I Hunt Killers Review

I'm currently away at BEA, so I thought I'd share some of my favorite reads so far this year that I haven't reviewed yet. 

I Hunt Killers
by Barry Lyga
From Goodreads:

 What if the world's worst serial killer...was your dad?

Jasper (Jazz) Dent is a likable teenager. A charmer, one might say.

But he's also the son of the world's most infamous serial killer, and for Dear Old Dad, Take Your Son to Work Day was year-round. Jazz has witnessed crime scenes the way cops wish they could--from the criminal's point of view.

And now bodies are piling up in Lobo's Nod.

In an effort to clear his name, Jazz joins the police in a hunt for a new serial killer. But Jazz has a secret--could he be more like his father than anyone knows?

My Thoughts: This books was suggested by my friend Steph.  She kindly offered to let me read it on her Kindle on the way to BEA, but I couldn't wait since I had to agree that it definitely seemed like a Midnight Book Girl read, so I just downloaded it off of Audible.

Because I am impatient like that and I have a monthly credit to spend.

It was hard for me not to compare this book to Dan Wells John Wayne Cleaver books.  But while both teens are in need of therapy, the supernatural twists in Wells series are absent here.  I Hunt Killers is a straight out thriller, but very much on the dark side.  It took a lot of self will (and a broke piggy bank) to resist the urge to buy a physical copy of I Hunt Killers since I only listen to audio books in the car for the most part and I just really wanted to find out who was behind the murders!

And I can honestly say the identity of the killer surprised me. Not in a "the author completely pulls a mysterious killer out of his ass" twist, but an honest to gosh, "why the hell didn't I figure that out, I'm such a bad detective!" kind of surprise.

I had a hard time with Jazz sometimes.  As main characters go, he's a bit all over the place.  I don't think he's a sociopath per se, but borderline personality disorder isn't too far from the mark.  Of course, if you look up the definition of borderline personality disorder it pretty much describes almost every teenager I've ever known. He's like a faucet, able to turn on the cool water at will, but sometimes he's just so hot tempered you can practically see the steam rising off of him.

Jazz has a lot going on.  He lives with his crazy grandma (who both adds humor and genuine sadness to the story), trying to keep the social worker from taking him away to a foster home.  I really couldn't fault Jazz for being ticked off about that.  He's less than a year from being 18, and even a really great foster home isn't going to magically heal his troubled childhood in that short of time.  Plus, he'd lose what little he had left if the state took over.

Then there's the fact that Jazz was raised by a notorious serial killer father, and still hears his voice in his head, instructing him on the finer points of life through the eyes of a killer.  Jazz is just not like other kids.

But Jazz has Howie and Connie, and they are infinitely likeable.  Although I have to point out that the narrator on the audio kind of makes Howie sound like Yogi the Bear (I honestly kept waiting for him to say "Hey, Boo-boo").  Other than that, Howie is the best side kick in the universe and if I ever commit a crime, I want Howie to have my back.  And Connie is like Jazz's conscience, she is pretty much the only one that can offer some stability to Jazz.  At one point in the book I do question her sanity, but Connie is one unruffled duckling.  Although, if my future daughter ever dates a boy with that much issues and pent up anger, I will go all medieval on his butt. 

I was surprised with some of the crime scene details in this book, it read much more like an adult thriller that just happened to feature the teen son of a serial killer in it.  So, it's not for the faint of heart.  I don't think it's too harsh for teens who've been raised on a steady diet of Criminal Minds and CSI though.  Teens tend to gravitate towards the morbid anyway, and this is a book that is easily appealing to teen boys.

 I Hunt Killers gets a Midnight Book Rating of:

The cover gets a Midnight Book Cover Rating of:

I think it goes well with the story, and I like that it's obvious that this is a book with blood in it, but it's not terribly eye catching or original.

Catch Up Reveiws #1

I am really trying hard not to get behind on book reviews this year, but of course I already am.  I really need to learn to review as soon as I am finished reading, or as I'm reading a book.  Oh when will I learn?

