Ari Bookzilla

I DNF-ed this at 10%, then I felt guilty and went back to give it another chance. Needless to say, at 25%, I think I've had just about enough.When the author contacted me about this book, he said that Satya is a Young Adult novel which breaks the tired lycanthropic mould.I love an author that will come right out and say I might like their book even if it's about something I stay away from. That's some confidence there, and it's usually enough to make me interested in reading a book.I never got to find out if there is anything similar to werewolves in this book, or if it breaks any moulds. I can only say that, at 25%, there still wasn't mention of anything like it.But that's not why I DNF-ed this book. What I've read of this book had me... really angry.Everyone, everyone in this book is unlikable and spiteful. Except maybe Ben, but that just wasn't enough to keep me reading.Satya's family is the most awful family I have ever read about. Her siblings absolutely hate her, mock her and bully her, her parents don't care for her except if she misses a class. Why did she miss classes? Because everyone bullied her. She tells them about this, and they... blame her for it.The bullying? I think the author took some major liberties there. I'm not naive to think that kids anywhere in the world are spared the torment from their peers. BUT. But, in this book, it's not just the children. TEACHERS bully Satya in front of other kids.‘Shut your mouth. If I wanted your input I would’ve asked for it. Mr Todd’s filled me in. The answer to your question is no. And if you must know why, it’s because you deserve what’s coming to you. A small taster of the revolution to come. I hope you enjoy it.’Her teacher tells her this after Satya asks to skip her games class (which I assume is gym), because she confides in her teacher that the girls are bullying her. Then said teacher proceeds to egg her in front of the other girls.WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE? Is this common practice anywhere in modern world?Want to know the worst part? She does act like a stuck up spoiled little snobbish girl and looks down on everyone and everything, with her holier than thou attitude and fake morals.The book starts out with Satya complaining about drinking, and how she fell under peer pressure and got a little tipsy. But that's not why I disliked her instantly - we actually have this in common. I don't drink, either, for my own reasons.It's her attitude towards people who drink, she is so preachy about it. Drinking, smoking, doing drugs - it's all a matter of choice. You make yours, and I'll make mine.And it's so judgmental that after she does it, she blames everyone but herself for doing it. Everyone is doing it. The others made her. No, Satya, they didn't. Nobody can make a choice for you.Despite not being religious, I love it when an author can weave religion into a story without being preachy. Again, not the case here. The other reviewer said that the author was agnostic when he wrote this book. I wouldn't know, and how he knows it is beyond me.I live in a Muslim country where there are always people trying to force religion on you, and everything I hate about these people, it's in this book.The writing is tiresome which is probably why it took me all day to read a quarter of the book. I mean, you have dialogue within dialogue, which could get very confusing (and I must say, completely unnatural, the way it was handled), plus, it's so obvious it's for the readers' sake I was constantly rolling my eyes at it. The characters know what happened and what they talked about. Yet they still recount these events and what they said. How about just show me that scene instead?‘“I think I’ll leave it this time,” I said in the end, “but thanks for the offer.” I took another two steps back. “I’ll see you around,” I said as I paced away from them, regretting the turn of events.’That is actually all a line of dialogue, something Satya says. The book is written in 3rd person POV. Now, who talks like that, really? It's completely unnatural.In the end, I couldn't take it anymore. I'm both angry and relieved that I bought this book because I don't feel guilty about DNF-ing and writing this review. It's a good thing, too, that I DNF-ed the book, because I won't be rating it.Now, some might argue that I just didn't get it and I'm not target audience, or whatever. That may be so. I won't argue back. The author asked me to read and review the book, so here.I actually broke a really important rule of mine by buying this book. It costs $9.99 and I never buy e-books that expensive by authors I'm unfamiliar with.I don't mean to discourage T.J. Bowes and I wish him all the best in his writing career. But this is where we part ways.