REVIEW: Kings of Ruin by Sam Cameron

Kings of Ruin by Sam Cameron
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Fun, lively, and exciting. This book was better than I expected, and I admit I expected very little due to my poor luck with the publisher, Bold Strokes Books, and to a string of same-old same-old Young Adult fictions with all the publishers. Is there any Young Adult fiction where saving yourself and the world doesn’t take a backseat to the Romance? Because good grief.

Control, The Waking Dreamer, The Trials of Renegade X, Tandem — desist your Romance shit. Yes, that includes the two of you books that I rated 3-stars, which means I like you. Desist. Y’all are series; you can do it, says the crazy person talking to books. Anyway.

What I Liked

+ the couple

Danny was a sensible main character. It was surprising because bad decisions haunted his past so I fully expected him to repeat them, but he didn’t. It was refreshing because, speaking as an avid reader of Young Adult fictions, I rarely come across Young Adult main characters who are sensible. I mean, holy shit. Finally, it was pleasant because it excused the matter that he was in the closet. Rural America, enough said. I loved how Danny skillfully balanced putting his life at risk to figure out what was going on (because ignorance could kill) and knowing when to back off to stay safe.

Kevin was adorably nice despite the fact that he was working that whole mysterious Bad Boy image. I was elated to see a love interest that was only a Bad Boy in appearance and not an asshole because Bad Boys in Young Adult fictions are usually assholes.

+ the romance

Infidelity is a huge pet peeve for me so when it was a bomb of surprise when I didn’t get angry at how Danny used his unwitting girlfriend to disguise as straight. Danny and Laura’s relationship was too casual for me to take it seriously. Danny was at least honest and guilty about his reason for having a girlfriend, and he treated her nicely if one put aside the using-her thing. Equally important was how respectfully the book treated her. I was very happy with how in the process for the reader to gain sympathy for Danny, Laura was never “bitchified.” Laura was a minor character and her relationship with Danny was very downplayed so it would have been easy for the book to do so. But it didn’t, and I was glad. I was free to be happy without guilt; I could ignore Danny’s relationship with Laura, which allowed me to focus on just Danny and Kevin.

Danny may have been in the closet, but his romance with Kevin wasn’t angsty. It was a little angsty in the beginning but it quickly tapered off because Danny was honest and open about his feelings and sexuality with Kevin. I liked how between the two boys there was no dilly dallying with the attraction and the clearing up of misunderstandings. “I like you but I’m in the closet.” “I like you but you appear to be straight.” Talk, talk, talk. “We now know both of us like each other.” OMG, y’all, kiss already. *squee*

+ Danny’s family and friends

Danny may have family issues but I loved how it was obvious for the reader to see beyond Danny’s biased viewpoint that his family was a loving family. His stepfather was a not jerk, and his stepsister was not a bitch. His mother was someone who did really give a shit about her son. I also like how Danny’s friend Eric was a true friend and was also a sensible person like Danny. The only I would have changed is for Danny’s stepsister to be part of the action because she seemed pretty cool, and it would have been nice to read about step-siblings fighting bad guys.

+ the plot

It was fast-paced. I couldn’t believe how quickly I went through the book. The book fully delivered on its promise of car chases and fiery explosions. I was just “Yaaaaaaay!” Homicidal alien-possessed cars, a secret government agency, a national conspiracy; what fun!

What I Didn’t Like

+ the world building

It was shoddily built. I didn’t mind how the human characters have little idea of what the aliens were, or Ruins as the aliens were called, but I did mind how the human characters poorly explained their theories of what they thought the Ruins were. Because of the book description’s failure to mention aliens, I thought they were evil spirits for the entire beginning. Then I spent the middle of the book being confused to learn that was not the case and annoyed with trying to find out what was the case. Though at the end I got a good grasp of what the Ruins were, I wish it hadn’t happened so late. I didn’t see any good reason to withhold the information considering that some of the story was told in Kevin’s viewpoint and not poor ignorant Danny’s.

