Title: The HeightsAuthor: Brian James
Age Group: Teens
# of Pages: 246
My Rating: 3.5/5
Henry and Catherine can not live without each other. Although Henry was adopted into Catherine's family, he can not help but love her beyond just a sister. However, their relationship is not so simple.
After the death of Catherine's father, her brother Hindley does everything in his power to separate Henry and her. His hate for the Mexican orphan is always out on display as he belittles Henry and treats him like a slave.
As he manages to slowly push the two apart, Catherine starts to see Edgar, a popular and nice guy from school. Henry, full of jealousy, has no idea how to handle this and is ready to burst. Will the love they once had for each other continue to last?
I honestly did not like this novel in the beginning. It wasn't because of any sloppy writing or dull plot. Oh no, in fact Brian James is a talented writer who knows how to fluidly seam a story together. I have to personally say that he is one of the best YA male authors of today. So what did I not like? It was the content itself, mainly because of Hindley's and his wife's hateful personalities. James depicted these two characters so well in having them despised Henry that sometimes I did not want to read on. Could one be hated so much? Well, The Heights definitely said yes.
However, I did find myself flipping the pages more frequently when I reached the middle of the novel, curious on how everything would finally play out. Henry had a lot of anger and obsessive issues and I pitied Catherine on how attached he was to her. I was glad that she was the normal one out of the bunch and it was terrible that she had to deal with such a crappy situation.
I really have no idea who to recommend this novel to. If you like any aspect of what you have read in this review, take a shot at it. I do recommend Brian James' works because he is an amazing author who needs more recognition from us YA book bloggers.
Just a quick cover comment: Does it not look like Bella and Edward from afar? I didn't notice this until my sister promptly pointed it out when I received my review copy. It's ironic because Wuthering Heights (which this novel is based from) was mentioned in Twilight. Concidence or marketing scheme?
And also, they should've at least made the guy looked somewhat Mexican. Not that it bothers me too much but I know some readers take book covers seriously.
Review copy provided by Henry Holt and Company.
5 comments:
If it's anything like the original, I wonder how depressing parts of it are... :P
It sounds intriguing though.
I did wonder about the cover especially after you said the one character was Mexican. I too thought the guy on the cover certainly didn't look it. Then again I'm not as bothered as some are with covers--I tend to form my own mental picture based off the author's description.
I loved the original Wuthering Heights, so I've been wondering how this one would turn out. It sounds interesting. I'll have to add it to the TBR list. Thanks for the review! :)
This one sound so intense! But if it's based on WH, I guess that makes sense that it would be. The do look abit like the Twilight characters---definitely a marketing ploy, I would say. Still, it sounds interesting, may have to check it out! :)
BTW..I have an award for you!!
Your blog is lovely!
I personally have not read Wuthering Heights myself so I did not compare it in the review. But I think The Heights is much lighter compared to the original classic.
@Becky: Thank you! :D
Hmmm...I've never read anything by this author nor have I seen this book before. Sounds interesting though. I'll have to check it out. :D
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