Tris and Izzie by Mette Ivie Harrison

First of all I have to say that the cover of this book is absolutely gorgeous. It's the type of book that I would buy just to display on my shelf. Unfortunately, that's about the only positive thing I have to say

 about it.

I tried... I really, really did... but this book was just not for me. Obviously, because I didn't finish it, I can't give a full and proper review, but I can, however, explain my reasons for not finishing it.

I read a lot of YA. In truth, the majority of what I read is probably YA, and I have a great appreciation for the talent of a lot of current YA authors. Their ability to write for those who are truly YA, while appealing to those of us who are not, speaks to their ability as writers. Unfortunately, Tris and Izzie did not have that same appeal. The writing was very choppy, with little flow, and the story felt like it was being made up as it went along. The characters and story-line were flat and a few of the plot points seemed to come out of nowhere. The writing seemed very amateur.... like the author was trying way too hard. It was as if I was a reading a 9th grade creative writing project, and in all honesty I didn't enjoy it at all.

Perhaps this was truly written with only a child reader in mind, and if that were the case I wouldn't discourage one of my nieces from picking it up, but I would not recommend this to a friend as a book with YA crossover appeal.