Thoughts on Magonia by Maria Dahvana Headley and Defy by Sara B. Larson

"Thoughts" is an opportunity for me to write down my thoughts on a couple novels that I didn't finish recently. I didn't want to write whole reviews because I hadn't gotten the full perspective of the novel if that makes sense- although I read most of the novel, sometimes it just doesn't appeal to me personally. However, I still want to briefly share my thoughts, and share why I think this book might appeal more to others and why it personally didn't work for me. This is not a reflection of the books themselves, as oftentimes I definitely enjoyed and loved some aspects of the novel, but wanted to share my thoughts.

I mentioned starting a series like this a few weeks ago with a discussion post , and today I'm here with the first post on this. Today we're talking about two novels that I didn't finish reading recently - Defy by Sara B. Larson and Magonia by Maria Dahvana Headley.

Defy
Where I read to: page 277 of 323 (about 86%)
My thoughts:
Defy is a novel that my friend recommended to me as she really enjoyed it. I'd been looking forward to reading it since before it had even been published, but after hearing some mixed reviews, I decided to wait awhile to pick it up and see what I thought.
To begin, Defy is an interesting novel. I think the protagonist, Alexa, is a good narrator and a lot is going on in the novel. In the beginning, I found that the story grabbed my attention right away, and there was mystery and intrigue. I really enjoyed most of the novel, but by the time I got pretty close to the end, I just wasn't as invested in the story. I think it's still a good novel, but I knew a friend who would enjoy it more than me and so I passed it along to her.

Magonia
Where I read to: 206 of 309 (about 67%)
My thoughts:
This is another novel I was reading along and really enjoying in the beginning. Aza has a really unique voice. I definitely thought she was a good narrator and her family and Jason were really great as well. However, when Magonia came into the story, I didn't enjoy the world building as much. It was definitely unique and with fantastical elements, but I didn't love it as much. The characters of Magonia as well were ones I didn't enjoy reading about as much, and so, although I definitely enjoyed what I'd read and thought it was an interesting and well written novel, I ended up deciding to pass it along to a friend as well.

So, here are my thoughts on two novels that I picked up recently. While they didn't work for me, I thought they were still great books and so I gave them to a friend who I thought would end up reading them and enjoying them as well. I'll be back soon with another post!

From the paper world,
V