Customer Reviews

Fearless #1

5 star:		(77)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is a good series, and not like many other teen books. It does confront a lot of the regular teen problems: popularity, dating, drugs, etc (no, it's not one of those sappy book series about teen facing and overcoming their problems), but it does it in a different way.

Gaia has no fear, literaly. She was born without the fear gene. This doesn't, however, stop her from having all of the normal teenage problems. She's in love with the boyfriend of the girl she hates more than anyone else in the world. Her best friend is in love with her, but she doesn't know it. She lives in foster care because her mom died and her dad left her. Her foster-mother hates her. People keep trying to kill her. OK, maybe she has more than the normal teenage problems, but it does make for some interesting reading.

Gaia's not the only interesting character in the book. There is Heather and Sam, her enemy and her one true love. Mary and Ed, her friends, and other characters you meet in each book. Each character is completly different in their own way and contribute to the plots.

There are only two things I don't like about this series:

1. The indicisivness of Heather and Sam's relationship. In each book they seem to be at a different level of it, braking up, getting back together, both. It can get on a person's nerves. This probably wont bother you until you get deeper into the series though.

2. Each book depends on the other books for you to completly understand the complete plot, and all of the characters and why they do what they do. Fortunatly the books come out once a month, so this problem isn't as bad as it could be.

Despite these two things I realy do like this series, though other people might not. Give it a try and see what you think.

This is probably one of the best teen series books I've ever read. It is written in many different POV's giving you different perspectives of everything. This series tackles real life issues, living in New York. It's not some sappy, corny novel. It is exciting, intense, witty, adventurous, and even a little romance is put in. I'd reccommend trying to buy as many of the books in the series at once, because once you finish reading one, your dying to know what happens in the next book. Francine Pascal has done a wonderful job writing these books. They are a big change from her normal Sweet Valley books. Put this book in your shopping cart now, and don't forget to get the rest too! A new book comes out every month!

Fearless is an amazing story for any teenage girl. It is about a girl born without the fear gene, whose father trained her since she was little to be a fantastic fighter. She enjoys walking through Central Park of New York City, just to prove thugs wrong who think they can attack innocent teenage girls. The story has humor with her witty thoughts about what is going on in her head, along with what is going on in other character's heads. There is also a person who broke the wall she built around her heart, Ed, her new best friend. Then there is Sam, who likes/hates her, and who also happens to be going out with Gaia's enemy. I love this book because it is action-packed, with a little romance, but it also relates a lot with me, and probably other teenagers as well. She deals with trying to fit in, starting a new school, being self concious about the way you look, and thinks about a lot of the other popular issues with teenagers. The story isn't too believable when you think about it, but while you read it, you believe she has no fear, and it is just a part of her life. I enjoy thinking about all the different things that I would do or would happen to me if I had no fear as well.

This review is for all those people who are interested in getting the books but are thinking "no way can twenty books in a series get almost all positive results with hardly any negative comments, there's got to be some catch!" (To Jennifer from California: your comments for book twenty were very much appreciated!) And there is a catch.
Don't get me wrong; I give books a great benefit of a doubt. I've been known to read 200 pages in before giving up. I was looking forward to reading these; it was an intriguing concept, a girl who could feel no fear. And I have read and loved many young adult books, so I knew that this would not deter me. -BUT- These books amaze me in the level of repetitiveness they contain.
Every one is a overly melodramatic soap opera, involving characters who *almost* get together or share a quick moment of happiness before it is thoroughly destroyed for the gazillionth time. This is always a result of stupidity, lack of communication (God do they need to work on their total unwillingness to ask simple questions which would clear up simple mistakes, instead of letting their problems grow until there's another book's worth of plot to write about!), or little twists like someone tells someone something, and they're devastated and decide that they can't resolve the issues until four books later.
Plus the main character, Gaia, has too many perfect things about her. She's drop dead gorgeous, secretly brilliant at chess, knew how to do complex algebra equations when she was in the third grade, speaks several languages, is extremely powerful, brilliant at martial arts, and is mysterious. Like the posing in black and white with a withdrawn expression in a Gap commercial mysterious. I've read about characters that are pretty close to perfect, but this just kept pushing it. She is [messed] up emotionally, but all those other components make her unrealisitic, less believable.
And finally, although admittedly this is a personal bias, I'm irritated in how the writer treats martial arts. If she really was a black belt then she would have learned all of the mental teachings that went with it, like using excessive force only when absolutely necessary, which she never pays attention to.
Oh, and she's really clueless to things going on around her, like all of these evil plots, and sometimes you have to stop and think "oh, come on, even my guppy would have figured that out!"
Well, to each their own I always say, but if you were wondering if anyone had anything other than rave reviews, or wanted to show what I feel is scathing honesty, there you have it. Hopefully this review helps you in making your decision on your purchase.

