Book Review: I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga

Title: I Hunt Killers
Author: Barry Lyga
Publisher: Little Brown Books
Release Date: April 3, 2012
Rating: 4/5

Cover Impressions: The cover is a little too dark for my liking.  I would have preferred to see a little more of the silhouette.  The title is really intriguing and catches the eye as it sits front and center. 

The Gist: Jazz is the son of the most prolific serial killer that the US has ever seen.  While other children were learning to play catch, Billy Dent was teaching Jazz how to pick, stalk, and murder his "prospects".  When bodies once again appear in Lobo's Nob, Jazz is convinced that it is the work of a new serial killer and he is determined to worm his way into the investigation at once, finding a killer, clearing his name and testing his own boundaries in the sight of mutilation and murder.

Review: I Hunt Killers provides a unique perspective as we explore the mind of Jasper "Jazz" Dent, a boy who was raised on murder and mayhem.  With his father in prison on multiple life sentences, Jazz struggles with his personal demons while he attempts to create some semblance of a normal life in the town that Billy terrorized.  Jazz is a fantastically complex character.  Throughout his investigation, he uses some of the skills that Dear Old Dad taught him while vehemently denying others.  Jazz is the type of character that you want to hug, shake and slap all in the same breath.  He is flanked by Howie, a hilarious hemophiliac and Connie, his take-no-shit girlfriend.  The secondary characters are quite well written and add a great deal to the overall storyline and to keeping Jazz human.

I did find the plot a little slow going at times.  There was quite a bit of teen angst as Jazz tries to sort through how much of his personality is his own and how much was placed there as he trained to be Billy's protege.  There are a few plot twists that are fairly easy to see coming but the novel is enjoyable overall.  I think this was a great introduction but I believe the truly engrossing reads are going to come further along in the series when Jazz confronts both his past and his mass-murdering father.

This books is DARK.  I will NOT BE RECOMMENDING THIS TO MY STUDENTS.  There are scenes of extreme violence and gore.  There are disturbing moments that would provide nightmares to the most stoic of teens and there is language that would make a hooker blush.  I can only imagine the phone calls from irate parents if I were to send this book home with their kid.  If you are a parent considering this book for your older teen, ask yourself if you think they enjoy/can handle tv shows like Criminal Minds which often involve kidnapping, torture, and gruesome murders. 

Teaching/Parental Notes:

Age: 16 and up
Gender: Both
Sex: Discussion of sex, Kissing, Some Groping
Violence: LOTS AND VARIED.  Murder by strangulation, murder by injection of chemicals, talk of rape, description of violence and crime scenes. 
Inappropriate Language: Ass, Douche, Whores, Bastard, Dick, Pussy, Titties
Substance Use/Abuse:  None.

Notable Quotables:

"'Me, personally?' Howie asked. 'I usually carry all my corpses downhill.  Easier on the back'"
"He easily gather her in his arms; Gramma was made up of skin and bones and hate and crazy - and hate and crazy don't weigh anything"

Waiting on Wednesday (12)

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is: The Unquiet by Jeannine Garsee which is due to be released on July 17.

Sixteen-year-old Rinn Jacobs has secrets: One, she’s bipolar. Two, she killed her grandmother.

After a suicide attempt, and now her parents' separation, Rinn and her mom move from California to the rural Ohio town where her mother grew up. Back on her medications and hoping to stay well, Rinn settles into her new home, undaunted by the fact that the previous owner hanged herself in Rinn's bedroom. At school, her classmates believe the school pool is haunted by Annaliese, a girl who drowned there. But when a reckless séance goes awry, and terrible things start happening to her new friends—yet not to her—Rinn is determined to find out why she can’t be "touched" by Annaliese...or if Annaliese even exists.

With the help of Nate Brenner, the hunky “farmer boy” she’s rapidly falling for, Rinn devises a dangerous plan to uncover the truth. Soon reality and fantasy meld into one, till Rinn finds it nearly impossible to tell the difference. When a malevolent force threatens the lives of everyone she cares about--not to mention her own--she can't help wondering: who should she really be afraid of?

Annaliese? Or herself?

I am hoping for a creepy story with twists and turns and NO INSTALOVE!  

Top Ten Tuesday (10)

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week will feature a new Top Ten list . Everyone is welcome to join.

This week's topic is a freebie, so I am choosing:

Top Ten Books thus far in 2012

Some of these are books that were released in 2012, some are books that I just READ in 2012.  They are also in no particular order because I loved all of them for very different reasons.

Book Review: Lost in the River of Grass by Ginny Rorby

Title: Lost in the River of Grass
Author: Ginny Rorby
Publisher: Carolrhoda Books
Release Date: Feb 9, 2011
Rating: 5/5

Cover Impressions: Not a huge fan of the cover.  Don't get me wrong, the alligator on a whole new level of scary, but there is something with the title and the font that makes this feel like a homemade job.

The Gist: Feeling like an outcast on a school trip to the Everglades, Sarah fakes sick in order to explore the swamp with Andy, a local boy.  When a simple mistake leaves them stranded, they begin the harrowing trek back to civilization, facing the Everglades in all their danger and splendor.

Review: I was immensely surprised by this novel.  In fact, I read it in a day.  Were it not for the disruptions of my 9 mth old, I probably would have read it in one sitting without so much as a bathroom break.

