Review: This Is W.A.R. by Lisa and Laura Roecker

Author: Lisa and Laura Roecker

Genre:  Contemporary, Thriller, Mystery

Pages: 288

Published: July 2nd, 2013

Publisher: SoHo Teen

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Source:  I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

"This is W.A.R. begins with a victim who can no longer speak for herself, and whose murder blossoms into a call-to-arms. Enter four very different girls, four very different motives to avenge Willa Ames-Rowan, and only one rule to start: Destroy James Gregory and his family at any cost. Willa's initials spell the secret rallying cry that spurs the foursome to pool their considerable resources and deliver their particular brand of vigilante justice. Innocence is lost, battles are won—and the pursuit of the truth ultimately threatens to destroy them all."~Goodreads

Who doesn't like a good revenge novel?  All of us have been wronged at some point and felt powerless to do anything about it.  So there's something cathartic about watching someone get whats coming to them.  This is W.A.R. is a fun and ultimately satisfying novel that weaves together the stories of four girls bent on bringing their best friend's killer to justice.   

LIKES:

• Four different narrators:  I always love it when an author can use different voices to effectively tell a story.  It makes for a well-rounded story and allows the reader to see all viewpoints.  Each of Willa's friends have their own reason for wanting revenge and their own reason for feeling guilty about her death.  The girls vastly different personalities also make the story more interesting and believable.  I particularly enjoyed the chapters narrated by Willa's stepsister Madge.  She did a great job of making me feel closer not only to her but to her sister as well.
• Yuppies who rule with an iron fist:  One thing that is vitally important to a thriller is a bad guy you love to hate.  The Gregory's fit this bill to a tee.  They are spoiled, entitled and completely above the law.  They abuse their power and have seemingly no appreciation for the value of other human beings.  But they aren't just one-dimensional jerks.  There are layers to the Gregory family.  The Captain, while obviously an awful human being, is driven by more than just greed.  Trip has been emotionally and psychologically crippled by something in his past and James has been driven to rampant alcoholism by his family.  You love to hate them, but you want to understand them as well.  When you throw in their small lakeside town and the country club that acts as their seat of power the show is quite spectacular.
• Not too unrealistic:  It would be easy to set up a series of grand schemes that could never happen in real life in this story.  The girls are from wealthy families and money is thrown around like it's nothing.  But most of the schemes the girls come up with are not completely out of the realm of possibility.  

DISLIKES:

• Rich people are horrible:  I get a little tired of wealthy people being made into caricatures of Blair Waldorf.  Not everyone who has money is rude and spoiled.  Now I am not saying that as someone who has money, the dent in my car's rear bumper that has been there since 2008 will attest to that.  I am simply saying that as someone who has met all types of people from all different backgrounds.  The country club members are some of the most abhorrent people you can imagine.  They treat the staff like slaves and behave however they want regardless of how it affects others.  I understand that this particular country club had to be this way for the story to work but it still made me roll my eyes.
• I'm still a little confused about the ending:  I won't get into spoilers here but I have to say there is something that happens at the end regarding a website that I'm totally confused about. In fact, if any of you have read this and want to explain it to me please shoot me an email.  I'd be forever grateful.  

If you're looking for a fun, fast-paced summer read with lots of vigilante justice, this is the read for you.  I definitely will be keeping this on my shelf for summers to come.  It's thrilling, shocking and totally satisfying.

Review: The Sweet Dead Life by Joy Preble

Author: Joy Preble

Genre:  Paranormal

Pages: 244

Published: May 14th, 2013

Publisher: SOHO Teen

Rating: 3/5 Stars

Source:  I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

"“I found out two things today. One, I think I’m dying. And two, my brother is a perv.”
So begins the diary of 14-year-old Jenna Samuels, who is having a very bad eighth-grade year. Her single mother spends all day in bed. Dad vanished when she was eight. Her 16-year-old brother, Casey, tries to hold together what’s left of the family by working two after-school jobs— difficult, as he’s stoned all the time. To make matters worse, Jenna is sick. When she collapses one day, Casey tries to race her to the hospital in their beat-up Prius and crashes instead.
Jenna wakes up in the ER to find Casey beside her. Beatified. Literally. The flab and zits? Gone. Before long, Jenna figures out that Casey didn’t survive the accident at all. He’s an “A-word.” (She can’t bring herself to utter the truth.) Soon they discover that Jenna isn’t just dying: she’s being poisoned. And Casey has been sent back to help solve the mystery that not only holds the key to her survival, but also to their mother’s mysterious depression and father’s disappearance."~Goodreads

I'm not really sure what I was expecting when I picked up this book.  I haven't read a ton of angel books and most of the ones I've heard of are romances.  This novel is about a brother and a sister so  romance really wasn't part of the equation.  After finishing it I'm still not really sure about this one. It centers around Jenna, an eighth grader with a world of problems.  Her father is missing, her mother doesn't leave the house and her older brother is a pot head.  When she and her brother are in a car accident and he becomes an angel things get even more complicated.  There were definitely things I loved about it, but there was plenty that fell flat as well.   

