Deadly Cool by Gemma Halliday

Rating: 5/5 (It was amazing!)
Pages: 320
Genre: Murder Mystery


Summary (from Goodreads.com)
Hartley Grace Featherstone is having a very bad day. First she finds out that her boyfriend is cheating on her with the president of the Herbert Hoover High School Chastity Club. Then he's pegged as the #1 suspect in a murder. And if that weren't enough, now he's depending on Hartley to clear his name. Seriously? Not cool.

But as much as Hartley wouldn't mind seeing him squirm, she knows he's innocent, and she's the only one who can help him. Along with her best friend, Sam, and the school's resident Bad Boy, Chase, Hartley starts investigating on her own. But as the dead bodies begin to pile up, the mystery deepens, the suspects multiply, and Hartley begins to fear that she may be the killer's next victim.

My Thoughts
There’s nothing more comforting than a murder mystery with a character with your name in it that happens to be an airhead, and then later is murdered. Yay me!

Despite Deadly Cool’s odd plot about a girl helping clear the name of her boyfriend, ahem, correction ex-boyfriend who cheated on her, the story turned out to be quite interesting, and actually a good read. The book came with some witty humor while being able to hold its serious context.

Although, it was cliché in parts referring to Nancy Drew and a few stereotypical characters that were easy to pick out from the crowd, I felt the main character, Hartley, had a lot to offer and I enjoyed reading about what she had to say and what she felt, regardless of her pathetic inability to lie about her sneaking around.

All in all, this light-hearted murder mystery was a nice change from the paranormal young adult novel swarming the bookshelves of bookstores, while being fast-paced and easy-to-read.

Ripple by Mandy Hubbard

Pages: 260
Genre: Romantic Fantasy
Rating: 5/5



Summary
After Steven died, Lexi realized she was cursed with a dark secret. Each day she goes to school like a normal teenager, and each night she must swim in her quiet lake as the siren she is. Lexi didn’t have any intention to kill Steven or anyone else; therefore she shut herself out from the world, vowing to protect her friends and family.

But suddenly, she’s caught between Cole, the new boy at school who may have the power to melt her icy exterior, and a handsome water spirit who says he can break Lexi's curse if she gives up everything else. Lexi is faced with the hardest decision she's ever had to make: the life she's always longed for - or the love she can't live without?


My Personal Thoughts

There’s something different about Ripple than anything else I’ve ever read, something about the way it’s written, the characters, the curse… It was a real current ride where I just didn’t know where I was going to end up next.

Mandy Hubbard lays it on thick that the protagonist, Lexi, is suffering deeply, drowning in sorrow, and treading water just to keep her friends safe and sound. Lexi isn’t exactly The Little Mermaid like most would expect, she’s a siren, a killer, forced to swim at night rather than sleep. I found myself rooting for Lexi to swim through those murky waters and find freedom. I wanted her to go back to her old life, her friends, to enjoy it. Yet, I love the dark brooding secret she harbors. It’s intriguing and I loved every word of it!


Anticipating, dark, and lovable, Ripple is short and to the point rather than annoyingly drawn out. It’s a book that girls would mainly enjoy, anyone in high school, and it’s not a challenging read, but it does make you think and wonder.

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

Genre: Tragedy
Rating:3
Pages: 328

"My name was Salmon like the fish, first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973.” -Susie

Summary

In heaven Susie Salmon is adjusting to her new home in heaven while she watches life on Earth carry on without her. She can only observe while her friends trade rumours about her disappearance, scrutinize over her killer covering his tracks and painfully watch her broken-hearted grieving family’s strong relationships loosen and gradually unravel.

Why Read It?

The Lovely Bones is worth reading because of the thought put into it. The way it describes a tragic loss of a young girl, how it interprets a family struggling to cope and the thoughts of the murderer who attempts to cover his involvement is just so breath-taking you’ll be in sync with Susie yourself.



My Thoughts

Although what I said about The Lovely Bones in the “Why Read It?” section there are a few things you might like to know before picking up this book. Number one, it’s not a thriller; it has more to do with the relationships of the family. Number two, some of it is very graphic and may make you feel uncomfortable. And number three, let’s face it, it isn’t the happiest story in the world; it’s a very tragic story.
This book is a very mature read and that’s why I had a hard time reading it mostly because it was slow-paced. Besides those three things that I just informed you of, which you may not mind, which is great this book might be a good one for you to read, the book is actually astonishing and Alice Sebold did an excellent job of capturing the characters actions and emotions.
My point that I am trying to get across here is that I had a lot of trouble reading this book for two reasons... it was extremely sad and very slow paced, therefore it may not be the best teen read: But still an excellent well-written novel... That I don’t believe I will be reading again until I am in my forties.