Francine Pascal is a good writer. She has the ability to keep the readers very interested, and this series is a great example of that. But she depends too much on action and drama and spends too little time actually dealing with the characters reactions to these events well. Because of this her characters seem too contrived and their emotions all seem obvious and unreal.

I believe that a good story must be believable. Even when you write about issues that are physically impossible (like not having a fear gene) your character and the rest of her predicaments must be within the realm of reality. I find the fearless series to be more and more unbelievable. Gaia is your stereotypical outcast, she is very defensive and therefore has little to no friends, and dresses badly which of course means everyone shuns her. But after this has been made clear Pascal makes sure to show us another, contradictory side of Gaia, the one that every single male is obsessed with. Ed Fargo, her best friend is, of course, obsessed with her. Then Sam, a guy who is dating the most popular girl in school is obsessed with her. And then there is heather, who is insanely jealous of this supposed outcast because of how "she doesn't even try" and manages to be beautiful. Sounds too good to be true? well that's because it is. If you are going to make your character one of those luminous people that everyone is drawn to (and that is what Francine Pascal is trying with Gaia) then your readers need to understand the appeal. They need to see that despite the sweatpants and nasty scowl, she is somehow undeniably lovable. The readers need to love her too and be able to see how just about everyone who knows her has fallen in love with her. Pascal does a good job showing everyone else mooning over her, but the reader can't always see why. An neither can I. I can't seem to find this quality in the character that Pascal has created in these books that makes her so wonderful. I can't see any undercurrent of kindness or optimism. She gets defensive and jealous easily over popular girls in her school (heather) but lacks any interesating personal qualities or maturity that might bring her to overcome these flaws. Gaia has superhuman strength and fighting talents, but her personality is very normal. Nothing about her own person is surprising or interesting except for her overcomplicated and dramatic past. I guess this is why I find it hard to fall in love with Gaia Moore.
good story, but not the most convincingly fanatastic character.

Okay, I won't deny it; I (sadly) am in love with the fearless series. They are short, pretty well written, funny "novels" with plots to laugh over and a few entertaining characters. They are easy to read with a few words that an eight year old might not know, but definitely no advanced vocabulary if your double digits or above :). The stories have several plot twists or double agents throughout, and the dramatic irony is enough to make you rip out your hair in some parts. This is really the kind of book you get at an airport to read on the plane, because it's entertain and requires little thought...plus you are easily absorbed into the plot if you have the time; the books are really addictive. Also, once you're hooked, there a plenty more books to follow the first, 19 to date. If anyone ever sees you reading them though, and asks you what they are about, (now anyone who doesn't want the "secrets" spoiled stop reading and skip ahead to the part in CAPS) you'll have a hard time explaining that your reading a book about a teenage girl born without the fear gene living in Manhattan and beating up thugs, muggers, etc. because she was expertly trained in karate, jujitsu, kung fu, and muay thai by her CIA agent father who abandoned her after his wife (her mother) was murdered by his evil twin (he's a terrorist/assassin) who was actually trying to kill the father so he could marry the wife/mother of the girl, Gaia, so she could become his daughter and he could clone her and create a super human army to sell to other terrorists/assassins with the highest bids. Did I also mention that her best friend was paralyzed from the waist down until undergoing experimental surgery which fully solved his injury but caused him to lose his settlement (of $26 mill) that he received in a lawsuit over his accident, and therefore upsets his girlfriend, who is also Gaia's enemy, at least before they came to terms and cooperated to exploit and confuse Gaia's assassin uncle. Oh yeah, and throw in that before getting back with her Gaia's best friend, the enemy, heather, was dating the love interest of the series, Sam, who fell in love with Gaia and her in love with him and screwed everything up. Also she had several disputes with different Neo-Nazi gang members and was being watched by her legal guardian and agent of the evil twin uncle, who then saw her mistakes and changed her ways, only to then be assassinated after her newfound friendship with Gaia. So once again, she's the fearless martial arts expert with a father in the CIA who has an evil twin who is trying to capture Gaia and clone her to make an army of super humans to sell to terrorists. Oh yeah, completely plausible. START READING AGIAN HERE: Well, anyway...it's worth a read and I would recommend it to anyone who is in need of good trash novel. :)

