The Innocents by
Lili Peloquin
The Innocents #1
Release Date:
October 16th, 2012
Number of Pages:
288
Publisher: Razorbill
Source: ARC from
BEA
Nothing ever came between sisters Alice and Charlie. Friends didn't. Boys couldn't. Their family falling apart never would.Until they got to Serenity Point.
"The Innocents" is the first in a new series of young adult novels that weave a saga of nail-biting drama, breathless romance, and gothic mystery.
I guess this
novel wasn’t really for me. I’ve seen it compared to Gossip Girls (a series I
haven’t read), and I can see why, but I found that this book was really hard to
get into. The thing is, there’s not much going on during the first half of the
book. I like a book that has a goal the main character is looking to reach
until the end, this one didn’t really have (and the “goal” doesn’t have to be
really extreme. It can be something as simply as finding a truth.) The feeling
I got with The Innocents is reading something that could have been a pilot for
a series, meaning it sets a story that could be great, but you’re left still
unsure if you’ll watch the next episode (or read the next book.)
The two main
characters are Alice and Charlie, two different sisters. We get to see both
point of views, and I think I would have preferred only to get one, either one
of them. The length of the book simply made it harder for me to really get
everything I wanted to learn about the characters. It felt like a superficial presentation
of those characters, and even with the plot it felt superficial. I wanted to
get more.
Alice’s story
was a little more interesting to me, with the conflict with Richard, her search
for the truth, her secret romance. On the other end, Charlie’s story is full of
potential, with a friendship we aren’t sure if it is true or not, a little
romance with a guy full of issue, who also leaves us wondering about his true
intent. That’s probably the one thing I liked about this book, it’s that were
never sure of the other characters motivation when it comes down to their
relationships with the girls.
Overall, I think
The Innocents is a series full of potential that will please many readers
looking for some drama. To me, it felt like it was missing something, and I
hope to find it in the upcoming sequel. The first half of the book may have
been a lacking in captivating factors, but the second half does get better.
