Published: December 7th 2010
Publisher: Razorbill
Author’s website
Author’s website
Introduction
Jane was found in a rosebush
after being hit by a car. She doesn’t die, but it is apparent that someone is
planning to finish the job while she is recovering in the hospital. She’s a
spoiled rich kid with spoiled rich friends and of course everyone is pretty
much unstable and creepy because that’s what rich people are. Someone in
her elitist circle of friends is after her, and she has to figure out
who tried to kill her by piecing together flashbacks of her life.
Cover
The view
straight up the model’s nose is so unflattering. Aesthetically, no one could
come up with a better position or camera position for the cover shot? It’s funny,
because Jane is supposed to be a photographer and she gets this atrocity for a
cover.
Jane
Ah, the
protagonist.
Protagonists don’t have to be
perfect, because people are not perfect. In fact, I like ‘em flawed. Give me
the damaged, the character-flaws, the mean girls, the naïve, the downright
stupid. Perfection is an illusion, and perfect characters are unrealistic.
But Jane is…here, let me make a
list:
1) Boring.
2) Stupid
(“I’m not paranoid or crazy!”-proceeds to rip out IV while laughing manically).
3) A
“people-pleaser” (though there is no indication that she is, other than people
saying it).
4) Whiney.
5) A
boy jumper (going from boy to boy to boy in an unhealthy way).
6) Shallow.
I could add some more, but I
think readers will get the picture.
Because I dislike Jane so much, I
didn’t become invested. Therefore, I didn’t care that someone was trying to
kill her. Oops.
David
Then there’s David, Jane’s
boyfriend. No. Just no. “Hi, I’m a pot-smoking jerk. The author gives me the
semblance of a deeper character, but doesn’t go into it enough to make me a
full character. I’m just a-” and I won’t finish that sentence because I have
decided not to curse on this blog, but you can use your imagination and stick
in a word of your choice.
The parts with his mental abuse make
me sick and frustrated, and the author probably intended for that to happen (at
least I hope so).
Kate
Some of
Kate’s story was inputted, in my opinion, for the author to announce that she is
totally down with certain…hot topic
issues. I do like Kate because she has the most realistic depth (at least as
far as I can recall), but I see how she is a thin representation of certain
things that the author wanted to put into her book. Instead of conveying a
character, I see a cardboard cut-out.
Boys
The boys in
this book are all ridiculously creepy. No normal guys in sight. Don’t expect to
find healthy relationships here. Not that the girls are any less insane, but if
you consider it, there isn’t a boy in her age range I’d date because they are
all, more or less, insane-in-a-very-bad-way.
Murder Mystery Aspect
It is a whodunit
story, and a “who will do it” story-someone ran Jane over with a car and then
they are after her to finish the job. Overall, I liked the different directions
that the book pulled me, though I didn’t particularly think that anyone had it
in them to actually kill Jane, though everyone is a red herring at some point. There
are lots of characters in this book, so there are many aspects to investigate.
I don’t
want to spoil it for anyone, but let me say that I didn’t suspect the culprit
because it would have been too obvious. And then the author gives some very
lame reasoning for the motive.
I do wish
people would stop referring to this as a horror novel. Please read something in
the horror genre. This is a mystery, and while people lump the two together along
with thriller (like Netgalley), they all are vastly different from each other.
Verdict
Ultimately, it’s teen chick lit.
Not that I’m interested in bashing the genre, but it’s not for me. I can’t
stand listening to spoiled kids talk about their brand-name bags and shoes, and
then complain about their privileges (Oh button, you have too much money and no
responsibilities? Poor you!) Yet they go out and smoke pot and drink-while
underage, mind you. Unfortunately, this book is little more than rich and
entitled kids doing rich and entitled things. Nope, I can’t particularly care
if they are trying to kill each other. I recommend this to girls, not boys-can’t
see how boys in general would be interested in this-and I recommend this to
girls who like chick lit like Gossip Girl.