Dangerous by Shannon Hale

Rating: Umm, less that one Star? This book was awful, and I only read 7 chapters.

I got the sample of this book on my Nook, thinking that it would be cool, but wanting to test it first. I liked Shannon Hale's other books, and the idea of a sci-fi space story by the same author sounded really interesting.
I was definitely wrong. This book-the first 48 pages-was absolutely terrible. I did expect a romance sub-plot. But...that's not what I got. It seems that this is a teen romance book with some occasional science fiction things. If you are lucky.
Maisie loves science, and has always dreamed of being an astronaut and going to space. When she entres a contest to go to space camp and then wins, she is very excited. So she leaves her home and her best friend behind.
Problems I had with this book:
-Possible romance with her best friend, Luther. (And at that moment, I was hoping that would be the extent of the romance. I also kind of liked Luther's character...)
-Even though Maisie and Luther obviously grew up together, and, from what it seems, they only have each other as friends, they are incredibly awkward...Luther was surprised he was her best friend and felt strange giving her a hug when she left.
-Space Camp was in Texas. Look. This is a sci-fi novel. Can't space camp be...oh idk...in SPACE?
-What kind of space stuff do they do? Well...treasure hunting? (Right after the camp instructors insisted that this was serious stuff for older kids, not babies)
-Maisie's attraction to Wilder. Look, you just met him a day or two ago. AND you seemed to like your friend back at home. But now you are in love with this guy?!

"Had he noticed that I watched him in the cafeteria? Had he guessed that I re-read his file? That some nights when I closed my eyes, I saw his?" (umm...what??)

-Maisie is definitely an idiot when it comes to responding to creepy guys...
-On their first "date," Maisie and Wilder kiss about 8 times...and its not just innocent kissing, either.
-And then Maisie memorizes how long each one was, exactly, and replays it every time she sleeps...
-Wilder is overly possessive of Maisie after this (even though later on, it is made clear he really doesn't care about her)
-In case I haven't said it before, Wilder is a creep.

"Wilder traced my lower lip with his finger. "I like your mouth."
"I'm not that girl," I reminded him, but I wondered if maybe I was."

""Let's skip the next session," he whispered, his hand finding my lower back. "We could find an empty room and talk about microscopes.""

"Wilder kept holding my hand, rubbing my fingernails over his lip."

-And in spite of all this garbage that seems to border on sexual content, in the first 7 chapters, it seems to be made clear that the author has no intention of using any swear words. I might be able to honestly say that I would rather read a book filled with swear words than read a book with this stuff in it. It's not even outright, explicit sexual content, but seriously...
If I was in a situation like that, the guy would be dead.

I definitely did not expect this type of story...from the sci-fi genre description, or from the author. I probably won't be reading any other new books by Shannon Hale.

Hello again!

I have been SO busy lately with school that I have not had the time to post at all. (Except for the last post about "Love at First Sight". Sorry about that) Also, because of school, I have not had much of a chance to read much.

However, I did just recently finish Cinder by Marissa Meyer, which was awesome and you should all go check it out, along with the rest of the Lunar Chronicles.

I have started a sort of "personal essay" type blog here, where I will probably be writing in-depth discussions about different things. So far, there are a few movie reviews for a class I am taking, and the most recent post-an analysis of the INTJ personality, which is my result from the Myers-Briggs test. Soon, I expect to have a post about POTC: On Stranger Tides and also my view on dating (because of another school assignment).

I really hope I can post here more, but for now with school, I will probably be absent still.
But please don't hesitate to comment on things; I love to hear from you!

"Do you believe in love at first sight?"

No, I do not.
Let’s look at this two different ways:

• One

"Love at first sight" first sight. sight.
Taking the phrase in a literal sense, it would mean falling in love with someone the moment you see them, based on the way they look. Studies show that looks are deceiving and something as simple as the story of Beauty and the Beast can show that.
But not only should you be careful about judging by outward appearance, looks are not what you should be basing your interest on. If you “fall in love” with someone because they are good looking or “hot”, then you don’t really love the person. You love the way they look. It’s not love, it’s desire to possess something you think is beautiful. (Which is kind of creepy now that I think about it. People aren’t objects to be possessed. I never thought of this before…)
So, concluding point number one: Attraction to outward appearance is not love, and love should never be based on such attraction, either. (But it is probably a good thing, in general, if you find the person you love to be attractive.)

• Two

Perhaps when people use this phrase, they don’t always mean it in the literal sense that implies all you care about are physical features.
Maybe it means you see how they treat you, and since you are pleased by what you have observed, you “fall in love” with them.
This is definitely makes a bit more sense than the previous idea, and I would have an easier time believing it. However…
A few minutes is NOT enough time to get to know someone well enough to decide if you love them. That short amount of time was probably a good time for them. But what about the rest of the time? What about how they treat other people and act around them? And how would you know if they will treat you that way all the time?
Frozen’s example of Anna and Hans is too obvious not to mention. Anna met Hans and instantly liked him. After another meeting, she decided she loved him and wanted to marry him as soon as possible. What she should have done is waited a while, getting to know him first. Then maybe she would have seen how he really was.
In conclusion of point number two, you really need to get to know someone first. Hang out with them. Become their close friend. And then once you know who they really are, you can decide if you really like them.
So, again, I do not believe in “love at first sight.” And I have told you why.