The Most Wanted

Rating:
Summary: Excellent read, excellent juxtaposition of female characters
Review: I just began to read this book last night and was up half the night. I found the juxtaposition of characters-especially female characters-and excellent way to tell a story. The plot is good and should be a warning to all especially in this day of internet chatting. I also think this book was better than Ms. Mitchard's first one.

Rating:
Summary: A breathtaking, though disturbing novel
Review: Mitchard shines once again in this portrait of an intelligent, sweet, but dangerously naive 14-year- old girl named Arlington Mowbray. Ultimately ignored and uncared for at home, the precocious teenager weds a convict a decade her senior. The story is told believably, alternating between the viewpoint of Arlington and her attorney, an unmarried, childless woman pushing 40 who takes Arly under her wing. This is a bittersweet tale of a young girl's coming of age under all the wrong circumstances. It was a hard one to put down!

Rating:
Summary: What is all the fuss about?
Review: Why does everyone think she is such a great writer? Mitchard can go on for 3 pages about something that could be told in half a page. I especially didn't like the way the chapters were written - first by Annie and then by Arley. I'm all for character development but this is ridiculous!

Rating:
Summary: Written as if from first-hand experience
Review: After reading her first novel, The Deep End of the Ocean, I was convinced that the author had experienced the story at first hand, and was intrigued when I saw her latest offering. I was compelled to find out how she would be equally as sensitive about other characters and their situations. I was not disappointed. A part of me still believes that Jacqueline has undergone these experiences herself! I found the subject matter refreshingly different, and totally believeable, without being trite. The only criticism I can think of is that the end was dealt with rather rapidly, almost as though she was tired of the novel by then.

Rating:
Summary: Very enjoyable
Review: At first I couldn't believe that this story was based on a current time frame. I mean really a 14 year old marrying a man in prison !!! I have to admit I was surprised though. Once I picked it up I couldn't put it down. EXCELLENT...

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable--With a few problems
Review: I must admit, I had a hard time putting this book down once it got going. The beginning was somewhat difficult to get through, however. The early chapters told from Arley's point of view were trite and obviously from the mind of an adult author trying to remember what it was like to be fifteen. Getting to Annie's chapters was like a respite, only to be disappointed again once they were over. I must give Mitchard credit, though. She did develop Arley more as the book went along, but still fell back on adult stereotypes of teenagers when it was convenient. She could have illustrated Arley's immaturity and naivete without such cliches. The ending was another problem. I spent the entire book waiting for the big climax which never came. It was over so fast I almost missed it. She tied everything up in a neat bundle that was satisfying yet could have been led into more smoothly.

Rating:
Summary: An emotional rollercoaster...
Review: Once started, this book can not be put down. A truly engaging love stroy that is both thrilling and suspensful. A masterpiece.

Rating:
Summary: After Deep End of the Ocean, this was a huge disappointment
Review: I was so excited to read Mitchard's latest book, since her previous book was totally mesmorizing. Though I was discouraged by the plot (good girl-bad boy), I bought it anyway. Boy, did I regret it. The characters were totally unsympathetic, the plot was contrived, and the writing was simplistic. In particular, the poetry seemed to be maudlin -- certainly, it did not convince me of any character's complexity/sensitivity. Stick with the first book and save your money.

Rating:
Summary: slow disappointing read,
Review: I could only finish this book because of my curiosity to the ending of the sad, dismal "love" story about Arley and Dillon. There were some obvious errors in editing, I hope the person responsible wasn't overpaid for the job. I did like the typical progression when you could tell Arley was just a typical teenager, quickly getting over her great love. This book was very difficult for me to get through. The ending was much better than the lst half.

Rating:
Summary: I was not disappointed.
Review: After The Deep End of the Ocean, I was reluctant to read The Most Wanted, afraid I'd be disappointed. I was not! The two books are very different, but both are excellent reads. I liked Jacquelyn Mitchard's approach of telling the story in the two alternating voices of Annie and Arley. I liked the hints that the narrators give us about the upcoming parts of the story. I understood/identified with Annie's near obsession with Arley. I wish Ms. Mitchard could write a happy ending for all the girls in this world who are born to parents who do not parent them and who try to escape their sad childhoods by falling for the men who will never be good husband/father material. We all need someone in our life who loves us as much as Annie loves Arley, so that we can love our own little Desirees.