Book: Hush, Hush, #1 of 3
Series: Hush, Hush Saga
Author: Becca Fitzpatrick
Publisher and Publication Date: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Pages: 432
Genre: YA, Paranormal Romance
Rating: 
My Review in a Nutshell:
An author who I idolize once told me that her books would not be sold in stores due to “non-interesting covers”. This is the sad, sad world we live in, books are chosen by covers and not what is inside. I guess some people have forgotten to not judge a book by its cover- including myself. I was immediately transfixed by the cover of Hush, Hush, but sadly disappointed when I began reading.
What’s It All About?
Nora is all books and no play, until bad-boy Patch is paired up with her in Biology. He infuriated her immediately with his “I don’t give a shit” attitude and mysterious past. Nora becomes obsessed with finding out his back-story, and why he has mysterious scars on his back that resemble wings. But the further she investigates, the more danger she seems to encounter- a stalker is after her, and whoever they are, they want to hurt her.
My Thoughts?
This book reminded me of a 1990’s MTV original movie: predictable ending, random behavior, and a tad cheesy. Nora started out as a solid character and slowly turned schizophrenic on me. One minute she is of sound mind, the next she is jumping to crazy conclusions that lead to dangerous (and ignorant) behavior. None of it made sense, to be honest. As for Patch, he was just a creepy dick-head; in real life I would’ve ran him over. I’m not usually the one to scream “abuse” while reading (looking at you, Twilight Haters), but this calls for an exception. The entire relationship gave me a dirty feeling, and it was meant to be ‘romantic’, ugh.
Even with less than stellar characters, I decided to stick with it. I wanted to know how it ended, so I did stay engaged. Although the plot moved entirely too fast in several different directions, causing more confusion. Everything seemed random and disorganized. I figured it would come together eventually, so I stopped pulling my hair out while trying to figure it out. In the end, it made about 50% sense.
I would recommend this book to a young teen, not a young adult. I imagine a fifteen year old girl would like this book. As long as she knows the difference between an abusive and healthy relationship beforehand. Kudos on the effort, though. Maybe the next one is more structured?
