly knows. It turns out that Meridian is a fenestra, a window to the afterlife, that souls pass through. She is not Death (which is what she was afraid of all along) and she is one of a dwindling number of fenestras in the world. As with everything else, there is a bad side, an evil side, that wants her to join them in the destruction of life. With her aunt's help, Meridian must learn to control her powers, and she has just a few weeks to learn how to allow souls to move through her without taking her with them.
This is the first book in a series, and it's easy to see: a lot of world building happens in this book. However, the next book in this series is not coming out til Fall 2011! That's a long time to try to keep readers, especially young adults, interested. That's pretty much my only complaint about this book. The last 50 pages or so is when the action really heats up, and of course the book ends just when things really get good. I give Meridian 4 stars for its unique storyline. In the meantime, you can check out Meridian's website at Meridian Sozu.com (Interesting note: the cover to the Turkish edition of this book has Amy Lee, the lead singer of Evanescence, on it.)
I enjoyed learning about the Fenestras and the way they helped souls reach eternal peace, but unfortunately poor execution and choppy writing hampered the story for me. The concept of Fenestras was a big one to tackle in a couple hundred pages, and I would've liked more flow and time spent on clearer explanations, instead of forced, mysterious, and confusing conversations. In the end, I felt like I didn't connect to any of the characters, and was unimpressed with the development of Meridian and Tens' romance.
Overall, MERIDIAN is a unique story that will appeal to readers who are not too concerned with the quality of writing.
Overall, MERIDIAN is a unique story that will appeal to readers who are not too concerned with the quality of writing.
Reviewed by Breia "The Brain" Brickey for TeensReadToo.com
Meridian is a teenage girl who has seen a lot of death in her almost sixteen years. It has been a constant companion for her and she has no idea why - even small animals seem to die when they are near her. She spends most of her young life being feared by the kids around her, but that all changes as her 16th birthday nears.
On her way home from school, a tragic accident happens and she is forced to flee. She goes one way and her family another. She is sent to live with her namesake, an aunt whom she only knows from the quilts that she sent for all of Meridian's birthdays.
Once there she meets Tens, a mysterious boy who also lives with her aunt. Meridian is told that she is Fenestra, a descendant of Angels who sends souls on their way to the afterlife. She must learn to control her ability, because there are those who would use it against her.
Let me first say that I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The mythology of this story was entirely new for me as a reader. I felt that it was well thought out, had interesting characters, and kept me enthralled for the entire book. While I did enjoy everything about this book, I wish there had been more back-story on Tens.
I read that there is another book coming out and I hope it turns into a series, because it would be a definite auto-buy for me.
Meridian is a teenage girl who has seen a lot of death in her almost sixteen years. It has been a constant companion for her and she has no idea why - even small animals seem to die when they are near her. She spends most of her young life being feared by the kids around her, but that all changes as her 16th birthday nears.
On her way home from school, a tragic accident happens and she is forced to flee. She goes one way and her family another. She is sent to live with her namesake, an aunt whom she only knows from the quilts that she sent for all of Meridian's birthdays.
Once there she meets Tens, a mysterious boy who also lives with her aunt. Meridian is told that she is Fenestra, a descendant of Angels who sends souls on their way to the afterlife. She must learn to control her ability, because there are those who would use it against her.
Let me first say that I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The mythology of this story was entirely new for me as a reader. I felt that it was well thought out, had interesting characters, and kept me enthralled for the entire book. While I did enjoy everything about this book, I wish there had been more back-story on Tens.
I read that there is another book coming out and I hope it turns into a series, because it would be a definite auto-buy for me.
My Thoughts: I really had no idea what this was about when I first heard of it. Than it got more and more raves all over the blog-sphere so I decided to check it out! Had the hardcover edition! I have a few friends who didn't like it and a few who did so I just had to read it to see what my opinion would be. I did enjoy it and finished it within a few days. We meet Meridian (what a cool name) and I instantly liked her personality. She is a little bit confused on the whole idea that she could be a Fenestra. But she accepts it pretty rationally. She doesn't jump up and down mad that she has to leave her family, she is pretty mature about it. She goes off to live with her Great Aunt's house. We learn about Tens (not the first time I've heard this name) and his back-story along with the Aternocti's story. The chapters quietly unfold theirselfs and we learn why it is happening to her and why she is thrown into the middle of it. I liked the whole concept of the window. Won't give too many spoilers away. Was very interesting!