What I Was Okay With

+ the ending

It was Happy For Now. The romance was unresolved among a few other things. Usually, I would file such an ending under things I didn’t like but I was okay with it, believe it or not. What helped was how Danny didn’t have to hide who he was anymore and was accepted and his family issues were resolved. The book ended on an optimistic note. I was left in a good place where I didn’t feel the urge to demand a sequel so I can get my closure yet I would be elated to read the sequel if there was one. Either way is good for me, and this rarely happens because I’m a fanatic for closure.

Conclusion

I rate Kings of Ruin 3-stars for I liked it. If you took the movie Transformers, focused it on the humans, and made the main characters two gay boys who have the hots for each other, you would get this book. Recommended for readers looking for a light drama and thriller read.

Goodreads | Amazon

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REVIEW: Boy Nobody by Allen Zadoff

Boy Nobody by Allen Zadoff
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was dazzled. Dazzled!

+ the hero

The book was told exclusively in 1st person POV from the hero’s POV, and I loved it because watching Ben’s mind calculate as he gauged people and situations thrilled me. Ben was believable as an assassin without a trace of doubt! He was competent. He was collected. He was peerlessly cool. When unpredicted hurdles arose and things went out of control, he adjusted to the situations and moved towards his goals. Despite the great potential for Stockholm Syndrome and attempts at brainwashing, he never succumbed to blind loyalty like a fool.

The intentional lack of development of the hero’s identity didn’t bother me whereas in other books it would have. I was so engrossed with the book that only after I finished it did I realize that Ben was rarely referred to by his name, which was fake of course, and that his real name slipped by me, only with a re-read did I learn what it was. Talk about being a Boy Nobody; the book took its title to heart.

+ the plot

The writing read like liquid running through a pipe, straightforward and fast. Chapters were short and smartly divided, every scene punctual. The book was one of those books where everything seemed so simple and effortless but you know in reality it’s to the contrary.

The plot retained the complexity and the relevancy of current events like an adult thriller. There was corruption, espionage, inter- and intra-national conflicts. Just because certain groups had the same nationality and nationalism didn’t mean they had the same goals, and your worst enemies could also be your compatriots.

The plot also had romance, which I wasn’t a big fan of to be honest but mostly in principle because of how ludicrous romance in YA can be. The romance in the book was a few shades of cliché because an intriguing girl was the push the hero needed to start reaching for independence. However, I strongly appreciated that the romance tried to do something different, hence the few shades of cliché and not outright cliché. The romance did include a love triangle but it was more for the plot’s sake than for the romance’s. The second love interest never held any serious competition; all the parties involved knew what was going on, who really liked whom. Jealousy never arose as a real issue and meanness never dictated the characters’ actions. Best of all, stupidity never affected their judgement, which I loved so much that it bears repeating: stupidity never affected their judgement! The romance worked in synergy with the plot rather against it, unlike in countless YA.

And the twist! I loved that the twist wasn’t afraid to skewer the romance. The way things resolved was realistic and in accordance with a spy novel: trust no one.

+ the issues

Where I really took issue was with the world building and a secondary character who was a bad stereotype. I understood that things were supposed to be mysterious but I wished for more answers. Putting aside the hero’s lack of identity, very little was revealed about who the hero worked for or why he was kidnapped and pressed into spy service.

Howard was a nerd, an outcast, and a favorite target of bullies. I didn’t like how he came to serve as the convenient hacker for the hero towards the end. I didn’t like how being the hero’s stooge was the only role he had in the book and the only reason why he wasn’t sleeping with the fishes. I found his character development demeaning and a tad offensive.

In Conclusion

I rate Boy Nobody 3-stars for I liked it. The book had romance but this shouldn’t deter readers who prefer non-romantic YA because the book read firmly like a thriller. Readers who like Game by Barry Lyga should check out the book. Readers who didn’t like Impostor by Susanne Winnacker should also check out this book because this was the competent spy the main character should have been.