Rorby has created characters that are undeniably realistic.  They are flawed, impatient and self-absorbed in a way that only teenagers can be.  At the beginning of the book, Sarah is painfully lonely and attempts to simply keep her head down and avoid the mockery of her classmates.  She is afraid of everything in the swamp and whines incessantly.  By the end, however, she has proven her bravery time and time again and come to appreciate the beauty of the swamp (despite the fact that nearly everything in it wanted to eat her!).  Andy has lived his whole life in the Everglades.  He is very typical of any teenage boy - risking the ire of his parents in order to impress a pretty girl.  Despite his willingness to take charge, he falters several times and leaves Sarah certain that she must orchestrate her own rescue.

The characters are well written, but where Rorby really shines is in the plot and the pacing.  This is a novel that never left me bored.  The moments where Sarah and Andy came into (far too close) contact with the wildlife of the Everglades were always tense and often terrifying.  To say that I was absorbed in the story would be an understatement as I found myself holding my breath for many of these encounters and praying that the characters (and Teapot) would come out unscathed. 

**SPOILERS AHEAD**

One of the issues that I had at the beginning of the novel was that no real physical description of Sarah was provided.  Without these details, I was forced to pull her image together on my own.  Towards the end of the novel, however, it is revealed that Sarah is black and that clearly, this information was withheld on purpose.  This information sheds new light onto several scenes from earlier in the book and elevates this novel from one that merely celebrates two young people's strength and instinct to survive, to one that challenges preconceptions and forces the reader to examine their own worldview. 

Lost in the River of Grass should appeal to both male and female teen readers (and adults of course) and would provide an excellent jumping off point for discussion of bias, presumption and how new information can change how a story is viewed.

Teaching/Parental Notes:

Age: 12 and up
Gender: Both
Sex: Kissing
Violence: Animal attacks
Inappropriate Language: Asses
Substance Use/Abuse:  Discussion of marijuana use

Stacking The Shelves (5)

Stacking The Shelves hosted by Tynga's Reviews.  It is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

EARCS I Got This Week:

I also won a paperback copy of Dark Frost from a Goodreads: First Reads contest.

Feature & Follow Friday (7)

Feature & Follow is hosted by Parajunkee & Alison Can Read

This week's question is:

Jumping Genres: Ever pick up a book from a genre you usually don’t like and LOVE it? Tell us about it and why you picked it up in the first place.

I have been doing that a lot actually.  Mostly because I started this blog and wanted it to better reflect the various genres and because with Goodreads, NetGalley and Edelweiss, I am coming across fun and interesting books from many genres that I never would have found on my own.  

The first time that I remember branching out and LOVING a book was in my Science Fiction and Fantasy course in University.  Our prof chose Ender's Game as required reading.  I never read Science Fiction and I didn't have high hopes but I ended up loving every minute of it.  The characters were wonderful and the plot was riveting.  I still recommend it to my students (though I take issue with the author's personal politics - but that is a discussion for another day).  

 I haven't really picked up any Science Fiction in the last little while, so I would love any recommendations!

 Here are some of the other "Jumping Genres" titles that I have enjoyed in the last few months:

Romance 

 Fantasy  

YA Contemporary Fiction

YA Sports Fiction

Memoir

 

Book Review: The River Witch by Kimberly Brock

Title: The River Witch
Author: Kimberly Brock
Publisher: Bell Bridge Books
Release Date: April 6, 2012
Rating: 4/5

Cover Impressions: The cover is pretty but were I to see it on a bookshelf I am not sure that it would stand out enough to entice me to buy it. 

The Gist: Former ballerina Rosyln Byrne lost everything that defined her in one fell swoop.  She has retreated to a remote Georgia island in the hopes that solitude and serenity will allow her to patch up her broken life.  Instead she finds herself in the middle of another shattered family and in the path of a little girl desperately seeking something magical.

Review: Every summer I tend to feel the urge to dive into the world of magical realism.  The River Witch falls into that category, but also offers up something unexpected.  The setting of this novel makes for a fantastic summer read.  It left me longing for a big old house with lots of history and a river with more than a little danger.  As the days start to stretch, the thought of retreated to an island and escaping the stress of everyday life is more than a little tempting.

This is not a novel with a fast paced plot and the story clearly falls on the character's very capable shoulders.  Rosyln has an impressive voice and her pain is almost palpable as she reflects on losing her child and the life she left behind in her mountain home.  The music from her homeland weaves in and out of the narrative, binding it beautifully together.  Ten year old Damascus is outspoken, precocious and utterly charming.  She is especially broken by the loss of her mother and her father's inability to fulfill his role as caregiver.  While searching for answers inside a pumpkin seed, she and Rosyln slowly allow themselves to open up to the idea of being cared for.

This is not a novel for the thrill seeking or action obsessed.  The plot unwinds slowly, like a lazy afternoon, and wraps itself around your heart.  The writing is beautiful and gentle, occasionally erupting with witty moments (usually through Damascus).  Brock weaves a story of regret and eschews the easy, romantic route that sometimes defines this genre.  There are no storybook endings here, but what the reader does get is a much more realistic portrayal of human nature and the strength of history and family. 

A stunning debut novel and a wonderful addition to anyone's summer reading.

*Note: This is an adult novel, so I have no included my regular Teaching/Parental Notes.