Name: Bliss
ISBN: 9780810970717

Lauren Myracle

When Bliss's hippie parents leave the commune and dump her at the home of her aloof grandmother in a tony Atlanta neighborhood, it's like being set down on an alien planet. The only guide naive Bliss has to her new environment is what she's seen on The Andy Griffith Show. But Mayberry is poor preparation for Crestview Academy, an elite school where the tensions of the present and the dark secrets of the past threaten to simmer into violence. Openhearted Bliss desperately wants new friends, making her the perfect prey of a troubled girl whose obsession with a long-ago death puts Bliss, and anyone she's kind to, in mortal danger.

Bliss

Lauren Tabor

I thought this book was really flat and boring. The characters didn't have a lot of character to them and the storyline wasn't that interesting. A lot wasn't explained and by the end of the book I was wondering what the point of the story was. There were quotes after every chapter that I feel were unnecessary. There were so many added quote pages, yet I didn't feel they added anything to the story. I was really disappointed with how this book turned out.

Lisa Collins

In a world full of computers, mobile phones, and television it is absolutely refreshing to read something recent that takes place in the past. All the Andy Griffith quotes and information about Charles Manson didn’t tip me off. I wasn’t aware the book took place in the sixties until, while already questioning the use of “groovy”, Bliss mentioned people chasing the Dead (as in Grateful Dead). I mean, come on! There are still hippies today, but none of them are chasing the Dead seeing as the band is no longer active. You may consider me quite pleased.

Onwards!

This is a pretty thick novel, with my version registering in at 444 pages, but the amount of chapter changes throughout is a huge factor, I’m sure. The pace is quick and to the point, but I never felt like information was lacking when it shouldn’t have been. Mystery? Check. Random omissions? Nope. The story is intriguing throughout and yes, often creepy.

What is with that ending, though? The whole book was stimulating and piling on more and more suspense and then at the end, like a bad movie, it just… fizzles. I don’t know what I expected to happen, but I feel like nothing was resolved. We saw what happened and that’s it. I’ve heard that Myracle’s book Rhymes with Witches is a sequel (published earlier) to Bliss, so maybe I’ll have to read that to figure out exactly what happens now, but it would have been nice to have some sort of closure. Cliffhangers are good, but when it comes to mysteries and omissions this was definitely an omission. Alas!

While I did like most of the story I was a little disgruntled by a couple character relationships. I can’t explain how tired I am of the main character (usually average by her/his own terms) getting the heart of the heartthrob that no one has been able to catch. It’s unrealistic and quite fantastical in most cases. And I read it ALL the time, of course.
Also: in what world does a person put complete trust in another person after hardly talking to them… ever? And with their most sacred secrets! It works for the story, but it’s inconsistent with the real world.

I know it sounds like I didn’t like this novel, but I did. Little details aside it’s interesting and different from anything else I’ve ever read. It might even be one of those books I’ll buy a copy of someday. I’m still feeling dissatisfied with the end, but I’ll get back to that point after I’ve read Rhymes with Witches. Until, then I’ll recommend this as something to at least try out.

P.S. I love the name Bliss Inthemorningdew.

Faith Collins

Reviewed for www.blueeggbooks.blogspot.com

Oh Bliss. I wanted to like this book so bad. When I first saw the cover of this book I figured it'd be something I'd absolutely love; it had a creepy plot and "bloodstains" on the dust jacket. Sadly, this book was less than stellar.

Let's start with the good. This book was freakin' creepy and I loved it in that respect. The creepy tone was in place from the beginning and really was present throughout the entire book- credit for consistency! And, let me tell you, I was freaked out during a few parts in particular. Without giving away too much let's just say that there is sometimes a reason why loners are loners... 

 The other part of this book that I liked were the historical elements that were incorporated. Bliss is set in 1969 and it really embodies the era. From hippies, to 'Nam, to segregation/integration I thought this book gave good historical background. Even better, the Charles Manson (and "Family") trial ran through the plot... like the rest of the US population, I've always been fascinated with Charlies; I thought that element was a nice addition to the novel.

Now, the bad. Honestly, this book feels like it was just mishmosh thrown together. It seems like the author wanted to incorporated all sorts of ideas (paranormal, historical, romance, regular teen life) that just amounted to loose ends. It didn't tie together; it didn't flow. Bliss was basically an idea dump that tried to do too much. 

Things that were mentioned in the beginning of the book were mentioned less and less until the end when I didn't even remember that it had happened. Nothing felt finished or well thought out. Probably my biggest gripe was the fact that Bliss, who had grown up on a hippie commune, adjusted waaaayyyy too fast to life in the "real world"-- sorry, I don't buy it.

I also don't buy the characters. I just have a hard time believing any of them really would exist in real life. Bliss had some good qualities to her as did Mitchell, her kinda boyfriend. But, everyone else was pretty sucky. Except for Grandma-- if anyone was believable it was her. Grandma was the best character hands down. She seemed to be well thought out and honest. Perhaps her characterization was so good because Myracle is closer in age to Grandma than Bliss... just sayin'! "Write about what you know", right?

Anyways, this book just really didn't sit well with me. It fell flat and I didn't even want more. The climax happened fairly late and the resolution was really really really rushed in my opinion. It gets 2 eggs because of the creepy fact0r-- at least it creeped me out. Points for that. 

Would I recommend this book? Definitely not to YA loving adults; I just don't think it's worth the time unless you are really tolerant! I would probably recommend this to middle school students, however. I could see an average middle grade reader enjoying this. Some high schoolers may as well but I think they may even scoff a bit...