So here are some short reviews to catch up on my review pile:

Winter's Bone
by Daniel Woodrell

My Thoughts:  I listened to this on audio and it made for a great listen.  It was our February book club selection and there were some members who loved the book, like me, and others that didn't care for it.  I thought Ree was a wonderful character and that her struggles, though bleak, showed that people can accomplish great things if they have strength and determination.  Yeah, Ree could kick my ass, but so many teenage girls in books are weak or passive.  Ree is anything but passive.  With her father missing and her home on the line, she battles with her crazy backwoods family and still manages to take care of her loony mom and little brothers.  There is lots of drug use, and half her family manufactures meth and/or takes it, and this book may make you want to drink.  Heavily.  There aren't a lot of fluffy Lisa Frank rainbows and clouds, but I liked it.  A lot.
I liked it so much I bought the movie and plan on watching it soon.  It'll be cool see Jennifer Lawrence in a pre-Katniss role.  I'll let you know what I think about it after I've watched it.

Winter's Bone gets a Midnight Book Rating of:

Fallout (Crank #3)
by Ellen Hopkins
 
My Thoughts: I won the ARC of Fallout many moons ago, but for some reason it sat on my tbr pile (remember the poem and drawing of Shel Silverstein's Sarah Cythina Sylvia Stout Would Not Take The Garbage Out? Well, replace the trash with books, and that's what my tbr pile looks like right now). Because I read this in the beginning of the year, I'm still working hard at chipping away at the tbr books, so I picked up Fallout and skipped off to work. 
No, really. I skipped. Bluebirds help me get dressed in the morning and deer open my car door while bunnies wipe the frost off my windows with their cottontails. Truth.
I get to read a lot at work, depending on the client (by which I mean elderly ladies I care for, and not johns I meet on the street corners), and the day I read Fallout was perfect for reading. Despite the book being over 600 pages, I flew through the pages (verse rocks!), and passed the 500 page mark before I even left work. And I did manage to do laundry, make lunch, do dishes and take out trash, so I wasn't reading the entire time, although I may have avoided telling my client what my book was about when she asked, or rather I just showed her how it was in verse form and skipped the whole meth angle. I try hard not to talk about meth with anyone over 70. 
Fallout is the last book in the Crank trilogy, and it's by far my favorite. The book is told from the point of view of 3 of Kristina's children- Hunter, Autumn and Summer. Each child is still struggling with the legacy of their mother's choices. Hunter has anger issues and despite having a great girlfriend, his head is turned by the fame he's attained through his radio job. Autumn is unaware of her origins and falling in love for the first time, but the truth arrives in the form of her recently released from prison dad- Trey. Summer is the youngest, and going from foster care to her dad's and back. She's also the closet to finding herself on the slippery road her mom forged before her. 
Autumn was my favorite character, because I can easily relate to her, while Summer made a lot of choices in the beginning that had me shaking my head. Hunter's chapters were also very interesting, and his character probably showed the most growth. And Kristina? Still the same old Kristina. Having dealt with addicts in my own life (and no, I'm not talking about my own addiction to lip balm), it's easy to feel for Kristina's family and be frustrated by her total lack of self-awareness.
The ending was good, although it's hard not to wonder what the future holds for Hunter, Autumn and Summer. Hopkins may have finished the series, but who knows what she'll publish ten years from now. I just know that I'll be there, eager to read whatever she comes out with.


Fallout gets a Midnight Book Rating of:

Dirty Little Secrets
by C.J. Omololu

My Thoughts: This book was exactly what I was hoping it would be, and more. Lucy's struggle throughout the book was heartbreaking- I just wanted someone to come to her rescue. The ending, while good, left me wanting more. I really thought Lucy was realistic, the way she felt towards her mother, the way she dealt with what happened- which seems ridiculous to a normal person but in her case fit well with how she'd be brought up.  There's still so much shame and misunderstanding for those that hoard and those that live with them.  Lucy is always very careful to make sure she smells good because of the smell in her home, which although I didn't grow up in a hoarder's house I can relate to since I did grow up with parents who smoked heavily.  The first time someone pointed it out, I was devastated.  You don't smell it if you're around it all the time.  Like Lucy, my room became my refuge, and my heart broke for her, because I was lucky, I could wash my clothes before going to school, and shower the smell out of my hair.  Lucy has to go to so much trouble to hide her living situation from her friends, so often going to extreme measures to avoid the truth coming out.  If you have any interests in hoarding, or if your looking for a contemporary YA read, then you might want to give this book a read!