LIKES:

• The writing style:  The style of the book was really cool.  Jenna definitely had a unique voice and the author did a great job of bringing that across.  The colloquialisms in the writing added to the charm and really pulled me in.
• Jenna's got spunk:  I just loved Jenna.  She was so full of life and laughter despite her dire circumstances and that really got me attached to her.  Throw in her impressive and growing vocabulary and her sense of humor and I was sold on Jenna.  Her relationship with her brother was also really genuine and sweet.

DISLIKES:

• Amber:  I just didn't see the point of Amber, and I don't just mean her character.  I also didn't get why Jenna hated her so much or why Amber was such a pill.  With fun, lovable characters like Jenna and her brother I was hoping that Amber would have been developed a little more.
• Where's the magic?:  This book reads more like a mystery than a paranormal story.  There isn't a lot of angel-ish stuff going on except for Casey's physical changes and some little tricks that go by practically without notice.  I would have liked to see more of the paranormal/angel element.
• No surprises: Everything is sort of laid out for you in the synopsis.  The reader already knows the big twist (cough Casey's an angel) before the book even begins.  So when Jenna finally comes to that conclusion it's not very exciting for the reader.  This could have been avoided completely with a different title and description.  The other big revelation, that Jenna is being poisoned, is also right there in the blurb.  

I started out really loving this book.  Unfortunately, by the time I finished it I wasn't as excited about it.   That being said, the writing style alone is enough for me to want to pick up the author's other work.  I'm excited to see what she what else is out there.  If you're looking for something heavy on the paranormal this book might not be for you.  But if you want a cute younger mystery give it a shot.

Review: What We Saw At Night by Jacquelyn Mitchard

Author: Jacquelyn Mitchard

Genre:  Contemporary, Thriller

Pages: 272

Published: January 8, 2013

Publisher: Soho Teen

Rating: 3/5 Stars

Source:  I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

"Allie Kim suffers from Xeroderma Pigmentosum: a fatal allergy to sunlight that confines her and her two best friends, Rob and Juliet, to the night. When freewheeling Juliet takes up Parkour—the stunt-sport of scaling and leaping off tall buildings—Allie and Rob have no choice but to join her, if only to protect her. Though potentially deadly, Parkour after dark makes Allie feel truly alive, and for the first time equal to the “daytimers.” On a random summer night, the trio catches a glimpse of what appears to be murder. Allie alone takes it upon herself to investigate, and the truth comes at an unthinkable price. Navigating the shadowy world of specialized XP care, extreme sports, and forbidden love, Allie ultimately uncovers a secret that upends everything she believes about the people she trusts the most."~Goodreads

Last year Soho Press announced that they would be expanding to include a YA imprint, Soho Teen.  This imprint will be publishing teen thrillers and mysteries.  I'm always excited about new imprints so I decided to check them out.  They very nicely sent me an ARC of their first release, which is now out in stores, What We Saw At Night.  It centers around a group of three teens who all suffer from a deadly allergy to sunlight.  Thus, they must live their lives at night.  They own their small town after sunset but when one of them thinks that she witnesses a murder, the Rear Window action starts.  

LIKES:

• The concept is really cool:  There were so many aspects of this book that were new and different and I really appreciated that.  In particular I love the concept of kids who were confined to the night.  It adds a whole new world of opportunities and challenges for the author to play with.  Throw in the thrilling sport of Parkour and you've got a great backdrop.
• The disorder is very nicely explored:  I admired how Mitchard didn't simply use the disease as a crutch.  She really explored the ins and outs of XP and this led to a greater understanding and therefore appreciation of her characters.
• The suspense is great:  Once the story gets going, the suspense is wonderful.  There were several scenes that will stay with me for a long time.  

DISLIKES:

• The action, particularly the Parkour, is hard to visualize:  The Parkour aspect of the book was cool, but since I don't know much about the sport it was hard to visualize many of the action scenes.  The author used a lot of jargon and, while she explained it, it still made it hard to picture what was going on.  
• It takes a little bit to get going:  There was a bit of a pacing problem especially in the first half of the book.  This is a pretty short book and so the pacing really needed to pick up a bit.  Luckily, the second half was better.
• I just didn't like Juliet:  I'm sorry but it had to be said.  She's manipulative, hard and I didn't find anything about her very redeeming.  She's pretty much a terrible friend  and so I had a really hard time getting into the parts of the story where the reader was supposed to feel for her.
• Someone needs to call the police:  Okay, to be fair, the police are called initially and nothing comes of it, but I just felt like if Allie would have gone to her mother or the cops sooner everything would have gone a lot smoother.  Of course, I realize that then we wouldn't have a book, but it's just hard for me to understand a character that believes she is in mortal danger and doesn't run to the cops or someone in an authority position.  

 I'm very happy that I was able to read What We Saw At Night. Overall, it was a very unique, cool little book.  There is a sequel in the works and it will be interesting to see where the author takes these characters.  If you're looking for good thriller with a different setup, you should check this one out.  I think it would have a lot of potential as a film as well.  I look forward to reading more from Mitchard and Soho Teen.