Here’s a book I went into with no preconceived notions about - heck, I didn’t even read the synopsis! I picked it off bookoutlet.ca to complete an order for free shipping, and because I wanted another YA book. Colour me surprised when I read the back and it said that one of my favourite comedians, John Mulaney, had reviewed it! I was hoping at that moment that I was in for a treat!
“Geeze Louise, for such a small town, there sure are a lot of murders in Friendship, Wisconsin. After helping to catch the man who murdered her best friend, Kippy Bushman was looking forward to life returning to normal. Well, at least as normal as it could get in a town like hers. But then the unthinkable happens: Kippy finds her boyfriend, Davey, in his house, barely breathing and surrounded by pills and empty beer bottles. The sheriff is quick to rule the incident an attempted suicide, but Kippy refuses to believe it. She and Davey are completely in love; there’s no way he’d ever hurt himself. Right? Kippy swears she saw someone else at Davey’s house that night and is convinced that person tried to murder him. Without any real evidence, though, no one—not even Kippy’s own father—believes her. So she has no choice but to team up with her former nemesis, Bible-thumping Libby, to try to catch this new killer. But in a town where everyone has their own secrets and a next-door neighbor could be a serial killer, who’s left to trust?”
And a treat it was! For a bit. It started strong, then faltered when it started trying too hard to be hip with social justice and feminism. There was a bit too much telling when it should have been showing.
But today I’m not here to review the book, because it was mediocre. It took less than 2 hours to read. Cute cover, though.
No, today the real treat is what I learned about the author, and what she did when her first book (this is the sequel) came out and got a negative review by a book reviewer.
First, read this article by the author:
Then read this breakdown of the events the author describes in her article:
This saga is more interesting than this book, for your information. I'll take true crime over fiction any day.
And for any disgruntled author mad about any reviews I post, at least follow through and knock on the door. I’ll invite you in for hot chocolate as I call the cops.
Happy reading,
Holly
Comentarios