Instruct: Classify a review into positive or negative sentiment.
Query: One of the rare novels I gave up on...

The book is 352 pages. Before I reached page 100, I gave up on this one. It seemed padded, awkward, unrealistic in dialogue and characters. I had grabbed it off the library shelf after reading a rave review in a newspaper. I should have checked Amazon first, because the negative (or at least unenthusiastic) critiques here seem to be the truth. I have not read any of the prior books by Nance, but those seemed to be liked better by the reviewers. I'm disappointed, but glad I did not buy the book. Better luck next time, Mr. Nance.