I got mad in the middle of book…

I got mad in the middle of book 79! I never read book flap copies so often I go into reading without knowing what the story is really about and most of the time, I revel in the discovery process: “Ah, didn’t realize that this was going to be a story about a thief and her mentor!” OR “Totally cool that this book is actually a SciFi disguised as a vampire story!” (made-up scenarios here) BUT — I thought book 79 is about one thing, judged from the tone, the events, the “problems” presented in the first 1/3 or more of the book, when it suddenly shifted to about something completely different: darker and sadder (a LOT sadder) than I had anticipated. This displeasure followed me through the reading, although I think the author handles the emotions of all the characters very well and realistically, and I also appreciate that the “originally thought” big issue turned out to be a side-issue but still got dealt with fully. For a really sad book, I felt emotionally detached and never truly empathized with any of the characters. I tried to figure out why… and I think perhaps it is because I felt that the “story” is too much of a character study where the reader is “told” (too clearly and definitively) by a fairly young first person narrator why and how everyone feels and reacts to events so there’s little room for me to witness the characters’ actions and draw conclusions. This passivity makes me less involved with the book. (I am also just thirsty for better, tighter, more sparkling prose that often authors cannot use in first person young narrators.)