Goodreads | Amazon

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REVIEW: Data Runner by Sam A. Patel

Data Runner by Sam A. Patel
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hipsters versus evil corporations and their hired thugs. The book read like an action movie but without the plot holes and indigestible contrivances.

+ the characters

The good guys were a bit full of themselves. Parkour was cool. Community was cool. Staying in school and going to college, cool. Hacking and beating the man, guess what? Cool, too. (They never used the word “cool” but the sentiment was apparent.) While I liked that the characters had passion and goals, they went a bit overboard with the enthusiasm. It was a step short of indoctrination. Yes, I get it. Y’all are hipsters. Fortunately, enthusiasm eased up after a few chapters once the plot got going and the characters had no time to extol their interests.

I liked Jack. He was smart, earnest, and decisive, completely worthy of his role as the protagonist. However, I wish Jack was smarter in carrying a gun or some other weapon after he accepted a job that he fully knew was dangerous. Case in point, the news frequently reported that there was a guy was chasing after data runners and chopping off their arms. Hell, I didn’t understand why practically none of the data runners were armed. At least carry some smoke bombs or something. I knew their raison d'être was to run, run, run but they had to have realized that running would not always be an option. What started as an oversight on the protagonist’s part soon became an oversight of the world building. The concept of data runners could have been more developed.

Red Tail was another data runner and Jack’s love interest. I really liked that the romance appeared late at the end and was a minor, almost trivial plot line because it would have distracted the plot and interfered with the characters’ priorities. I also liked how Red Tail never played the role of a damsel in distress for a second, and in fact she played the role of Jack’s rescuer and reluctant mentor. Red Tail was such a kickass heroine that the book could have easily been told in her POV.

Martin was a secondary character and Jack’s father. At first I didn’t like that Jack called his dad by his first name, but I quickly understood why even though the book, which was told in Jack’s 1st person POV, never pointed it out. Martin did not act like a proper father to say the least. What kind of a father gambles away the family’s savings and then silently accepts that his kid has to work a dangerous job to pay off his debts and pretty much shoulder all adult responsibilities? Martin should have known the game was rigged and was a trap given the fact that the gang accepted his admission to the game so easily knowing he was a card counter. The revelations made towards the end explained Martin’s fatherly incompetence, but instead of making his fatherly incompetence understandable they made me think worse of Martin.

The only character that were worse than Martin were the bad guys who were complete stereotypes. They came into two groups: thugs and evil corporate suits.

+ the world building

I didn’t take issue with how black and white the world building was, but I was disappointed by it because the book could have done better, a lot better. For example, practically making all corporations evil, greedy, and bent on world domination, I kid you not the book actually said it, was shallow and gratuitous. Sorting people as good or bad, making it into “either with us or with them” matter, as if each person, especially the “bad guys,” don’t have their own values, simplified the social issues too much to be taken seriously. While I got the points the book made, e.g. fraking is bad, I believe those points would have been sharper if the world building showed some care for the complexity of the issues it raised.

In Conclusion

I rate Data Runner 3-stars for I liked it. As a book that raise social issues, it failed to present complexity, but as a book that entertains, it succeeded. I was also thrilled by the greater than average amount of science fiction elements.

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REVIEW: Peregrine Harker & The Black Death by Luke Hollands

Peregrine Harker & The Black Death by Luke Hollands
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

The book was a head-banging read. It was told in a way where the protagonist was practically mute and so detached that the dialogue was communicated in incredibly stilted summary and events were literally forced upon him. I think the intention behind the inane narration was an immersive reading experience but in practice it was anything but. I felt as if I was held hostage in a dark room that was the protagonist’s mind where I watched the story through a bunch of filters. Halfway through the book I couldn’t take it anymore. It was torture so I skimmed in a rush to end the torture.

And what a shame because the plot was actually enjoyable and the characters were more or less decent. I liked Louisa, the hero’s love interest, but I didn’t like Peregrine, the hero. Louisa was a kickass heroine, and I felt really bad for her for the constant rescuing and guiding of Peregrine.

