Book Review: Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves

Photo taken from Goodreads

Book Info

Title:  Bleeding Violet

Author:  Dia Reeves
Publisher:  Simon Pulse

Language: English

Format: Paperback

Pages:  480 pages

ISBN - 13:  978-1416986195

Source:  Purchased, National Book Store

Buy this book on Amazon 

Summary

From Goodreads: 

"Love can be a dangerous thing...

Hanna simply wants to be loved. With a head plagued by hallucinations, a medicine cabinet full of pills, and a closet stuffed with frilly, violet dresses, Hanna's tired of being the outcast, the weird girl, the freak. So she runs away to Portero, Texas in search of a new home.

But Portero is a stranger town than Hanna expects. As she tries to make a place for herself, she discovers dark secrets that would terrify any normal soul. Good thing for Hanna, she's far from normal. As this crazy girl meets an even crazier town, only two things are certain: Anything can happen and no one is safe.'

Review

Chief Complaint:

1.  Mental illness
2.  Cold and distant mother
3.  Mysterious and monstrous events and creatures

History of Present Illness:

The patient, Hannah Jarvinen, is a transy - a newcomer - in Portero, her mother's hometown.  For years, her mother had seemed like a myth to her, and now, she's with her, but does not seem to care.  Her mental instability does not help either, as her hallucinations worsen.  But stranger things are happening in Portero, and Hannah is eager to prove she can fit in, mental illness or not, mysterious and deadly creatures notwithstanding.

Assessment:

Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves is quite a story!  The line between sanity and insanity is blurred and masked together - quite brutally, I might add - to create such a disturbing, yet brightly riveting book.  Although I'm not a fan of the fantasy/paranormal genre, this novel completely blew me away.

The plot was very exciting, how many times have you read a book about a person who hallucinates, but whose real world is teeming with even stranger occurrences than what she sees in her head?  It was very engaging, as Hannah bordered between sarcasm and utter sweetness.  Her voice, however, was somewhat flat if a bit brutal, but that is to be expected from a person suffering from a mental illness, which actually lent a more authentic feel to the story.  The melodramatic way with which all the characters act also serve to emphasize the peculiarity of the setting and the situations that they encounter.

Therefore, I am diagnosing this book as:

1.  Crazy awesome, stage V
2.  Emotionally unemotional.
3.  Lingering in your thoughts, status post reading the book, for at least a week.

Recommendation:  Read this book at your own risk, and prepared to be amazed.

Rating

If you have any questions on this particular rating, please refer to my ratings system here.

Notice

All opinions expressed in this book review are my own and not influenced by any party in any way.

Please contact me for questions, comments, and suggestions.  

Book Review: Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott

Photo taken from Barnes & Noble

Book Info

   

Title:  Living Dead Girl

Author:  Elizabeth Scott
Publisher:  Simon Pulse

Language: English

Format:  Paperback

Pages:  176 pages
ISBN - 10:  1416960600

ISBN - 13:  978-1416960607

Source:  Purchased, National Book Store

Buy this book on Amazon 

Summary

From Goodreads: 

"Once upon a time, I was a little girl who disappeared.
Once upon a time, my name was not Alice.
Once upon a time, I didn’t know how lucky I was.

When Alice was ten, Ray took her away from her family, her friends her life. She learned to give up all power, to endure all pain. She waited for the nightmare to be over.

Now Alice is fifteen and Ray still has her, but he speaks more and more of her death. He does not know it is what she longs for. She does not know he has something more terrifying than death in mind for her.

This is Alice’s story. It is one you have never heard, and one you will never, ever forget."

Review

Call me sick/insane/crazy, but I loved this book.  I've read some of the other reviews and they were unanimous in saying that this book was very disturbing and should not be marketed as a young adult book.  I agree.  This book should have been up there along the likes of Room by Emma Donoghue, or Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov.  It's that good, and it's that adult.  This is no teen's book.  If younger readers get hold of this, they better be prepared.

Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott is short, brisk, and detached, but very thought-provoking, poignant - and in a way - frightening.  Frightening because this is a story that has happened, is happening, will happen, and something that we never, ever want to happen to us.

"Alice" has been living with Ray for five years.  She was kidnapped when she was only ten years old.  Now that she is fifteen, she is half-hoping that she will finally be released or killed - she did not care which - as she knows that Ray will have no use for her anymore.  But Ray has one more task for her, a far more cruel demand than the daily abuse she suffers - to find another young girl to take to Ray and train according to his tastes.