Overall: I liked it and finished it within a few days. A lot of people seem to want this book so I'm sure it will continue to circulate the blogs! If you get the chance to read it, please do. This is one of those books I actually took the dustjacket off to read because I didn't want to ruin it. Overall, quick fun read.
Overall: I liked it and finished it within a few days. A lot of people seem to want this book so I'm sure it will continue to circulate the blogs! If you get the chance to read it, please do. This is one of those books I actually took the dustjacket off to read because I didn't want to ruin it. Overall, quick fun read.
I got this as an ARC (advanced reading copy) through the Amazon vine program. I was really excited when this was offered to me because I had it on my wish list already. Overall it was a very good book. It seems to be more of an opening to a series than a stand alone book, but all in all it was creative and a good read.
All her life Meridian has been surrounded by dead things; they seem drawn to her. After being involved in a fatal car crash she is sent off by her parents to her Aunt's house. It is there that she learns she is a Fenestra; basically she is a doorway that souls pass through on their way to heaven. She finds that she is being hunted both by a religious cult and the Aternocti; it is up to her, her dying Aunt, and Tens (her Protector) to figure out what is going on and either try to stop it or avoid being killed by it.
This was a very creative book and started out really interesting. You really feel for Meridian; in general all of the characters are likable and engaging. I enjoyed reading the book and learning about Meridian, Tens, and Fenestra in general.
This book lagged some in the middle; I found some of the scenes where Meridian is in her aunt's house waiting for something to happen to be a bit boring, but it picked up again at the end. My largest complaint is that overall not much happens in the end; mostly the story sets you up for a new series. I can only assume that we will hear about Meridian and Tens adventures in future novels by Kizer.
Overall I enjoyed the book; it was a well-written, creative and quick read. I was kind of disappointed that more didn't happen before the end of the book but I am guessing future books will give us more action and adventures.
All her life Meridian has been surrounded by dead things; they seem drawn to her. After being involved in a fatal car crash she is sent off by her parents to her Aunt's house. It is there that she learns she is a Fenestra; basically she is a doorway that souls pass through on their way to heaven. She finds that she is being hunted both by a religious cult and the Aternocti; it is up to her, her dying Aunt, and Tens (her Protector) to figure out what is going on and either try to stop it or avoid being killed by it.
This was a very creative book and started out really interesting. You really feel for Meridian; in general all of the characters are likable and engaging. I enjoyed reading the book and learning about Meridian, Tens, and Fenestra in general.
This book lagged some in the middle; I found some of the scenes where Meridian is in her aunt's house waiting for something to happen to be a bit boring, but it picked up again at the end. My largest complaint is that overall not much happens in the end; mostly the story sets you up for a new series. I can only assume that we will hear about Meridian and Tens adventures in future novels by Kizer.
Overall I enjoyed the book; it was a well-written, creative and quick read. I was kind of disappointed that more didn't happen before the end of the book but I am guessing future books will give us more action and adventures.
Reviewed by Bibliophile's Bestiary Blog at bibliophile-bestiary.blogspot.com
Ehh....not really a good book. The beginning was great, and the idea of the story was intriguing, but the author just couldn't pull it off. It was like reading parts of several books thrown poorly together into one. It starts out explaining who Meridian is and what her life has been like. All of a sudden, she is sent away to a distant relative that she has never met. She learns about what she truly is and what her role in life is. The characters changed so dramatically and without cause midway through the book that it was hard to keep up. It seemed like things were forced to happen, otherwise nothing would. The ending picked up a little, hopefully promising more (better) things to come in the 3 additional books planned for the series. In my opinion, not worth the read. 2 out of 5 stars.
Ehh....not really a good book. The beginning was great, and the idea of the story was intriguing, but the author just couldn't pull it off. It was like reading parts of several books thrown poorly together into one. It starts out explaining who Meridian is and what her life has been like. All of a sudden, she is sent away to a distant relative that she has never met. She learns about what she truly is and what her role in life is. The characters changed so dramatically and without cause midway through the book that it was hard to keep up. It seemed like things were forced to happen, otherwise nothing would. The ending picked up a little, hopefully promising more (better) things to come in the 3 additional books planned for the series. In my opinion, not worth the read. 2 out of 5 stars.
