The Girl Who Would Be King

So, let me start with the negative aspects of this book:-It makes the questionable, but undeniably ambitious, choice of using not only a first-person viewpoint, but doing so in the PRESENT tense. First-person comes with its own issues, but using the present tense is really inadvisable. It's very difficult to use gracefully and consistently, and indeed I did notice several slips in tense throughout the book.-In the beginning, the character of Bonnie is pretty two-dimensional. It's pretty clear that when starting the book, the author was really into the character of Lola, but going through the motions with Bonnie. This changes as the story goes on, but it does kind of feel like the author is feeling out the character at the same time we are as readers.That being said, I LOVED this book. The story was exciting, engrossing, and surprisingly complex, while the characters (once they were fully realized) were vivid and intoxicating. It's been awhile since I've felt so much regret for finishing a book so quickly - regret that I have left this world and these characters so very soon. But that's what happened with this book. I simply couldn't put it down, and once I was done I felt really sad. Even the first-person present tense wasn't enough to pull me out of the story once I got into it! I want to read more about these characters! Actually, I want an entire series of graphic novels based on these characters :)Which brings me to my final point: this is primarily a book for people who dig superheroes - better yet if you actually read comics. Although this is a prose novel, it draws heavily from the history and mythos of classic comic books, and so having that background (and the imagination to see everything in comic book panels) will greatly enrich the reading experience. That's not to say that you have to be a comic book aficionado to enjoy it; but if you're not drawn to tales of super-heroes and super-villains, epic battles between good and evil, and the struggles of caped crusaders trying to balance their gift with their desire for a normal life, then this book is probably not for you. If you are a fan of superheroes, however, you will probably enjoy this book! I can't wait for the movie :)

Try to write a simple sentence that moves and engages a reader. It's not easy. To string several uncomplicated sentences together and maintain a cohesive thought is even harder.Try to write a whole book that way. That's murder.Quick disclosure. I backed Kelly Thompson's successful Kickstarter project and she backed mine. But I don't owe her anything. I delivered her reward and she delivered mine. We don't have a secret pact, you-do-me-and-I'll-do-you. I won't spend several hours with a book I don't enjoy. I write few negative reviews because I don't waste my time on crappy writing.Back to simple sentences. Anybody can take a subject, verb and predicate and stop there. But to have a sentence evoke passion, empathy or excitement without being overwritten? Keep it in the active voice? That's tough.Thompson pulls it off in "The Girl Who Would Be King". Professionals of any stripe make craft look easy, but looks deceive. You try it sometime.The story unfolds in alternating short, first-person scenes from the two main characters. This produces a delightful frustration because I want to keep going with one scene when Thompson switches to the next. But the next scene is as compelling as the one I was loathe to leave, so the technique enhances, rather than detracts.Readers unwilling to work a bit, to manage the two story strands may experience the writing as simplistic or choppy. Fair warning: you have to work just a little.Thompson's background is in graphic novels and this pedigree is evident in TGWWBK. Although that genre is not my cup of tea, TGWWBK is a book I could not put down.TGWWBK fulfills the principal obligation of a writer: she compels the reader to keep turning pages to find out what happens next. I was quite willing to suspend any sense of disbelief and accept two teen-aged girls with super powers. As the characters discover their talents, the reader discovers the characters. Thompson is a good writer and makes her chosen technique work.With hindsight, I wish I'd been a larger backer on Kickstarter. I'd love to have the paper version, complete with the artwork of Thompson's illustrator and artist, Stephanie Hans.Oh well, next time. There will be a next time, right? Please?