Told through Alice's point of view, the voice was very much that of a living dead girl.  It sounded detached, numb, and flat, but the thought between the lines hung in the air as she related her story in terse, stilted tones.  After all, who needed an emotional tone when vivid descriptions of the abuse was written for everyone to read and imagine?  It was like witnessing first-hand the daily suffering of this traumatized-beyond-hope victim, even the most objective and apathetic reader would be moved.

Alice herself sounded frightening as her morbidly hopeless demeanor showed itself throughout the pages of this book. She was no more like a normal girl, let alone a normal person.  She was so heavily manipulated by Ray that she would not even think of escaping during her solitary trips for her wax jobs, could not even lie to him, and the worst she has ever done to rebel was to steal small amounts of food.  A marionette with invisible strings, with the body of a real girl.

This is a very strong book that will overpower any reader with fear and a strange compulsion to see what happens next until the book ends.  Scary, scary, scary.  No need to even keep the lights on.  This story will linger on in your mind for days, even weeks, in a none too pleasant way.

So you ask me:  If this book was so frightening, why do I love it?  It's for the pure and simple reason that the writing was so effective that it was able to achieve the exact amount of emotion and fear in order to relay its message across.  No need for extra descriptions, no need for added footnotes, everything was flung into the pages in the simplest, briefest way possible, and we all know simplicity is easier to understand and absorb.

The only downside?  When I just got this from the store, as was my custom, I unwrapped it and took a peek at the back page - not to read the ending, mind you - but to read those additional information about other books written by the author, a sneak peek at a new book, etcetera.  But what greeted me when I opened the back page was not a book teaser/author information, but the ending itself.  And it was so glaringly out there you could not ignore it.  The printer could have added a few flyleaves to guard from possible spoiler episodes.  It did not ruin the ending for me, although it would have been better if I did not get to read the ending first.

Read Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott at your own risk.  Prepare to be scared, traumatized, and blown away.

Rating

If you have any questions on this particular rating, please refer to my ratings system here.

Notice

All opinions expressed in this book review are my own and not influenced by any party in any way.

Please contact me for questions, comments, and suggestions.  

Fat Hoochie Prom Queen by Nico Medina

 (Photo taken from Goodreads)

Title:  Fat Hoochie Prom Queen

Author:  Nico Medina

Publisher:  Simon Pulse

Language: English

Format:  Paperback

Pages:  290 pages

ISBN-10:  1416936033

ISBN-13:  978-1416936039

Source:  Purchased, Booksale

Buy this book on Amazon

Rating:

 

I was digging through a huge heap of books in the secondhand bookshop when I spotted this one.  Why did it catch my eye?  Well, because apart from its brightly-colored cover, the title was totally familiar.  Fat Hoochie Prom Queen was one of the books referenced in Dash and Lily's Book of Dares and at that time, I thought the title was just made up.  Imagine my surprise when it turned out to be real!  I gasped out loud when I saw this and did not let it go ever since. 

The Gospel According to Goodreads

"What does it take to be the queen?

Margarita "Madge" Diaz is fat, foxy, and fabulous. She loves herself, and is adored by almost everyone else...except queen bee/student-body president Bridget Benson. These two girls have a history that's uglier than a drag queen after last call. During a heated argument, they decide there's only one way to end their rivalry: be named prom queen and the other backs off — for good.

Of course, everything looks different in the sober light of morning, but pride is at stake and the race is on. Madge is committed to doing whatever it takes to secure the title, but so is Bridget. And everyone's got something to hide. 

Welcome to Winter Park High School, where the dirt's not just gonna fly...it's gonna go into freakin' orbit."

I really thought this was just another shallow teen novel.  I was not really expecting much from it apart from the fact that I need to own it if only so I can bring up the title joke anytime.  But whoah, after a few clumsy attempts to connect with it at first, I was sucked in by the raging fabulosity that is Fat Hoochie Prom Queen!

The characters' voices stand out and sound very real that they jump right out at you.  It was almost like they were there with you the whole time, doing everything they did in the story and you were part of of the story.  Even Bridget Benson, the main antagonist, sounded very believable and human (reading about her, I can't help picturing Miley Cyrus as her).  Every character had a flaw but also had a lot of strengths.  Madge was big and proud of that fact.  She owned her body shape and used it to her advantage.  She's big, beautiful, and also had a big heart.  Lucas, her best friend, was as gay as gay could be and a really great friend to her.  They enjoyed the last of their high school year to the hilt and may I just say, their partying was almost at par with a lot of college parties I've known.  They took almost everything to the extreme, and some were a touch unrealistic but the author has written such an in-your-face story that it might even convince you that a cat is actually a dog that can't bark.


