Forgiven by Janet Fox

Summary:
Kula is the seventeen-year-old of Wild West outlaw Nat Baker. But when her father is accused of a crime he didn't commit, he sends Kula to San Francisco to find a secret box that will guarantee his freedom. In a city where Kula knows no one, she is not sure who to trust: Philippa Everts, the lady who she is living with; David Wong, the kind and well-mannered boy she meets; or handsome and devilish Will Henderson, whose family might know something about this mysterious box. But what Kula doesn't know is that all these people are inextricably tied to her family, and ultimately her future.

Review:
Unfortunately, I did not enjoy Forgiven. Aside from the setting in San Francisco and the mystery surrounding a box, I don't know if I would have continued to read Forgiven (and the fact that I had to review it).

My biggest problem with the novel was that it was boring. Though Kula is supposed to be on the search for a box, I felt like nothing really happens. The character that was supposed to be a villain didn't really feel like one. There were two love interests, David and Will. I didn't care for either as neither's character was fleshed out and developed enough. And then when David started to declare his undying love for Kula, after only a few encounters with the girl, I liked him even less.

Kula was actually an okay character, and it was funny to see the difference between her and Maggie (in Faithful). Maggie would do anything to be able to choose her husband and she wants someone she loves, but Kula only wants a man who can provide for her. I didn't hold Kula's views against her; if I had grown up in near-poverty, I would probably want the same thing too. But what really annoyed me about Kula is that she sometimes talked in third person. Lines like "Kula Baker doesn't take no for an answer" were sprinkled throughout Forgiven and I found them to be totally cheesy.

The box, and the mystery that is a part of it, was a bit anti-climatic, but I kept reading in hopes that there would be something interesting about it. I did enjoy reading about the city of San Francisco and naturally, the earthquake of 1906 plays a big part in the end. I love history so that was a redeeming point but overall, I did not like Forgiven.

Rating: 6 out of 10.
FTC: for Flamingnet Review Program

2011/Speak/259 pages.

Faithful by Janet Fox

Summary:
Sixteen-year-old Maggie Bennet's life is in tatters. Her mother has disappeared and is presumed dead. The next thing she knows, her father has dragged Maggie away from their elegant Newport home, off on some mad excursion to Yellowstone in Montana. Torn from the only life she's ever known, Maggie is furious and devastated by her father's betrayal. But when she arrives, she finds herself drawn to the frustratingly stubborn, handsome Tom Rowland, the son of a park geologist, and to the wild romantic beauty of Yellowstone itself. And as Tom and the promise of freedom capture her heart, Maggie is forced to choose between who she is and who she want to be. (from back cover)

Review:
I was really excited to read Faithful; I thought it sounded pretty interesting and I loved that it was set in Yellowstone National Park. Aside from the setting, the climax of the story, and the mystery surrounding Maggie's mother, Faithful was just okay.

I was disappointed in Faithful. Everything was set up for a great novel: history, nature, romance, mystery, family secrets. But nothing was executed as well as it could have been and Faithful fell short of my expectations. The first thing I didn't like was the frequency of Maggie's internal monologues. I found myself skimming passages where Maggie is just talking inside her head, saying the same things over and over again. She constantly complains about being in Yellowstone, about not being in Rhode Island for her society debut, and about the lack of answers she has to her mother's disappearance. Second, while the romance with Tom Rowland was a better part of the novel, he annoyed me sometimes. Occasionally, Maggie would say something rude and condescending, but not with malice because she was obviously raised to look down on people beneath her, and Tom would justly call her out on it. But instead of telling her why her prejudices were wrong, Tom would say things like "I thought you were alright, Maggie, until you say something like that." This happened five or six times and just annoyed me so much.

So for the things I liked: Yellowstone. I was so excited to read about this national park because I've been there so I knew exactly what Maggie was talking about when she was describing the amazing sights and sounds. I almost wish there was more of the park in the book, it was a little underutilized. Another thing I enjoyed was the mystery surrounding Maggie's mother. It was kind of dumb that all Maggie had to do was ask her uncle and he knew the whole story but this was pretty much the only reason I kept reading Faithful. And it's actually a pretty heavy secret.

Overall, I was disappointed in Faithful because there were things in the book that irked me, like too much narration about the same things and Tom's rudeness to Maggie at times. But the fact that the novel was set in Yellowstone and that there was mystery helped me get through Faithful.

Rating: 7 out of 10.
FTC: borrowed from library.

2010/Speak/322 pages.