Peregrine was the embodiment of curiosity kills the cat. He was too much of a dreamer and though he had practical abilities such as knowing how use a gun and how to box, he never really put them to good use. Not until someone or a near-death situation forced to him remember his own abilities that he then put them to use. Furthermore, Peregrine’s background was ambiguously developed. I couldn’t decide if he was poor or rich, why he bothered being a reporter if he didn’t do any actual work. Peregrine had enough money to own his own place, and it didn’t seem at all like he was hurting for money.

Speaking of Peregrine’s place, it was a big plot hole how the villains never once thought to simply stake out Peregrine’s place and personally dispose of him or easier yet, wait until Peregrine was asleep and then bomb his place, killing him in the process. It was ridiculous how the villains went through extravagant means to dispose of the hero. I understood that the plot was supposed to be over the top and the action high-octane but doing away with some logic was not necessary to achieve its purpose.

In Conclusion

I rate Peregrine Harker & The Black Death 1-star for I didn’t like it. The stilted, long-winded, “OMG, please shut up”-inducing dialogue murdered the book.

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REVIEW: Game by Barry Lyga

Game by Barry Lyga
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

CAUTION: major spoilers

I really thought book 2, Game, would surpass its predecessor, but alas my feelings were virtually the same. In other words, for both book 1 and 2, I was entertained but I was not particularly wowed.

In book 2, too many little things tugged my suspension of my disbelief. Also, the ending disappointed me, and it was not because all the plot lines ended on a cliffhanger, although that sucked too.

The Characters

+ Jasper, the protagonist

Book 2 constantly told the reader how much of a genius Jasper was. The telling was tactless and amateurish. The story needed to let the subtext speak for itself. I also found it a little hard to believe that Jasper could have so much knowledge about forensic science. Despite all the tellings, the book didn’t do a very good job of building his character as a genius.

To elaborate, Jasper’s forte lay in profiling and psychology, specifically “prospecting” and manipulating people so he can do his serial killer shit on them and successfully get away with it... if he wanted to. It was what his father taught him. In book 2, Jasper spouted off things that included bloodstain pattern analysis and crime scene reconstruction, things that I don’t ever recall his father teaching Jasper or Jasper teaching himself. Somehow, I was expected to believe that he would obviously know those things because the book said Jasper was a genius, i.e. “Jasper is a genius because I said so.”

+ Howie, the best friend

Jasper’s sidekicks were worse. They amused me in the beginning but at the end they turned into a three-car pileup wreck. Jasper’s hemophiliac best (and only) friend, Howie, appeared only a few times, which saddened me because I liked the dude... so much that I wanted to ship him and Jasper because my friends’ fangirlism infected me. Anyway, every time Howie appeared he was portrayed as a one-track mind pervert. I get that he served as the comic relief (I do love dick jokes), but there was no substance to his character. It was like the book said “he’s not really important in book 2 so let’s not do character development.”

Also, Howie always appeared conveniently. I find it very hard to believe his parents would let him out their sight after what happened in book 1 because he almost died and his parents were the definition of overprotectiveness. In book 2, Howie was there to help babysit Jasper’s grandma while Jasper was out of town and to chauffeur Connie on her ill advised quest to help Jasper. Where the hell was the parental supervision?!

+ Connie, the girlfriend

Connie, I had to say, took the trophy for the most astounding character in book 2, which is not a compliment. The good news was that she was believable as a teenage girl. She obsessed over Jasper like any teenage girl would with her boyfriend, especially a boyfriend who is the ultimate bad boy. What can be more badass than the son of the worst serial killer in history? Nevertheless, her obsession perturbed me. A gut instinct told me that if Jasper were to snap and go serial killer, Connie would totally acquiesce to play as accomplice. Forget Jasper and his “I must not become a serial killer” mental shit, Connie was the real headcase.

