Name of story: The Long Road Home by Mare
1) Are you finding it easy to follow plot wise? Yes
2) So far who is your favorite character and why? Hmm... Maybe Howie? He's pretty introspective, but still fun-loving in this story. He's such a lovable guy-- cares about everyone so much, but he still gets angry in the story, and I like that. Makes him seem more real.
3) Are you getting a sense of how it will end and if so, any guesses? (Sometimes authors get a kick out of seeing what a reader thinks will happen and how predictable they may or may not be) Well, yes. I'd guess this is going to be a happily ever after type of story, in which the guys realize how much they love each other and their careers and decide to go on as a group, maybe after a little bit longer hiatus? Mare, I can imagine you laughing evilly because it actually ends with them deciding to go their separate ways, or with the beginning of the Zombie apocalypse or something....
4) Do you feel like the summary the author gave accurately describes the story you are reading? Would there be anything you would include or omit? Yes. Short and to the point, but I don't really think I'd add anything.
5) Has there been any big surprises/plot twists or just overall observations? Nothing really big plot-wise or character-wise. One big observation I've made (which, turns out, is unintentional) is Mare's use of literary devices in the story. Methaphors, imagery, foreshadowing, parallelism, and so on. Makes me feel more like it's an actual piece of literature. Though there are some mistakes grammar and organization-wise, as this is an early story for her, it's obvious that I'm reading the work of a strong writer.
These are the harder questions, but don't be afraid to answer them. Remember we all signed on to this knowing and expecting to get and give constructive criticism.
6) If this wasn't a challenge story and you didn't have to continue reading, would you have stopped already? If so please explain why. Probably not. This isn't the type of action-packed story with a lot of twists and turns that will keep me engaged and reading for hours on end, but it's a nice characterizati on of the guys and their relationships (Mare's specialty), and I'm interested to see how it all turns out.
7) Has there been any glaring errors that have stuck out? (I'm not talking about the occasional missed period, typo or spelling/grammar errors but huge mistakes that need to be pointed out that the author might not be aware of) Nothing huge. There are a lot of sentence fragments and a few incorrect punctuation marks (i.e.- a period where there should be a question mark), which kind of bugs the former writing center tutor in me, but no big snafu content-wise (content is very good!)
8) Do you have any questions for the author in regard to the storyline, characters or plot? When was this written exactly? I understand it must take place about 2003 or so. Was this when it was written? What inspired it? Were you possibly thinking (like me at the time) that maybe the Boys were gone forever?