It seems like lately I've been all about the YA books. Or fantasy books. Or, in the case of Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick (400 pgs, Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, 2009) a little of both!! This book is set to be released on October 13. The copy that I received is an ARC from Simon & Schuster through Shelf Awareness.
God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment....2 Peter 2:4.
Nora Grey is a smart girl. She would never do anything over-the-top irresponsible, unlike her best friend, Vee. She is a good girl who has no need for boys in her life. She is more worried about college than the prom. Then, a seating change in Biology causes her to be paired up with the new student, loner Patch. And he is anything but responsible. He is tall, dark and gorgeous. And completely uncooperative as a biology partner. At once flirty, yet condescending, he has no desire to complete the interview the teacher assigned as an "investigation". But all the while Nora is maddened by his actions, she is also finding herself wildly attracted to him.
Then weird things start happening to Nora. She doesn't feel safe, and is convinced someone is watching her. Is Patch stalking her? She has this certain feeling that he is somehow involved in the incidents that are plaguing her. And yet, try as she might to keep her distance from him, she just can't. She even tries to investigate his past by looking at school records and finds them completely blank. When push comes to shove, can Nora trust Patch to save her? Or is he the person she needs saving from?
I have waited a ridiculous amount of time to review this book. I kept putting it off and putting it off. I find reviews where I can gush endlessly about a book just write themselves. Anything else is a lot more work. I wanted to love this book. I really did. I had extremely high hopes for it. And unfortunately, they feel short. I try to go into books knowing very little about them, so I don't have such high expectations. But early word about this book has traveled fast, and it's popping up all over the net. From what I've read, I'm probably in the minority on this one. But it just didn't do it for me. And for a number of reasons.
When Harry Potter became so wildly popular, it spawned lots of similar books that dealt with kids and magic. That's just the way the world works. Now we are seeing the same thing with the Twilight books. And unfortunately, I just can't help but see too many similarities with Hush, Hush. From the high school to the bad boy "watching" the heroine....it reeks of the same outline.
Although the basic premise is the same, the storyline does go in a different direction. Patch is the "bad" boy, and honestly, it's hard to tell where his allegiance actually lies. I will give Fitzgerald lots of kudos for the fallen angel/nephilim mythology. It was seriously my favorite part of the book.
I did like Patch. Of course, I have always had a thing for the bad boy. I'm the one that was attracted to Kiefer Sutherland's bad vampire, David, instead of the good guy in Lost Boys. And that's just one of MANY examples I can give. Hell, I even married the bad boy. But as for the rest of the characters....nothing. I didn't really like Nora, and I should have. I always like the "smart" girl that doesn't realize how beautiful she really is. But not so with Nora. She was just so flat to me. And as completely ambivalent as I am about Nora, I downright hated Vee. She was rude, brazen, and just plain dumb. I think she was written as comic relief, but to me, it fell short. And if you don't care about the main characters, it's hard to really like the book.
The story had a lot of potential, and some of that actually shows through. Given time, I think Becca Fitzgerald will turn out some good books. And I have a feeling that those young girls who are missing Edward Cullen will fall hard for Patch. Unfortunately, it just didn't do it for me. But feel free to disagree. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this book. It's bound to be pretty popular with the YA's. 2/5
Saturday, September 12, 2009
New YA Read: Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick - How Far are you Willing to Fall?
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14 comments:
I just panned this book on my blog for much the same reason you panned it. Loved your review - made me feel like less of a heel. So many people seem to have really loved this book & it just fell really flat for me. My review is linked to at the RIP IV site!
Thanks Caitlin. You made me feel a bit validated!! Other than my friend Michelle, EVERYONE seems to love this book. I thought I was weird, or something!!
Stupid me, set up this post for no comments! I didn't realize it until hours later. I have a feeling I missed a whole bunch of great comments :(
Thank you for posting this. I was beginning to think I was the only one! I detested Vee too. And well, you know how I feel about it!
I entered a few contests for this before I knew much about it. Don't know if those obvious Twilight references will bother me or not but I'm willing to give it a shot.
Love the bad boy too :)
I've heard lots of talk about this book around the blogosphere lately, and appreciate your honest review of it! I may or may not check it out . . . it's not really on my priority list at this time!!
By the way, in honor of BBAW, I have a special treat for you over at my blog. Check it out when you have the chance . . . http://tiftalksbooks.blogspot.com/2009/09/special-thanks.html
I have heard so much mixed stuff about this book. Thanks for your honest review!
I haven't heard of this book, but since I don't plan on reading Twilight anytime soon (I could barely get through the movie and had to watch it twice! gah!) I won't be in any rush to get this one! though, the angel part does sound interesting. I love how you throw in that you married your bad boy!! *high five*, Steph!
I can't decide if this is for me or not. I might just get the library to buy it...
Great review! Thank you for your honest point of view! I haven't read this one, but I plan on it. I'm glad to hear an other side of it, this way I can keep my expectations a little lower! :)
i loved this book so much!!! Over all it is great for me. Feel free to disagree but i loved Pach and his bad boy attitude and have nothing bad to say about this book.
I thought this book was alright. I get what you mean about the Twilight similarities the whole "meeting in biology and being partners" then the "wanting to protect her thing" It was just way too similar and I like something to be more original. I am a Twilight fan and I just finished the series and I really don't want to read a book that practically the same! I really liked Patch and his tough guy attitude, I love the bad boys! I was kind of biased about Nora's character, at times she did annoy me. And don't get me started about Vee, I am gonna be honest and say what a skank lol.
I loved the book. I think it does copy twilight a bit but at the time of reading it I didn't think that. There is a lot of differences from twilight such as he Edward doesn't try to kill Bella all the time where Patch does and even though he is trying to protect her he wants to kill her and does try to kill her a lot and Edward never tries to kill Bella. I just plain love this book!! Sorry if you disagree.
Could you please do a review on The Immortals:Evermore by Alyson Noel? I love that book and really want to see what other people think of it!!
I love this book but I didn't get to finnish it all. What happenes at the end? I got to the part they where in the motel room and he had her wrists and she started taking her anger out and he didn't feel it and she bit his lip. Ithought I was the only one who liked these tyoes of book becasue my head is normally in the clouds and I always end up trying to write my own book but because of my age it's impossible. Loved the review by the way.
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