Here’s the bad news: Connie willfully involved herself with the serial killers, plural. Not only was Connie wack, she was TSTL. Initially, I cut her some slack because I related to her feelings of being left out and wanting to help. However, that was because I thought she would eventually come to her senses. Color me foolish but the damn girl never did and in fact walked directly and willfully into a trap. Because, hey, being kidnapped and held hostage is so passe, let’s make it easier on the bad guys and step into their trap because it’s cool. *facedesk*

The Plot

The plot was engaging. It always maintained a minimum level of suspense. However, the ending was disappointing... as a three-cars pileup wreck can be, one car for each character.

Major Spoilers Ahoy.

The same thing happened last time in book 1. Once again Jasper found himself in a weak and helpless situation and needed to be rescued. For someone who the book spent an entirety building the character as a BAMF, Jasper once again donned the Dude in Distress role. The dude tattooed “I Hunt Killers” on his chest, but he should have tattooed “Killers Hunt Me” instead. It’s more appropriate.

Also, Howie may or may not have killed Jasper’s grandma in the process of taking down an alleged — ALLEGED — serial killer/serial killer accomplice. Seriously! Where the hell is the parental supervision?!! It’s not Jasper who needs CPS because his grandma is demented and thus incompetent as a guardian, it’s Howie.

Connie walked directly, knowingly, and willingly — WILLINGLY — into Jasper’s father’s hands. The girl walked into the worst serial killer of history’s hands.The stupid was strong in the girl.

*facewall* When facedesk is just not enough.

In Conclusion

I rate Game 3-stars for liked it. Surprised? Despite the issues and the facewall-inducing ending, the book entertained me, which compensated a lot. It was the equivalent of watching a great episode of a TV crime series.

Goodreads | Amazon

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REVIEW: The Book of Blood and Shadow by Robin Wasserman

The Book of Blood and Shadow by Robin Wasserman
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

CAUTION: Long Review.

I decided to read The Book of Blood and Shadow (TBBS) because reviews described it as the YA of The Da Vinci Code (TDVC). I really liked TDVC so I thought TBBS would be exciting too.

It wasn't.

TBBS and TDVC were similar. I could definitely see why the comparison was made. They both have:

+ a death in the beginning
+ characters framed for crimes
+ characters traveling across Europe for answers
+ characters who know esoteric things
+ a mystery from history to solve
+ secret organizations seeking to silence our heroes
+ a convergent theme of science and religion
+ a betrayal for the ultimate twist

Yet unlike TDVC, TBBS had:

+ a slow pace
+ a lack of suspense
+ a stingy amount of action
+ a weak protagonist
+ a love square
+ an overload of betrayals

It was mildly dull.

The Writing

Passages in the book were bipolar. Sometime they were short and straight to the point, other times they were long and starving for paragraph indentations. In the latter, run-on sentences were the norm. I recall a paragraph where one sentence took up 90% of a 10-lines paragraph.

Moreover, the prose was exceedingly passive. When an action scene was happening, it took me a few seconds to realize there was action going on.

Basically, the book was more difficult to read than TDVC and it was a YA.

The Beginning

With under 120,000 words, the novel separated into four parts. The first chapter of the first part started as the blurb said: one character was dead, one catatonic, one missing. What a horrific and wonderful scene it was for a beginning. The first sentence was:

I should probably start with the blood.

Too bad she lied.

The story actually started with a long flashback that led up to the horrific scene. Part 1 took the readers into the past. Part 2 picked up after the horrific scene, taking the readers back to the present.

I was disappointed. I felt TBBS would have been a stronger story if it began with part 2 and part 1 was told as expositions.

The Characters

+++ Nora, the protagonist

Nora was every bit cliché of a YA protagonist: she was poor, she was plain, she was shy, she was smart. Best of all, she was the chosen one — the "vyvolená."

YA protagonists never have a happy family. Their family are either dead or estranged. In Nora's case it was both. Her brother was dead, her parents grief-stricken, and she estranged from her parents because they're too grief-stricken to care about her. To escape, Nora decided to go to a rich school on a scholarship.