Dirty Little Secrets gets a Midnight Book Rating of:

 

The Third Victim
by Lisa Gardner

My Thoughts:  So I mistakenly thought this was the first book in the Quincy and Rainie series, but it's actually the second one.  But I started it so I just went ahead and finished it.  Trust me, it wasn't a hardship!  The book opens up with a school shooting in a small town.  Rainie takes lead on the case because the alleged shooter is the sheriff's son.  But all isn't as it seems, and FBI Agent Quincy lends a hand.  There's an attraction between Rainie and Quincy, but both characters are pretty dark and twisty and broken, so it's a slow build.  In the meantime, the reader knows that there's more to the shooting than meets the eye, but even with that information a lot of the ending is surprising.  I got several of these books off of Paperback Swap and all I want to do is sit and read this series, but of course there's so many other books clamoring for my attention.  Next up will be the actual first book in the series though! After I finish with the audio of Catch Me, which is the latest in Gardner's series fearturing D.D. Warren. 

The Third Victim gets a Midnight Book Rating of:

 

I noticed that a lot of books that I read are highly rated, but I think part of that is because I know what I like, and I tend to gravitate towards books I'm already pretty sure will be good reads. Life's too short to read books I don't like, but occasionally a bad apple will get in there.  This year has been pretty good so far though!  

I'll be busy the next few days with work, the Hub's birthday and the Book Blogger and Publisher Online Convention, but I'll try to post- especially if I learn cool things on BBPOC!

First Comes Love Review

First Comes Love
by Katie Kacvinsky
Expected Publication Date: 05.08.2012
From Goodreads:

 Like his name, Gray is dark and stormy. Dylan, a girl always searching for what's next, seemingly unable to settle down, is the exact opposite: full of light and life. On the outside, they seem like an unlikely couple. But looks can be deceiving and besides, opposites attract. What starts as friendship, turns into admiration, respect and caring, until finally these two lone souls find they are truly in love with each other. But staying in love is not as easy as falling in love. If Dylan and Gray want their love to last, they're going to have to work at it. And learn that sometimes love means having to say you're sorry.

My Thoughts:  Aside from the names of the main characters (both Gray (male) and Dylan (female ) were too artsy when put together for my tastes), First Comes Love was an enjoyable read.  Gray is still dealing with his twin sister's death- and by dealing with  really mean totally ignoring it and building up walls around himself, when he meets free-spirit Dylan.  She's fun, quirky, and annoys Gray at first.  Yet like a book worm in a really old musty volume of Shakespeare plays, she burrows her way into his life. 

Despite a few missteps by both of them in the beginning, the build a genuine friendship, one that is especially beneficial for Gray.  Expect a bit of the ice to chip of his heart- and probably yours too.  From friendship comes love, but it's a very realistic growth, and it never feels forced.  Well, Dylan is forceful, but it's in a good way since Gray would still be moping around Arizona, probably in a puddle of his own sweat.

Speaking of Arizona, I have yet to understand why anyone willingly lives there.  I believe sweat should be the result of effort, not just simply walking the 10 feet front the front door to the car door.  Every book set in Arizona that I have ever read has convinced me that my chubby butt is never, ever, ever going to be moving there.  Of course, it makes for a good setting and gives the characters something to talk about, like Gray instructing Dylan how to survive the heat.

My favorite chapter of First Comes Love is the date Gray takes Dylan on, per her request, to all the places his sister had loved.  There was a sweetness to the day that had me crying.  In a good way.  It's the beginning of Gray realizing that he has to start grieving.

The POV alternates between Gray and Dylan, which confused me a bit in the beginning since I couldn't remember if Gray was the girl or the boy.  That's completely my fault, since I like the name Gray for a girl and normal readers should have no problems unless they have weird mental hangups like I do.  There is some language and some hot smexy smex towards the end, but it's not overdone and doesn't wander off to the land of Hustler.  Gray and Dylan are older teens, he's 19 and she's at least 18, and they're both smart so the book doesn't enter into the land of Teen Mom either.

The book ended on a better note than I thought it would.  I kept thinking of Sweet November, that movie where a free spirit, Charlize Theron, rescues uptight dude, played by Keanu Reeves, only to announce that she's dying.  Thankfully the author didn't go there either.  Dylan and Gray do encounter very real problems in their relationship due to their differences, but no one has to get cancer and die at the end.