Newsflash; I am in love with this book!After reading good things about The Girl Who Would Be King by Kelly Thompson while setting up my blog, I picked it for my second review, expecting to take a week or so to read and review it properly. Instead, I stayed up until the early hours of the morning reading because I simply could not put it down. It’s that good!Featuring a pair of kickass female leads, TGWWBK tells the story of teenagers Bonnie Braverman and Lola LeFever, both gifted with god-like superpowers on the event of their mother’s deaths. While Bonnie is driven to help and protect, Lola is set on death and destruction. Drawn to each other by destiny and a history which goes far beyond the two of them, the two girls take very different paths with their powers, paths which collide in spectacular style in the lead up to the inevitable confrontation.Dual protagonist novels are notoriously difficult to write and usually difficult to read without skipping pages. But to call TGWWBK a dual protagonist novel would be untrue. What Thompson has done is even trickier; tell two interwoven stories through the eyes of a protagonist and antagonist. The story itself may not be ground breaking. It’s your classic good vs evil, with a helping of “teenager with magical powers” thrown in, but the characters are Bonnie and Lola are what makes this book come alive. Relatable even when their punching helicopters out of the sky or resetting their broken bones, both girls are damn near close to character perfection. The inner dialogue and first person pov storytelling paints each character with her own vivid personality, there’s certainly no danger that you’ll forget which character you’re reading! Thompson is a truly gifted author (one who makes me positively green with envy!) who does a fantastic job of writing in two distinct voices. There are symbols to tell you which girl is narrating, but you likely won’t need them.As with all novels that feature more than one lead character, it’s hard not to play favourites, but whether you lean towards good or evil, this book has you covered. Bonnie is your more traditional YA novel “heroine”. Her gift is her curse, and she takes a while to accept what she is and decide to use her powers for good. Introverted and guarded, but ultimately kind and selfless, rising up to become what she was born to be. Maybe it says something about me though that my favourite character was Lola. Hand on heart, I found her to be one of the finest characters to come out of YA lit in a long time. She begins the book by killing her own mother for her powers, then driving off to Vegas on a motorcycle with a black cat suit and a vague plan to set up an underworld empire. She’s twisted, she’s evil and she’s seriously screwed up, but good lord is she fun to read! Brutally honest (as well as downright brutal) and utterly clueless at times, she’s like a comic book supervillain who grew up in Hollywood, and her descent into madness is utterly riveting. If the book had one flaw, it’s that Lola was such a fantastic character that she left Bonnie a little in the shade. I found myself rooting for the bad guy! That’s not to say at all that Bonnie’s chapters left me cold, but they were much more familiar territory for an avid reader of YA books.Speaking of which, the book is a little edgier than most YA, with more graphic violence and a sprinkling of PG 13 sex, but that’s just another thing that sets this book apart from the rest of the pack. There’s always the risk when setting this type of story in the real world rather than some mythical kingdom far, far away that a fair bit of suspension of disbelief will be required, and this is certainly true of TGWWBK. But the storytelling, and most importantly the characters, are so enthralling that you won’t even notice!In summary. Five stars! Loved it, and cannot rate it highly enough! If you like ass kicking female leads, comic book violence, superpowers and an old fashioned good vs evil throw down, then this book is for you. Oh, and if you’re a guy? Please don’t be put off by a female lead, trust me when I say you will not be disappointed by TGWWBK. The only problem is I’ll need to clear my diary when Thompson’s next book comes out. I certainly won’t be getting much sleep!

One of the most riveting stories I've read in quite a while, especially for what I would view as a young adult novel. Its not often I come across books (particularly science fiction or fantasy based) that showcase very strong and charismatic female characters as the central focus of the story, especially young ones. This in itself was what made me want to read the book, as I was very curious about the title and decided I rather liked the sound of it. I am so glad I picked it up, as once I started reading I couldn't put it down, and by the end was very satisfied that I'd just read something very enjoyable, smart and original. I don't normally go for books that revolve around superhero-type scenarios, but that's not what makes this book - its Lola and Bonnie's cyclical battle against destiny, their emotions, their own mentalities, their gifts and each other that really make this story something special.Lola and Bonnie are both extremely well-written characters, both young women with their own individual struggles in life but driven by forces they don't understand or can explain. The mystery surrounding their super powers unfolds slowly as you delve deeper into the story, and from the very beginning you are captured by the sense of their struggle and the tension that builds as they each come closer to understanding who / what they are, and a great sense of a huge final conflict. The relationships Bonnie and Lola build with the people they come across are dramatically polarised thanks to their very opposite personalities, the contrast being constantly played upon and adding another dimension to the story that adds good depth to the main storyline.This book is a real gem.

This is the story of two girls with superpowers. Bonnie comes from a long line of Braverman women whose power makes them 'good', while Lola is of the LeFever line whose power is 'evil' - wild and chaotic. Their story is driven in part by destiny and in part by an ancient power. One is superhero, the other supervillain, equal and opposite in power and nature, forever struggling.The novel is written in first person, alternating between Bonnie and Lola as they head out into the world, slowly learning the extents of their superpowers. Bonnie is eighteen and Lola is sixteen, and while it's technically Young Adult it doesn't really feel like it. It is, rather, a very careful, well balanced and tightly plotted superhero story with detailed fight sequences.It is delightful, however, to have a superhero story where both hero and villain are characters that are written with love and care, and especially since they are both female. Female superheros that aren't written as secondary characters in a primarily male superhero universe. The pacing is tense and the story addictive, and while I could criticise it on a number of minor points, a five-star rating is well deserved.

This is a superbly written novel with beautifully sketched, honest characters. It's the honesty that shines though more than anything. The relationships the protagonist and antagonist engage in are tender and sweet; yet the bad experiences are there too wrought in an exquisite manner.I loved this book, and it's the author's first! I'm looking forward to the next.It's a five-star book if I ever read one, and it's so cheap on the Kindle that you have no excuse not to buy it immediately.If you have any interest whatsoever in superheroes or comics, this is the book for you - but even if you don't, if you appreciate veracity in novels, and characters that you can believe and really identify with then it's for you too.I can't express my love for this book enough.

I may be an exception for enjoying first person narrative as much as I do but I really can't imagine this story being written any other way. The Girl Who Would Be King is very much about personal journeys, an all too often neglected element of the superhero narrative.