Book Review: Hush, Hush

When I was a senior in high school I had to read Milton's Paradise Lost and Dante's Divine Comedy. Ever since then, I've been facinated by this idea of fallen angels. Fast forward to the Friday after Thanksgiving. Mike and I are ridiculously early for our flight so we're walking around the Borders in LaGuardia. I'm instantly drawn to the young adult section. Maybe it's because I teach 10th graders or because more and more of the YA books that are being released are wonderful and well written. Either way, one look and this cover and I'm frozen to the spot. No, it's not because of the shirtless guy (though I'm not opposed to a shirtless guy on the cover of a book, sorry Mike), it's more the wings and his position and the overall mood of the picture that draws me in.

I open the cover, read the flap and think, "whoa." Of course I bought it.

Hush, hush by Becca Fitzpatrick. Man, what a good book.

As always, I'll let Amazon take it:

"For Nora Grey, romance was not part of the plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how much her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her. Not until Patch came along.

With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Nora is drawn to him against her better judgment.

But after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure who to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is, and to know more about her than her closest friends. She can't decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is way more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel.

For Nora is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen - and, when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost her life."

The thing about this book is that, besides having the romance factor that we all love, it has an element of suspense and genuine horror that you don't expect. Maybe horror is too strong a word...it's scary. I did not know what was going to happen next. I just kept saying to myself, "Please don't let Patch be the bad guy..."
 
I read through half the book on the plane. When I came home, between this and that, I never got around to finishing it. Wednesday I got home early and picked up the book while having a snack. I didn't put it down until I was finished. Nearly three hundred pages in one shot. And I was genuinely concerned about Nora and Patch. Let me also say, that there is a scene in a hotel, where the lights go out that...wow...just, wow. That's how I know something is good, when I enviously wish that I wrote it.
 
Bottom line: Buy this book if you like dangerous, mysterious guys, plucky heroines, suspense, mystery and a little mythology.

Read, Baby, Read.

When I first saw the movie Gone Baby Gone (directed by Ben Affleck and starring his brother Casey Affleck), I went online. See, when I really like something, I research the crap out of it. Through my perusing, I found out that the movie was an adaptation of a novel by the same author who wrote Mystic River and that Gone Baby Gone is the fourth book in a five-novel detective series by author Dennis Lehane. I promptly went to my crack den (also known as Barnes & Noble) and bought the fifth book in the series because that's how great this movie was (94% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes). I wanted to know what was going to happen next and I swear to you, I couldn't put that book down. I promptly ran back to the happiest place on earth to get the first four books and started from the beginning.

I could dedicate an entire website to these books, but that would be a bit too much. Instead, I'll give a general rundown of the two main characters and the series as a whole. Here are the books in order: A Drink Before the War; Darkness Take My Hand; Sacred; Gone, Baby, Gone; and Prayers for Rain.

The series centers around the private investigating duo of Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro--two life-long friends who grew up in the same Boston neighborhood. Each book is a separate case but these memorable characters and their story arcs weave themselves through each novel. The stories explore the shadier side of life and offer an interesting persective of the culutral and racial politics of Boston's different neighborhoods.

The novels are written in the first person voice of Patrick Kenzie, who offers insightful observations of the unforgettable characters that inhabit his world. Though these novels deal with the grim, graphic and hard-to-face realities of life, they are filled with an surprising humor that make them addictive and difficult not inhale in one sitting. I found myself laughing out loud countless of times. These books center around some pretty dark stuff but it's the humor and the easy relationship between the two main characters that keep them light and make you regret you moved through them so quickly.

The darkest book, by far, is Darkness Take My Hand that deals with the "20-year string of strangely similar killings" that brings a psychotic killer a little too close to home. Here is the summary from Barnes & Noble: "Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro's latest client is a prominent Boston psychiatrist running scared from a vengeful Irish mob. The private investigators know something about cold-blooded retribution. Born and bred on the mean streets of blue-collar Dorchester, they've seen the darkness that lives in the hearts of the unfortunate. But an evil for which even they are unprepared is about to strike as secrets long-dormant erupt, setting off a chain of violent murders that will stain everything—including the truth." This is the first book I ever read that gave me chills. I felt that same adrenaline rush from watching really good suspense movies--it reminded me of the first time that I saw Seven.

