S. L. WeissRecensioni

This book is more of a middle-grade book and not a young adult book. It was not at all scary, no horror so it would be okay for a young middle-grade child to read. I did not particularly care for this book that much, it read very much as if a young child wrote it. The characters are a bit silly in my opinion. I would recommend this book to middle-grade kids looking for very little mystery and suspense. The author has potential but needs to put this book in a different genre.

Thank you to the publisher, author and LibraryThing for the early reviewers copy to review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

I was given a free e-copy of this book through Goodreads giveaway program. This does not in any way affect my opinion. I try to express only my most honest opinion in a spoiler-free way. If you feel anything in my review is a spoiler and is not already hidden in spoiler brackets please let me know. Thank you.

It didn't take me long to get into this book. I thought I read a bit throughout the week, but before I even reached the halfway mark I didn't want to put it down. I had to know what came next. It was easy to read and not just because it was a short read.

I had some problems with it though. Mostly it was a little too simplistic. It didn't answer any of my questions, like where the diary came from and what it wanted. I thought that the characters made some huge jumps in assumption. It just didn't flow well in my opinion. I can see how it would be hard to get the characters to realize what is happening and what caused it. But it did need to be done a bit better I think.

Characters. I like Jeremy and Sophia, although there wasn't a whole lot of character development here. They seemed like good friends to Anna. I didn't like Anna though, while she seemed to be a decent friend to Sophia. She just seemed so childish for her age. And it was mentioned in the book, but she was leading Jeremy on and using him. It takes a huge thing for her to realize that she loves him? I know she's young but that is just ridiculous. Finally her parents. They wouldn't give her the chance to explain or defend herself, instead of allowing the school to be the judge of their daughter's character, and that is just crappy and lazy parenting.

I would say that this book is a mix of Death Note and Goosebumps. Mostly I think this writing would have been better is for a middle grade aged children's book. It just feels too juvenile for a young adult book. I did enjoy it though and hope to get my hands on the next book of the series.

How I choose my rating:
1* Hated it. I had to force myself to finish it.
2** Didn't like it. I didn't hate it but not sure why I finished it other than for some closure.
3*** I liked it. I had some issues with it, but as a whole it was good. I probably won't reread ever, but there is a chance I might finish the series. (If part of one) But if not it's not a huge loss.
4**** I really liked this book. Maybe not a work of genius, but highly entertaining. I might reread this, and I will finish the series. (If part of one) I would recommend to those I know hold interest in this book's content.
5***** I loved this book. I found little to no issues with it at all. I will be rereading this and probably more than once. I will finish the series and reread it multiple times. (If part of one) I will recommend this book to EVERYONE!!!!

This was a very good, short young adult novel. It kept me interested from beginning to end and I could not put it down.

I thought that the language was well written and easy to understand.

Overall, 4.5 stars.½

While I like the concept of 'The Diary', the writing is a little lack luster. This book may be enjoyed more by young teens, but could definitely benefit from a better editor.

Scary? Nope. Good dialog? Nope. Believable characters? Nope. The concept's been done many times before way better. My advice? Go get some Sarah Langen or Susan Hill.

I really liked the premise of “The Diary” by S.L. Weiss, a mysterious book starts creating things that get written in it. And the plot arc of what that kind of power does to the writer. But unfortunately, the execution of that premise left something to be desired. The dialog didn’t flow at all; it seemed stilted and not natural. The jump from normal back story set up to the book controlling life was not well transitioned, and the main characters seemed completely on board with the concept way too quickly. Additionally, the dialog and the age of the characters didn’t seem to match. And there was a complete lack of suspense or eeriness in what should have been a creepy book, even if it was aimed at YA. All in all this read very much like a rough draft that needed to be worked on before publishing.

The Diary : Book One of the Cursed by S. L. Weiss
I was given this book as an early reviewer.
This basic story could be entertaining to early teens. It has a definite creepy atmosphere and strange happenings that could hold the interest of a fourteen or fifteen year old.
But the book would really benefit from the attention of a good editor. There are parts of the story that are distracting because of clumsy wording and incorrect language usage. Since this book is the first in a series, I hope the author takes the next book to someone with editing experience. The story is there, the text just needs to be tidied.

* I received a copy of this book through a LibraryThing Early Reviewers giveaway*

I would recommend this book to middle school level or early high school readers. It had a small amount of a Thriller type writing but it wasn't too scary. I enjoyed the simple read. What high school girl wouldn't wish for a diary that can make anything you want happen to anyone around you? Everyone probably had that wish at some point during high school. Unfortunately in this book, that wish came true and had dire consequences. I enjoyed the dynamic between Ana and Sophie and how their lives intertwined. I would be willing to read the next book when it comes out.

The idea of a diary that fulfills whatever you desire with grave consequences is truthfully an interesting one. Sadly, the simplistic writing failed to turn this book into a more imaginative and compelling read. I feel there is a lack of build-up, from Ana discovering what the diary can do to her being under the evil spell of the book, the revelations are too swift that it stunts the momentum of the story. There is an excerpt to the second book and I like how the author connected some of the characters in the first book to the second book. I think middle grade readers will appreciate this book, but young adults and adults might find this book too simple and a quick read. Thank you to LibraryThing and Zimbell House Publishing for the review copy.

This entire book seems immature from the writing to the characters. While the story concept is good, the writing in general is not. The author tells more than shows, the characters attitudes, actions, and vocabulary are young for their age (freshman in high school), and the entire book is over simplified.

Thank goodness it was short because I'm not sure I could have gotten through much more. I will definitely not be continuing the series.

The book was written for teens but is not well written.

The descriptions are long and boring, and in some cases repetitive.

The story starts well and had potential. It then seems to skip crucial parts of the story to make it cohesive.

Once the main character started to see consequences the story then seemed to change gears and wrapped everything up easily and unrealistically.

Again the story would begin to tell a tale and then change the path of that story.

I get the sense the author wrote these ideas of what she wanted the story to be in three sections. The plot, where she wanted the story to go, and how she wanted it to end. But she never connected the three ideas to each other.

And the small portion of the second book did not show any improvements from the first.½

This book is more of a middle-grade book and not a young adult book. It was not at all scary, no horror so it would be okay for a young middle-grade child to read. I did not particularly care for this book that much, it read very much as if a young child wrote it. The characters are a bit silly in my opinion. I would recommend this book to middle-grade kids looking for very little mystery and suspense. The author has potential but needs to put this book in a different genre.

This wasn't very good. It wasn't terrible, but it definitely wasn't good. The worst part was the dialogue, which was ridiculously wooden and unrealistic. The characterization and plot weren't all that great either.

The plot of the book was very much like a watered down version of the manga series Death Note, though in fairness I doubt the author is familiar with Death Note. This book revolves around a high school girl named Ana who finds a cursed diary than makes things she writes in it come true. At first she tries to do good, or at least for pranks, but when some kids throw snowballs at her, she decides to use it to punish the guilty. This just seemed like a poorly contrived personality change, and it was almost as bad later on when she realized she was doing evil. My other problem with the characterization come from Cat, who owns the store that sold the diary. A person who owns a store that sells cursed diaries should either be sinister or villainous, but for some reason Cat is a nice lady who serves as a wise mentor and tries to stop the evil.

My other problem is that this is a story that really seems to want to be horror, but just doesn't make it even to a Goosebumps level of scary. Even at her worst, Ana never becomes truly malevolent. When she's trying to hurt people, she hardly does any real harm. The only times anyone is seriously hurt are when she's learning to use the book, and isn't careful about what she writes. Frankly it's just not scary at all, though it seems like it wants to be.