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It’s hard to say what the plot, since the storyline is so thin that it’s difficult for me to give even a short description of the plot without just retelling various events that happened in the story. There is not a cohesive plot, other than that the Tar Ponds is a running theme through the story. The whole book reminded me of a TV series where the characters live in a town and things happen, but not in any manner where there is a storyline that you can understand.
The story was a quick read and the characters were likeable in a light-hearted way. I found myself rooting for Mandy, although the plot was so meandering that I don’t know what I was hoping to happen. Her interactions with Mrs. Matthias were humorous and I found myself thinking that these characters could be in a cute teenage-geared sitcom. However, the author didn't flesh out the characters enough, especially Mandy, so I didn't get enough of a feel for them and their motivations. In particular, Alecto’s role is never fully explained. I kept thinking that his connection to the Tar Pits would be revealed in detail by the end of the book. At some point, he vaguely says that “he is the Tar Pits”, although there isn't any further explanation about this information. This illustrates my main problem with the book. The plot doesn't really go anywhere. The ending is abrupt and feels more like the end of an episode of a weekly TV series, where there will be a continuing story in the following episodes.
At times, the book reads more like an elementary school student’s creative writing story, where the teacher told the student to include several adjectives to describe a character’s reactions, appearance, etc. Early in the book, the story jumps ahead two years in a quick, awkward way. I had to reread the beginning to make sure I knew in what time period I was reading.
Mandy’s relationships with Wendy, Alecto, and Mrs. Matthias are written in a way that you can relate to the characters. Mrs. Matthias’ and Alecto’s motivations are not apparent, although they are both interesting characters. I found myself wanting to read more about all of the characters, even though the plot was scattered. The story was weak, but I did enjoy reading some parts of the story. I rate "Smog City" 2 out of 4 stars.
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