Review: Violent Ends

TITLE: Violent Ends
AUTHORS: Shaun David Hutchinson, Kendare Blake, Steve Brezenott, Delilah S. Dawson, Trish Doller, Margie Gelbwasser, E.M. Kokie, Cynthia Leitich Smith, Tom Leveen, Hannah Moskowitz, Elisa Nader, Beth Revis, Mindi Scott, Neal Schusterman, Brandon Schusterman, Courtney Summers, Blythe Woolston, Christine Johnson
PUBLISHER: Simon Pulse
PUBLICATION DATE: 9/1/2015
FORMAT: Hardcover
PAGES: 352
SOURCE: Library

INSIDE COVER BLURB: It took only twenty-two minutes for Kirby Matheson to exit his car, march onto school grounds, enter the gymnasium, and open fire, killing six and injuring five others.

But this isn't a story about the shooting itself. This isn't about recounting that one unforgettable day.

This is about Kirby and how one boy--who had friends, enjoyed reading, played saxophone in the band, and had never been in trouble before--became a monster capable of entering his school with a loaded gun and firing on his classmates.

Each chapter is told from a different viewpoint, giving insight into who Kirby was and who he'd become. Some are sweet, some are dark some are seemingly unrelated, about fights or first kisses or late-night parties. This is a book of perspectives--with one character and one event drawing them all together.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: I was so interested in the idea behind this book. The subject matter is one that is really interest me, but the idea of 17 perspectives all written by different authors was really intriguing to me.

I could not stop reading this book. It was so gripping and intense. I loved all of the different perspectives and how they tied together so well to make one complete story. The whole story was so tragic and sad, but all so good and captivating.


I like how you didn't know which author wrote which perspective as you were reading it (unless you flipped to the back to find out). It made me enjoy the story more as a whole instead of going in to each chapter with a bias based on my like or dislike of any specific author.

The chapter written from the gun's perspective was really interesting. I've never read anything from the perspective of an inanimate object before, and I thought it was a unique spin.

I thought the book ended in a weird place. I'm not really sure there was a good moment to end this book though, so I don't know how it could have been done any different.


COVER: The cover is haunting. Something about an empty school is just spooky on it's own, but when you have a subject matter like this, it just makes it all the more chilling.

MY RATING:

Servants of the Storm Review

Goodreads

TITLE: Servants of the Storm

AUTHOR: Delilah S. Dawson

PUBLISHER: Simon Pulse

PUBLICATION DATE: 8/5/2014

PAGES: 384

MY RATING:

**I received an ARC of this book from Amazon Vine for my honest review.**

BACK COVER SUMMARY: A year ago Hurricane Josephine swept through Savannah, Georgia, leaving behind nothing but death and destruction--and taking the life of Dovey's best friend, Carly. Since that night, Dovey has been in a medicated haze, numb to everything around her.

But recently she's started to believe she's seeing things that can't be real...including Carly at their favorite cafe. Determined to learn the truth, Dovey stops taking her pills. And the world that opens up to her is unlike anything she could have imagined.

As Dovey slips deeper into the shadowy corners of Savannah--where the dark and horrifying secrets lurk--she leans that the storm that destroyed her city and stole her friend was much more than a force of nature. And now the sinister beings truly responsible are out to finish what they started.

Dovey's running out of time and torn between two paths. Will she trust her childhood friend Baker, who can't see the threatening darkness but promises never to give up on Dovey or Carly? Or will she plot with the sexy stranger, Isaac, who offers all the answers--for a price? Soon Dovey starts to realize that the danger closing in might have little to do with Carly...and everything to do with Dovey herself.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: The first chapter hooked me into the story. The beginning of the book was very strange and mysterious and then it started to remind me of City of Bones with the mysterious boy and the night club with strange characters, as well as a few other similarities that I don't want to get into because of spoilers. But I definitely enjoyed this story. It did have a few moments where it started to drag a little bit for me, but overall I really enjoyed it and liked how it all came together. The ending was the perfect ending for a horror type book and I thought it was great.

CHARACTERS: There is a dreaded love triangle in this book which is annoying and I wish I never had to read about another one those again, but it is what it is. I really like Isaac. He's mysterious and protective, and just an all around fun guy.

COVER: 5/5. The cover of this book freaks me out so bad, but I love that because while I despise scary movies, I love scary books and the cover of this makes me think this book will be terrifying.