There, Nora immediately caught the attention of the school's prince and princess. The two coolest kids in school soon became the new girl's first friends. The fact that it was the story's different take on the heroine's love interest and rival didn't lessen the cliché. What was prominent was how sudden the friendship occurred. Already, the story began to stretch the limit of its believability.

+++ Chris, love interest #1

He was Nora's love interest #1. She liked him and he liked her but they were incognizant of their feelings for each other. Chris became Adriane's boyfriend instead.

The romance between Chris and Nora should have been done away since nothing ever came out of it. It wasn't used to progress the story or anyone's character development. It only made Nora more Mary Sue-ish.

+++ Adriane, love rival

She was rich; she was pretty; she was popular — she was like Nora's opposite except Adriane was also smart. Adriane was everything Nora wished she could be. She was Nora's only female friend.

The thing that bothered me the most about Adriane was that it took the middle of the story for the reader to find out she was Japanese. I didn't understand why her ethnic background was developed like an afterthought. It almost felt like a lazy way of injecting PoC into a YA.

+++ Max, love interest #2

He was like the male version of Nora because he was shy, he was smart, and he was plain in comparison to Chris. Also like Nora, he never talked about his past. Since the story was told in 1st PoV from Nora's side, Nora wasn't a mysterious character to the reader whereas Max was.

Nora initially saw Max as Chris's creepy roommate because Max stared at her alot and rarely talked. Later, she became his girlfriend which surprised me. I think she only dated him because she need a distraction from thinking about Chris.

Adriane with Chris. Nora with Max. The group of four friends hooked up with each other. It was a bit puke-worthy.

+++ Eli, love interest #3.

He claimed to be Chris's cousin. Similar to love interest #2, love interest #3 was mysterious as well. Chris never mention any cousin and Nora couldn't seen any family resemblance in Eli.

Whereas Max stared at Nora, Eli stalked Nora. It would have been creepy except as Chris's cousin it was expected and sensible that Eli would follow Nora to get his answers. Nora was the only one who knew what happened and wasn't catatonic. Plus she had contact with Max, her boyfriend, the guy suspected of killing Chris.

After part 1, Eli took up Chris's role as the second boy in the group. Though Nora was officially with Max, she was more girlfriend-boyfriend with Eli than with Max. Though Nora never cheated, there was a distinct sentiment that Nora was Max's girlfriend in name.

I didn't understand why Nora just didn't breakup with Max and go be with Eli. Nothing was stopping her.

Ways The Story Sucked

+++ a weak protagonist

For a self-proclaimed smart girl, Nora was kinda stupid. First impressions are generally wrong but Nora's were accurate. The bad part was that she never thought much of them and ignored her instinct.

Nora never asked the questions that should have been asked in the beginning. Not until the obvious smacked her in the face that she finally asked.

+++ over-shadowy antagonists

There were two secret organizations (or cults to put it bluntly): the Hledaci (Seekers) and the Fidei Defensor (Defender of the Faith). The former wants the Lumen Dei while the latter wants to destroy it.

Though they were the ones who caused all the troubles, they never had a strong presence in the story. Specifically, they didn't feel nefarious as they should have been. The story focused too much on making the cults mysterious than dangerous, hence the lack of suspense.

+++ mystery still mysterious

Everyone wants the Lumen Dei but nobody knows what it does actually. Not even the cults themselves whose existence was all about this object of power. The Hledaci thinks it will bring people closer to God, while the Fidei Defensor thinks it will bring the Apocalypse to the world.

The only thing the two cults shared in belief was that Lumen Dei required Nora because she was the chosen one. But no one knows why exactly. Everything about the matter was based on hearsay and superstition.

The story never described exactly what Lumen Dei was or what it actually did or why Nora was necessary for its operation. This irritated me.

+++ betrayals overkill

TBBS overkilled with the betrayals. It was ridiculous. It showed a lack of creativity for making twist and turn. I desensitized after a few, and their continuous occurrences led me to think less of Nora.