(Spoilerish)
Dylan's actions toward the end of made me mad (almost to the point of book throwing, but since it was a borrowed copy I was able to overcome the impulse by reminding myself that books can get damaged that way), but by the very end she redeemed herself a bit for me without her character being compromised.

First Comes Love gets a Midnight Book Rating of:

 It was a nice break from all the thrillers and dystopian novels I've been reading recently.

The cover of First Comes Love gets a Midnight Book Cover Rating of:

I like it, but Dylan does not look like that, and I can't stand when the cover models have the wrong color hair.

Disclaimer: The books that I receive are either purchased by me, given to me by either the author or publisher, or borrowed from Around the World ARC Tours in exchange for an honest review or won by me in a contest.  All opinion, snark and wit are my own.

In Too Deep Review

In Too Deep 
by Amanda Grace
Expected Publication: 02.08.12
From Goodreads:

I never meant for anyone to get hurt. All I wanted to do that night was make a play for Carter Davis. His heartless rejection was mortifying, but people got the wrong idea when they saw me leaving his bedroom, crying. That’s how rumors of rape started.

Now girls at school are pouring out their sympathy to me. Guys too. But not everyone’s on my side. The school has become a war zone and the threats are getting scary. What began as poetic justice has morphed into something bigger-forcing me to make a terrible choice.

My Thoughts: There are two major story lines in this book- one is about a misunderstanding that morphs into a lie that spirals out of control, and the other one is a sweet love story between the boy and girl next door.  Put together and you get a pretty powerful novel, although don't look for a tidy, happy ending here.

Sam is in love with next door neighbor and best friend Nick, but because Sam is extremely passive about her life, she decides to try to make him jealous instead of just telling him that she loves him.  Which is how she ends up in Carter's bedroom, which leads to the imploding of her life.

Sam has a very strained relationship with her over protective law enforcement dad, so she's fairly unused to alcohol.  By the time she get's to Carter's room, she's pretty trashed.  Carter is a flirt, but it turns out he's not very nice, and when Sam comes stumbling out of his room crying, gossip girl Michelle assumes Sam's been raped.  The weekend goes by without Sam realizing that the entire small town she lives in is discussing what happened at Carter's party.  Nick finally makes the move on her, and for once Sam is feeling happy.

Monday brings Sam's happiness crashing down.  Unaware that most people assume Carter raped her, Sam instead thinks he spread a rumor that he bagged her, or told everyone how he put her down.  By the time she realizes what's really going on, she feels helpless to correct the lie.  Soon even Nick believes that she's been raped, and afraid of losing him, Sam continues to keep quiet.

Is a rumor really that powerful? Is my rumor really that powerful?

The school is divided, those that support Carter (mostly the jocks he hangs out with) and those that easily believe Carter capable of sexual assault.  Sam suddenly finds herself with new friends, Tracey- Carter's ex whom he dumped after she put out, Macy- who Carter dumped for not putting out, and Sam's old friend Veronica- who Carter spread rumors that she was a lesbian after she wouldn't date him.  Even after admitting to the truth to the girls, they convince Sam to keep quiet, feeling that since school is almost over that Carter deserves to suffer a little.  Sam's unsure, but having been passive her entire life, she keeps mum.

I really understood Sam, and while I don't think Carter deserved the stigma of sexual predator, it's easy to see how someone like Sam could quietly go along with the rumor.  As she points out, she never actually told the lie, she just didn't correct it.  Carter is a very unpleasant golden boy, used to getting his way, and he and his friends make Sam's life very uncomfortable.  Sam is afraid to tell the truth, and she's afraid of what will happen if she doesn't tell the truth. She's very aware of the suffering Carter is going through, even if he's not the nicest person on the planet.

What In Too Deep really exposes is quick we as a society are to make judgements.  It happens all the time, in the news, in the media, and in our own towns.  It's not just that most of the school is quick to believe Carter raped Sam, it's also that some of his friends are quick to dismiss the possibility and threaten Sam. It really makes me want to go back and watch the movie Gossip.  I honestly think this would make a great book club selection, but also a good book for teens to read along with their parents.  Everything in this book worked well for me and I'd definitely recommend it.

