Unthinkable by Shirley Duke

Pages: 112

Publisher: Lerner Classroom

Age Group: Young Adult

Challenges: N/A

Release Date: October 28, 2010

Omar Phillips is Bridgewater High's favorite local teen author. His Facebook fans can't wait for his next horror story. But lately Omar's imagination has turned against him. Horrifying visions of death and destruction come over him with wide-screen intensity. The only way to stop the visions is to write them down. Until they start coming true . . .

Enter Sophie Minax, the mysterious Goth girl who's been following Omar at school. "I'm one of you," Sophie says. She tells Omar how to end the visionsbut the only thing worse than Sophie's cure may be what happens if he ignores it.

Stars: 2.5/5

Cover: B-

Plot:

Unthinkable was just over one hundred pages, and felt more like a short story. I felt like I was reading the first draft of Unthinkable, because there wasn't much character development or details --- it was all just plot, and that really took away from the story.

I did think that this book was eerie and creepy, and would be good for reading to a younger sibling to scare them.

Characters:

As I mentioned above, there wasn't much character development in this book, and I didn't really know what the characters were like, or their background stories.

I could tell that Duke was trying to make Goth-girl Sophie really weird and creepy, but it didn't work for me. I felt like she was trying too hard.

I will admit that not having much focus on the characters did shift your attention to the plot more, and how scary the horror stories were.

Writing:

It seemed like Unthinkable was the summary of a much longer, better book. I think if Shirley Duke had spent more time to add in more details and background info, I would have enjoyed it more and felt like I was actually in the book.

Ending:

The ending was my least favorite part of this entire book. Everything was wrapped up in a couple of paragraphs, and it was all facts, and no feeling.

Reading the last pages of the book reminded me of where, at the end of some movies/shows, the "What happens next to the person" is written across the screen in a few sentences. It felt rushed and didn't end the book on a good note for me.

Cover:

I think the cover did a good job of capturing the eerie-ness of Unthinkable, but it isn't really eye-catching.

Lovely Line:

Omar had barely made it out of the clearing when he felt something rubber knock gently against his face. He looked up into the sole of a shoe. It belonged to a corpse hanging from a noose above. No, it wasn't a corpse. It was still living --- a woman gasping for air and clawing at her neck. "You you, you!" the woman rose a limp arm and pointed it at Omar. "You did this."

(Page 75)

The Final Verdict:

Unthinkable was a not very memorable, but still enjoyable read. It kept my attention, and only took me an hour and a half or so to read.

FTC: NetGalley

The Frenzy by Francesca Lia Block

Pages: 258
Publisher: Harper Teen
Age Group: Young Adult
Challenges: N/A

Love is a werewolf, influenced by the moon and terror, and always about to change.

Liv has a secret.

Something happened to her when she was thirteen. Something that changed everything. Liv knows she doesn’t belong anymore—not in her own skin, not in her family . . . not anywhere. The only time she truly feels like herself is when she’s with her boyfriend, Corey, and in the woods that surround her town.

But in the woods, a mysterious woman watches Liv. In the woods, a pack of wild boys lurks. In the woods, Liv learns about the curse that will haunt her forever. The curse that caused the frenzy four years ago. And that may cause it again, all too soon.

While Corey and Liv’s love binds them together, Liv’s dark secret threatens to tear them apart as she struggles to understand who—or what—she really is. And by the light of the full moon, the most dangerous secrets bare their claws. . . .

Stars: 2.5/5

Cover: B

Plot:

Olivia (Liv) doesn't fit in at school (except with her gay best friend, Pace, and her boyfriend, Corey) and she feels like the black sheep in the family. She has a layer of hair all over her body, so she is pretty much ostracized. 

Liv feels like a monster practically the entire book, and doesn't really know what she is until she comes across a woman that answers all of her questions for her. 

Liv is too scared to tell her parents who and what she really is, and who her boyfriend of three years is, and as the story goes on she has to come to grips and accept who she is.

I didn't find anything especially exciting about the plot. It was just kind of there. There weren't really any super exciting things happening until the very last event.

I just think the plot could have been improved on immensely to be more interesting.

Characters:

I felt no connection the characters whatsoever. I think the book would have been better if I at least felt any sympathy for Liv, or felt anything towards the characters for that matter. 

Like the plot, they were just there.

Writing:

By the first page, I could tell that I didn't like the way this book was written. I don't really know how to describe it: it was awkward, and Liv's thoughts were pretty repetitive, and it felt like someone younger than me could have written it.

Now, I'm not trying to bash Francesca's writing, because some people love the way she writes, but it's just not for me.

Ending:

The ending was the best part of the book. It had the most action; the most excitement.

I just wish it would have happened earlier.

Cover:

The cover to this is okay. I LOVE the shade of purple on the spine and the back, and how the model's green eyes pop, but something about this cover just didn't do it for me.

Lovely Line:

No lines really popped out at me while I was reading this book.

The Final Verdict:

I wouldn't recommend that you don't read this, but if you decide you want to read it, I would be cautious. Maybe check it out from the library or something.

I didn't hate this book. Don't get me wrong, it definitely wasn't close to my favorite book. But I still would recommend it to people, if they like the way Francesca Lia Block writes.

I'll probably read another one of her books just to be sure that it was her that I didn't like, and not the book.

FTC: I got this book from Zoe.