Review: Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hush, Hush

By Becca Fitzpatrick

Published by: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing

ISBN: 1416989412    (isbn13: 9781416989417)

400 Pages

Genre: Young Adult Fiction/Paranormal Romance

 

Product Description: For Nora Grey, romance was not part of the plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how much her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her. Not until Patch came along.

With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Nora is drawn to him against her better judgment.

But after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure who to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is, and to know more about her than her closest friends. She can't decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is way more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel.

For Nora is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen - and, when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost her life.

General Review: Hush, Hush is a sexy, mysterious, action-packed novel that will keep you turning the pages well into the night. Full of complex characters and twists and turns; Hush, Hush will keep you guessing who is the enemy (or enemies?) is until the reveal.

Likes: I really liked the “fallen angel” story line. I haven’t read anything about fallen angels. It seems like everything right now is about vampires, werewolves and faeries.

I also thought that Fitzpatrick did a great job describing the complexity of Nora’s emotions. One minute she’s captivated by Patch, the next she’s scared of him. Add in the attention of another teenage boy and you have some great teenage angst.

Dislikes: Nora’s BFF Vee drove me crazy!! At first I thought it was her immaturity that I didn’t like, but then I realized that every other teenager in the book acted way more mature then their age and she acted like a normal teenage girl. But still, I thought the author could have given Vee’s character a few more brain cells.

Judging a Book by its Cover: I was very fascinated by the cover art of this novel. I didn’t get the interpretation of it until I was well into the story.

Closing Comments: I’m usually skeptical when a book is overly hyped, but in my opinion, Hush, Hush lived up to all the talk. I was rather impressed that Hush, Hush is Becca Fitzpatrick’s first novel and there’s going to be a sequel, Crescendo. I can’t wait!!

Movie Review: New Moon

IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE BOOK, NEW MOON, AND YOU DO NOT WANT ANY SPOILERS, DO NOT READ THIS POST!!!

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I went to the 12:01am showing of New Moon this morning. My friend and I got to the movie theatre 2.5 hours early to get seats. To stay awake, because I worked all day at my job and didn’t get a nap before going to the theatre, I watched Twilight on my iPod.

I was a little leery going to the Midnight showing of New Moon because I was disappointed in the movie Twilight. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad The Twilight Saga is being made into a movie, but I thought Twilight was done very poorly. But I went to the the Midnight showing anyways because my best friend was going and I thought the experience would be fun.

Here are some of my thoughts about New Moon:

The special effects were well done. Edward’s “sparkling” was way better than in Twilight. It doesn’t look like he’s sweating. The Quileute's shifting into wolves was flawless. It didn’t look choppy at all. The CGI wolves were a little on the unrealistic side, but it didn’t ruin the movie for me. The special effects in Twilight really disappointed me. I thought the running and climbing of trees looked extremely fake.

The quality of the film was much better. New Moon didn’t have the shaky, indie feel that Twilight did. It looked like a well done Hollywood blockbuster. I think having a much bigger budget and a different director definitely helped.

The dialogue was a lot lighter and funnier. I found myself laughing out loud a lot throughout the movie. The script for New Moon wasn’t as moody as Twilight. The secondary characters were very witty. I especially loved Charlie, Bella’s dad and the Quileute boys.

The story line for the movie stayed very close to the book. Obviously when Hollywood turns a book into a movie, they embellish it. I thought the parts where the movie strayed from the book were appropriate and added to the plot.

The action scenes were intense. From the wolf fights (Paul and Jake), to the Volturi throw down (not in the book, but I thought it was pretty cool), the action sequences were really well choreographed. Not very realistic, but keep in mind that the wolves and the vampires are supernatural creatures. 

There was very little about the movie I didn’t like. I might even go see it again, because the teenage girls kept applauding and screaming at the beginning when Edward or Jacob came on scene. That was very annoying.

I recommend The Twilight Saga: New Moon to anyone who is a fan of the series and to those who are skeptical. In my opinion, New Moon was so well done, you don’t even need to be familiar with the books or watch Twilight first to know what’s going on.

An Update

It’s been a while since I’ve updated my blog. Besides working crazy long hours at work, let’s see what I’ve been up to, shall we?

On Sunday I went to the Seahawks game!!! I got tickets from a co-worker. I’ve been to a ton of Mariner games, but I’ve never seen the Seahawks live. My friend and I had a lot of fun and the Seahawks even won!! Here are a few pictures taken from my iPhone from my seat:

 

I’ve recently joined the gym. Usually I walk or ride my bike on a trail near my house, but it’s dark when I wake up and dark when I get home from work. Yesterday, I met with a personal trainer, who went over a fitness plan for me and showed my how to use the machines without looking like an idiot. Now I’m sore, but it’s the good kind of pain that produces results.

Now here’s what I haven’t been up to:

I haven’t updated my blog lately with any book review, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been reading! I have a stack of books anxiously waiting to be reviewed. Here’s a little preview, listed in no particular review order:

Stealing Death by Janet Lee Carey

I went to the Launch Party for this book a few months ago, where I picked up an autographed copy of this book.

 

 

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

This is the debut book by Becca Fitzpatrick. Will it live up to all the hype? Checked out from my local library.

 

 

The Bringer of War by Dylan Birtolo

How will this stand alone sequel compare to its predecessor, The Shadow Chaser? Purchased from the author.

 

 

The Victor by Marlayne Giron

The author contacted me from a comment I left on someone else’s review of this book! I never turn down a review copy.

 

 

Sanctuary by N.E. Julian

I received a review copy of this book from the author.

 

 

Dreamer by Philip L. Davidson

I received a review copy from the author.

 

 

 

I also have not started my novel for NaNoWriMo yet. Yes, I am officially freaking out. I have been thinking (ok, stressing!!) about this since before November 1. I have a 4-day weekend this weekend, so guess what I’m gonna start right after I post this?

In other news, I won a Radiohead CD from Shelley at Layers of Thought!! Yay!! I love free stuff and surprisingly I don’t already own this CD.

If you don’t already, I highly recommend you check out Logan’s Writing Wednesdays on his blog, Rememorandom. Each Wednesday, Logan posts a new segment of his various writing projects. He recently finished Part 1 of a serial story and has moved onto an epic poem that I found very impressive.