In Too Deep gets a Midnight Book Rating of:

The cover of In Too Deep gets a Midnight Cover Rating of:

I think it fits the story well, and illustrates how alone and trapped Sam feels.

*I received a copy of In Too Deep through Around the World ARC Tours in exchange for my honest opinion.

Digit Review

Digit: She's Got Your Number
by Annabel Monaghan
From Goodreads:

 Farrah "Digit" Higgins may be going to MIT in the fall, but this L.A. high school genius has left her geek self behind in another school district so she can blend in with the popular crowd at Santa Monica High and actually enjoy her senior year. But when Farrah, the daughter of a UCLA math professor, unknowingly cracks a terrorist group's number sequence, her laid-back senior year gets a lot more interesting. Soon she is personally investigating the case, on the run from terrorists, and faking her own kidnapping-- all while trying to convince a young, hot FBI agent to take her seriously. So much for blending in . . .

My Thoughts: I immediately clicked with Digit.  Oh, not over the whole math genius thing because I can barely add and subtract simple numbers (which might explain by checking account balance at any given time).  I bonded, instead, with Digit over our shared love for bumper stickers.

I love bumper stickers- how I've managed to not rear end someone whilst trying to read their stickers is one of God's small miracles.  I was instantly in awe, and jealous, of Digit's wallpaper of bumper stickers.  I even understood her dilemma about not being about not being able to commit to putting one of her own car.  I've only ever put one on a car I owned (IRL for Ireland, small, oval, and unobtrusive).  Partly because it's hard to find a perfect bumper sticker, and partly because the Hubs is not a fan of bumper stickers. But for Christmas my sis in law, Amy, got me some truly awesome Zombie Family window stickers (me, the Hubs, our dog and two cats), which will be going on my new (not yet purchased and only new to me because we buy used) car. 

Okay, I got way off track, so back to Digit.  I liked her even though aren't exactly similar.  I tend to hide my ignorance from my friends, while Digit hides her awesome math genius abilities from her popular friends.  I don't particularly care for the way the author insinuates that popular kids can't be smart, but really it doesn't bother me too much.  I was a theater, band manager, reading team nerd in school.  I had just enough social status to avoid getting picked on (for the most part), but not enough status to garner any positive attention from the It crowd either.  So, screw the popular kids.  They're probably too busy going to parties and doing cool kid stuff to read this book (let alone this blog) anyways. 

I read the ARC, so I can't guarantee these quotes, but here they are anyway:

I wasn't really in my comfort zone, and I couldn't remember the last time I'd talked about numbers with anyone but my dad.  Talking about them with normal people always ended up being a little isolating.  It's as if they hear me out and then slowly back away, like I was holding a gun instead of a pencil.

Was this guy too old to be cute? I mean cute in a nerdy-wasn't-cute-at-the-beginning-of-the-movie-but-was-super-hot-by-the-end sort of way?

The biggest fault with Digit is that the plot isn't particularly realistic, and Digit does some dumb teenager stuff (like keeping her cell phone?  This from a girl who watches CSI?), but the fact that I like Digit and her sexy FBI man goes a long way in helping me to suspend my belief in order to accept the less than realistic set up (like John's uber spy CIA parents with a hidden house that supposedly even the government doesn't know exists...).  I put up with it because it's fun and I really like the chemistry between John and Digit.  Yes, he's 21 and she's 17 (18 in June!) but their extreme youth and intelligence cancels out the creep factor. Plus, when I was a kid I was a huge fan of 21 Jump Street, and I entertained fantasies of Johnny Depp's Officer Hanson going undercover at my junior high and falling madly in love with me.  Sadly, the up and coming movie remake of 21 Jump Street looks more like the old Police Academy movies... again, off topic.

Overall it's a fun, cute read- like Clueless meets the FBI.  It was a fun way to kick off my reading in 2012!


Digit: She's Got Your Number gets a Midnight Book Rating of:

The expected release date in  June 5th, making it a fun summer read.  Hopefully they'll tweak the cover design a bit, as I am not loving this.

Disclaimer: I read this book as part of the Around the World ARC Tours, receiving a copy of the book to review honestly before passing it on.  All opinion, snark, and wit is my own.