My favorite one, however, is Prayers For Rain. Though I started backwards, it's the one that got me hooked and the one that I'll read over and over again. I would give you a synopsis but it'll give too much away as it's the fifth book.

Bottom line, read these books if you like a great page turner, witty banter, a little mystery and a little love thrown in for good measure.

Have you read any of these books? If so, did you love them as much as I did? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Here's my picture of the day, because I'm in a New York state of mind:

Book Review: Shiver

I read a lot of books. A lot. I also have the problem of talking about books no matter where I go. It can be annoying. The only other person that I know who reads as much as I do is my sister and she constantly asks for books to read. So this is my attempt to recommend books without annoying everyone to death. If you are one of the people who don't like to read, well, why the hell not? No, I'll be adult about it...just skip this entry.

Ok, my first recommendation is a book I finished last night called Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. Don't let her last name confuse you, this is a great book.

I was at the Scholastic store in Soho during our New York trip scoping out the Harry Potter gear and ended up with a pair of HP glasses. (Coolest. Thing. Ever.) Because I can't go into a book store without buying one (or two or three), I ended up with Shiver. I won't lie, I picked it up because of the cover. It's gorgeous. Then I read the back and was intrigued, so I bought it.

Here is the summary from Amazon because I just want to get to the part where I tell you what's good about this book--let's leave the summary to the experts:

For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf--her wolf--is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human . . . until the cold makes him shift back again.

Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It's her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human--or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.

Now for those of you who read Twilight, this is not a copy-cat. For one, it's written beautifully. I mean, some of the prose reads like poetry--it's that good. As much as I liked Twilight and the rest of the books in the saga (and will wait in line to see the subsequent movies), one of the things that really drives me crazy is the writing. There is a difference between a great storyteller and a great writer. Stephanie Meyer is the former. Like Nicholas Sparks, she's a wonderfully gifted storyteller whose characters and plot grab you, but her writing is riddled with cliches and moments where you roll your eyes and think, "I just read that? Really?" Stiefvater...let's call her Maggie because I can't keep checking for the correct spelling of her last name, is my kind of writer: descriptive, surprising, character driven. She alternates the point of view with her two characters and writes descriptions that make me green, I so wish I wrote them. A sampling from the back of the book:

"And then I opened my eyes and it was just Grace and me--nothing anywhere but Grace and me--she pressing her lips together as though she were keeping my kiss inside her, me holding this moment that was as fragile as a bird in my hands."

Sigh. This leads me to reason No. 2 why this is a great read: the characters. Though it's a YA (Young Adult, get with it!) book, the characters seem so much older for their age. Sam is just wonderful. He is calm and sad and you just want to hug him. Grace reminds me of Bella in that she's independent and seems to be the adult in the family, but she's nowhere near as annoying. I felt what they felt. I wanted what they wanted. And isn't that the ultimate goal of every writer? For their readers to buy into the world they created and believe in the outcome? Maybe I'm just a sap (a future post will confirm this), but I'm a sucker for a love story especially one filled with people I can root for.

My truest test for whether a book I just read is good, is if I regret that it ended. When I finished reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (My favorite book of all time. I'm such a dork), I all but went into mourning. When Dennis Lehane's Patrick Kenzie/Angela Gennaro series came to an end, I wanted to start them all over from book one--and there are five books (So writing a review for these!) I closed Shiver with a twinge of regret because it was over and I was never going to read it again for the first time. I got excited to find out, though, that it's a series with the second one, Linger, coming out some time next year.

I could really go on all day about this book or any book, really. So I'll quit while I'm ahead. Get it--It's worth the $17.99 price tag. Or, if I know you, I'll just lend you the darn thing.

A quick note on my forthcoming book reviews: I'm going to try to mix it up with all sorts of stuff that I like. I read a little bit of everything so I'll keep it varied for the benefit of whoever (whomever? I can never get this rule) is reading this thing. I'm never going to write a summary because that's just boring but I will give you my opinion. I live to do that.