Initially, before reading this book I had decided to check out some of the reviews on it. From what I gathered, I was under the impression that I would not enjoy this book. A lot of the critism I found came from the general idea that this was somehow going to a "Potter" double of some sort. Being a huge fan of the Potter series, I was delighted to hear that JK Rowling was indeed writing a new novel. She said it was going to have nothing to do with Potter, and it was going to be an adult novel. That didn't surprise me. So honestly, I took those reviews with a grain of salt. You can't expect an author to stick within the same genre ... and frankly applaud Rowling for going in this direction.
For me this book was a great read. (I don't say it because it has her name on it) Primarily I will admit that I was not too fond of the characters, and the pacing felt a little slow. However, once I reached the 100 page mark I had so much foundation for all of the characters, I myself felt like I was a part of Pagford: I could see Samantha with her bottle of wine, Andrew Price riding Si-Pie's bike, Sujhkvinder the poor dear in her bathroom,... I could hear these characters, feel them interact and so on. Indeed I found that Rowling's writing style in for the teenagers quite exquisite. The one who stole my heart was Suhkvinder. I loved the progression of the characters and the changes they went throughout the novel. Rowling has a way of allowing you to know what the character is feeling in the most subtle of ways with the use of her words. I was left craving more on the characters. I actually did shed a tear at the end of the book... What can I say, I was hooked into Pagford.
I personally really enjoyed this book. I laughed, I scoffed, I cried and I empathized. I recommend it, however do NOT expect anything Potter... please. This is an entirely different genre, but as I did expect, the storytelling was great. I am looking forward to reading more from Rowling in the future.
