Sunday, September 13, 2009

"Hush, Hush" by Becca Fitzpatrick


Once I started this book I simply couldn't put it down. It hooked me right after the prologue and I raced through it.

Pros:
Story pulls you in
The main character's emotions are well portrayed
Excellent first novel by a YA author

Cons:
High school students are pegged by stereotypes
Ages for high school sophomores seem a bit off

Book Description
Nora Grey is a high school student who meets a new and mysterious classmate who she is both attracted to and scared by. At the same time she meets him strange and unexplainable events start to occur. She begins to question her sanity and wonders if it is possible that he is a fallen angel.

Plot
Nora's biology teacher has her class pair up with new lab partners. Patch is new to the school and mysterious. While she is attracted to him she is also uneasy around him, unsure of whether he can be trusted or not. When strange things start to happen but concrete proof disappears she wonders if she is crazy or if he is behind it. Nora's best friend Vee is at first encouraging of the friendship then starts to try to talk her out of spending time with Patch. Evidence starts to point to Patch being a fallen angel who has lost his wings.

Characters
Nora Grey seems like a real student at a high school and reminded me a lot of Bella from Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series. Patch seems like a bad boy at times and at others is Nora's greatest protector. Vee, Nora's best friend, at times feels too superficial which Marcie the cheerleader fits all the stereotypes. Elliot seems like the nice guy until his veneer starts to crack and Jules stays to the background for a lot of the novel.

Dialogue
The dialogue between the characters felt real, not forced, and kept the story on track.NarrativeThe narrative of the book kept the pace moving while not being confusing the few times when memories of the past were used.

Excerpt
"Patch was saying as little as possible, keeping himself carefully showed in mystery. I wondered what his life was like when he wasn't around me. At the way back of my mind, I couldn't stop thinking about his frightening past. Up until now I'd fantasized about discovering his deep, dark secrets because I wanted to prove to myself and to Patch that I was capable of figuring him out. But now I wanted to know his secrets because they were a part of him."

About the Author
This is the first novel for Becca Fitzpatrick. She lives in Colorado with her family and has written a follow up to Hush, Hush that was recently submitted to her publisher. She grew up reading Nancy Drew and Trixie Beldon. On her web site she keeps a regular blog.

1 comment:

  1. Awesome review! I really loved this book, it's amazing!

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