+++ the ending sucked

Nora returned home and that was it. She was back to being lonely, and her family situation probably worsen by her disappearance. There wasn't even the consolation of the extra credit for the dang assignment that set her on the mystery because her professor was incapacitated and their work was stolen.

What pained me was how Nora chose to believe it was over when there was a slight possibility that it wasn't. She didn't learn anything, she didn't grow as a character, and she was back to using denial and avoidance as defense mechanisms.

What was the point of the story then? Oy.

In Conclusion

I rate TBBS 2-stars for it was okay. I recommend reading The Da Vinci Code or any book in that series instead. Even the worst book of that series was better than TBBS.

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REVIEW: Night School by C.J. Daugherty

Night School by C.J. Daugherty
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Night School is the name of 110,400-ish worded novel and of a class at Cimmeria Academy exclusively for legacy student. Night School is a special class for special legacy students — basically it's 'how can we be more elitist' in action.

The kicker is that we never know why Night School is special, just that it is. Students are expelled if they "attempt to interfere with or observe Night School." Students are punished if they attempt to find out the identities of those involved in Night School. The most we ever learn about this special class is that Allie's two love interests are in it and her grandmother Lucinda, who is only mentioned in the story, has something to do with it.

I thought the special class was for legacy students who are supernatural because I saw readers shelving this book as paranormal on GoodReads. But no, there was nothing paranormal about this book whatsoever. There was a mystery, there were a few abnormal events, but nothing paranormal. This book is not YA Paranormal. I think the book is supposed to be YA Suspense.

But the genre misinformation wasn't what irked me greatly about this book, it was the lack of conflict resolution. Excluding the first two chapters, the entire story took place at Cimmeria Academy. I expected to learn what Night School is about halfway through the story, but no. Not even at the end of the story. We never know what Night School is, we never know why the villain targeted Allie, and we never know why Allie is special.

The Main Character

The novel was written in 1st PoV from Allie's side and introduced Allie as this delinquent with a taste for vandalism. The novel failed miserably at portraying Allie as a delinquent. The bad things Allie did at Cimmeria Academy were being a few minutes late to lunch and a few minutes late to class, both because Allie was new to place and didn't know how to get around yet. The other bad things were disobeying curfew time and trespassing because Allie was meeting friends, helping them, and staying alive. For a rebellious girl who got arrested three times in one year and kicked out of two schools, Allie was rather dull.

It was like the moment Allie stepped in the mysterious boarding school, Allie had a personality change. Hey, maybe that was what makes the boarding school so mysterious. Allie quickly acclimatized which was inconsistent with the novel introduction of her character as a brazen, excessive mascara-wearing, henna-dyed hair girl who loves her iPod and laptop. Cimmeria Academy has a weird ban on technology. I do not believe in its excuse of teaching the students on "how to amuse [themselves] in more traditional ways." The school didn't make much sense to me.

The Love Triangle

What also didn't make sense was Sylvain. Sylvain and Carter were Allie's love interests. Carter was the bad boy and Sylvain was the popular peer. Allie went from being disgusted at Carter's prickly attitude and dating Sylvain the sweet talker to being disgusted at Sylvain's girl-playing nature and dating Carter the misunderstood sweetheart. I didn't mind this actually; it was cliche but it wasn't irritating. The boys' reason why they took an interest in Allie were reasonable to me.

What I did mind was when at the end Sylvain decided he too was in love with Allie. The novel pushed the love triangle a few steps past my patience. The love triangle should have ended 2/3 of the book the way it was supposed to be. I do not care to seeing it be picked up again in book 2.

Conclusion

The writing was competent, but the plot needed a bit more work. The pacing was slow, but it was fine. I didn't feel the need to skim. I would have easily rated Night School the novel 3-stars if I knew what Night School the special class was about.

There were some twists that I didn't expect, and a few I didn't care for because they made the story more mysterious at the end when things should have been resolved. The ending was anticlimactic.

I rate Night School 2-stars for it was okay.

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