Silver Phoenix by Cindy Pon

Silver Phoenix
by Cindy Pon

I'd been on some pretty classical material for a bit (The Three Musketeers), and I was hankering for some fantasy again. So, of course I picked up one of those...wait for it...yes one of those generic "Young Adult Fantasy" books. They tend to be about an inch thick, same size, hardcover, colorful cover, and the same "rebellious heroine" plot lines. Alright, I know, I was desperate, and I took it on an impulse. However, when I started reading, I discovered that this was no ordinary generic fantasy book. In fact, it was a bit of a not-up-to par generic fantasy book. The author failed to develop the plot and characters at consistent rates. So, one section would have a bit of a dull length of character development, and in a mad rush to catch up with the characters, the plot would come roaring back and ended up half-baked and introduced in the wrong place. It was an...interesting experience. Maybe not in a good way. The ending wasn't exactly up to par either, with loose ends that I had been expecting to be tied up, as they usually are in others of this generic fantasy variety. Oh well, it did stave away the blind hunger for some fantasy, though and I'm moving on to something new! So...that's how it went.