Phoebe Pope and the Year of Four

by Nya Jade

[Angie]

The blurb for Phoebe Pope and the Year of Four completely drew me in. I loved the idea of a secret school for shapeshifter spies and a romance with a teen heartthrob! While I did enjoy the book, it didn’t quite live up to my expectations. The story is a little slow, but it does pick up quite a bit at the end. I found my attention waning in the first half though, but my focus was always brought back once there was some more world building.

I loved the world that the author created, despite the many parallels to Hogwarts. Not that I don’t like Hogwarts, but there were just way too many obvious similarities. At times it felt like Hogwarts was the template and things were just changed to fit the Shapers rather than witches. However, like I said, I did love the world, but I wish it had been a little more unique. Where the author really shined was with the creation of her Shapers and Vigos. There’s a lot of scientific explanations, which I always appreciate, and the author truly had me at “mitochondria”! There’s also some interesting history lessons, too.

Another thing that I really like was that the author clearly made an effort to have a racially diverse cast. Yes, Phoebe is white (with red hair, of course) but many of her peers and the school staff are not. So yay for diversity! Phoebe was also likeable and down to earth. She wasn’t the overly done kick ass heroine, but she wasn’t the socially awkward Bella type either. She was a happy medium, and felt real. She has hobbies, her own personal issues, friends, and doesn’t let her crush on Colten run her life.

In the end, I did enjoy Phoebe Pope and the Year of Four. It didn’t impress me as much as I was hoping, but I did have fun reading it, and want to know what comes next for Phoebe. I do hope that in the following books that the world continues to grow, and begins to feel like its own place rather than a copy.