After reading Barbara Steiner's Fearless, I was already waiting for her next book to come out. It was so interesting, I could hardly put it down. Fearless is a book about a girl named Gaia and she was born with out the fear gene. She got into all sorts of trouble, such as fights in the streets and is grounded everyday by her parents. Gaia is the most intelligent girl I've ever read about. She is smart in more ways than one. I mean, she is good at her school work and she seems to know a lot about people. Reading about her made this book even more interesting. If you like exciting fiction books, then I would recommend the book Fearless.

Admittedly, I am an adult, but I often like to read young adult novels because they (the good ones, anyway) are often concise, quick reads, and flashy. "Fearless" is no exception. I stumbled across this book, and because of the scuttlebutt on the internet about the failed TV pilot for the series, I decided to pick it up and give it a shot.

I was not disappointed. Gaia Moore is a very intriguing heroine. The very concept of a person who can't feel fear is fascinating. It seems to me that, at times, Francine Pascal was describing Gaia's reactions using fear-related words, etc., but that may have just been me reading too much into the novel. Regardless, it was a fun book, and I look forward to reading the dozens of books remaining in this series. I've already fallen in love with Gaia, and I hope to see her relationship with Ed mature. I'm also wondering what role Heather will play later in this series. I can't wait to find out!

When I plucked this book off the shelf, and paid for it my mother said to me "why on earth would you read that?". I don't know what she was talking about. THIS BOOK WAS INCREDIBLE!!! It has it's only little twist of wittiness (is that a word?), action, and even a little romance. My favorite... :) This has been the first of the series, and I think i will be getting a ton more of the books.

Gaia (guy - uh) is a not-so-normal girl in NY. The reason she is not so normal is because she has literally no fear. She was born without the fear gene...strange, huh? Her father made her train in kung-fu, tai-chi, tae kwon do, karate, and any other kind of defence-attack thing. Then her father *being in the CIA or something* leaves her, and her mother dies, and she is put in a foster home with George *who likes her* and Ella *who is 30 something and acts like she is 17*. Gaia goes to a new school, and all that stuff. She meets Ed, a handycapped person, and they become sort of friends. Gaia loves to play chess, and she plays all the time with this old man named Zolov. She meets Sam playing chess too...you never know, there might be some kind of thing behind it all *as the second book is called 'Sam'... READ TO FIND OUT!!!

*another note* I thought that this book was ok for the first half of the book, but when all the action happened in the middle, I couldn't put it down! I encourage anyone who is looking for something different, but with a little action and romance. ^.^

When I was younger (I'm 17), I was a big fan of Pascal's SVH series. I eventually outgrew them, but recently I needed an easy read for my boring classes, and this happened the be the first book I saw. The premise of a girl born w/o the fear gene seemed interesting, so I bought it. Once I began, though, I could *not* put it down! This is obviously aimed for an older audience, and it has everything: clever writing, wit, emotion, romance...everything you could want from a book. Also, I'm an obsessed fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and I found this to be very similar in writing style and theme. I would completely recommend Fearless, and I'll probably recommend the next two I just bought. I'm even using the very beginning "journal entry" for an acting class monologue. The only complaint I have is that it wasn't long enough!