As for the writing, it's nothing like a high-end literary piece (what was that?), the story is very easy, light, and predictable - there's nothing new in the concept and after a few chapters I've guessed a bit of the ending.  The momentum in the beginning was almost frustratingly slow and I could not connect with it immediately - though when I finally did it blew me away - but it totally hits the spot.  I do believe that it's up there with the best in teenage novels about prom queens and fat, foxy young women.  There were a lot of parts that I thought was taken to the extreme, but it only added to the excitement of reading this book - some parts you know does not happen much in real life, but it thrills you to know that it MAY happen.  


With regard to the ending though, I wished it had a better twist.  There was an interesting premise for what happens to the ending but sadly, it did not follow through.  And I also felt that it was a bit rushed - but it was still worth it.  Maybe the author thought that if he explored some of the twists further that it would not be too enjoyable for the readers because it would suddenly turn heavy and melodramatic.  Speaking of drama, this book did not just have it, this book was written because of it!  When you put up a story about a big hot girl, her gay best friend, and prom, you can never have too much drama.

Overall, for an entertaining book about friendship, partying, being fat and sexy at the same time, and of course the race for prom queen, grab a copy of this book.  Nico Medina is now one of my new favorite authors and I can't wait to read other books he has written. 

Close-Up by Sherry Ashworth

 (Photo taken from Goodreads)

Title:  Close-Up

Author:  Sherry Ashworth

Publisher:  Simon and Schuster

Language: English

Format:  Paperback

Pages:  256 pages

ISBN-10:  1416904743

ISBN-13:  978-1416904748

Source:  Purchased, Booksale

Buy this book on Amazon

Rating: 

I like watching movies.  I even watch movies based on books I've read because I wanted to see how it would play out on the big screen.  But to say that I am dead crazy about movies is a bit of an exaggeration.  The same could not be said however, for Jimmy Keane.  He's a genuine film buff - he even thinks in frames!  He does this to block stressful stuff at home.  He's never known his own father and he has a somewhat difficult relationship with his mother.  Then one day, a stranger introduces himself as Jimmy's father, and Jimmy's life turns upside down.  Suddenly, he is the center of his parent's attention, suddenly, somebody cares.  Liz, his friend, is suspicious of Jimmy's father, and a startling revelation will make Jimmy choose:  His father, or everything he holds dear?

I thought this book was just your average teen read but I was sorely wrong.  It turned out to be a gripping thriller, very intriguing.  I loved the plot as it was very realistic, totally believable.  Even the characters were very real, the issues very current and spot on.  I liked how the author creatively turned Jimmy's description of his mindset into vivid scenes cut into frames.  Jimmy is a film buff who enjoys thinking like he's directing a film - and his voice and the nuances of his descriptions were so apt and detailed and very genuine.  The author has definitely used imagination and intelligence to create such convincing narration.  The story is narrated alternately between Jimmy's point of view and Liz's through her diary.  Although alternating, the voice is seamless, but very distinguishable.  The writing was snappy and crackling with developments, it's totally engaging and fun to read.  The dialogue was equally thrilling as it was solid, crisp, and tailored to fit each character's personality.

However, I must say that Liz was my favorite character.  She reminded me of Lisbeth Salander from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson.  She's cool, spunky, edgy, and has a strong but caring personality.  And with her image in her head which also closely resembles the physical aspects of Lisbeth.  Jimmy is okay too, but it felt that his being a movie freak made him too square for my taste.  His personality was very limited into what was expected of him.  I mean, he thinks in frames, he doesn't have much interest in his studies, he has a rocky relationship with his mother, and predictably throws himself into his father's arms when they finally meet.  There's not an ounce of surprise in how he would react, and I was not really into what's going to happen to him - I sort of already know that - I was more into what's going to happen to the whole story.  That proved to be more thrilling and exciting to look forward to.

Although the story did turn out quite well, I just had some unanswered questions in the end, but I guess that was fine although I would have liked some closure, even if it might prove tragic, but at least everything is laid out in black and white.  But then again, maybe that would prove disastrous or cruel so I try to be content with what I got.  I also felt like it was slightly hurried towards the ending, like the author suddenly had to meet the deadline and had to cut the story short, because I thought some preparations or twists could have been included.  Nevertheless, I enjoyed reading this book and intend to read it again and again in the future.