2.5 A lot of what I said n my review of Impossible applies to Extraordinary, too, but my reaction was unfortunately less pleased overall. The odd juvenile streak I saw in Impossible became an actual tendency in Werlin's writing in this. There were times when it felt very young - not in content but in execution - and I hate to say it, but almost amateurish.Don't get me wrong, there were parts I absolutely loved, and I think there are going to be a lot of people, many of them teen girls, who are going to connect with this book. And there was a very dark streak that I liked and was prepared to explore. But part of me felt like Werlin was holding back a little, and part of me felt like the story wasn't her story, but was a means to make a point. This caused a whole mess of problems for me, in that to get where she wanted to go, things would happen that were silly or happened in a silly way, and a lot of explanation was put into people's mouths. [I hate this] These two traits, this way of telling the story and trying to move it forward, and using and changing Phoebe to do it, felt unnatural and is what ultimately gave me that amateurish feel. What was weird - and I noticed this in Impossible, too - is that parts would be really strong and unflinching, and then something would come along that didn't gel and halted me in my tracks. It was like something someone would write in your HS English class, when they have a point and they know where they're going, but they don't know how to get there, so they fake it hoping to make it. There was so much potential to finesse a great story out of this, but it just didn't happen for me. And I think (but I could be wrong) that I've figured out why this is. From the way Nancy goes along with a very dark, adult tale, and then throws in explanations and juvenile-ness, I think maybe she doubts her audience (or her editor does). It feels like someone flicks a switch and says "This is too dark, this is too hard to handle, this is too mature, this is too ______" and so she throws in something to explain or lighten or make convenient for a reader - but all it really accomplishes is undoing the work she's done and taking what could be a great, albeit dark and challenging, story and turn it into something laced with second-guessing.That being said, I think she is talented and would read her again, and I read an ARC, so the problems I had could have been fixed or lessened in the final version.
