Review: You Killed Wesley Payne by Sean Beaudoin

You Killed Wesley Payne

Author: Sean Beaudoin

Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers

Series: N/A

Pages: 368

Genre: Mystery

Release Date: February 1, 2011

How Received: Publisher

Summary: He’s come to do a job.
A job that involves a body.
A body wrapped in duct tape found hanging from the goal posts at the end of the football field.

You killed Wesley Payne is a truly original and darkly hilarious update of classic pulp-noir, in which hard-boiled seventeen year-old Dalton Rev transfers to the mean hallways of Salt River High to take on the toughest case of his life. The question isn’t whether he’s going to get paid. He always gets paid. Or whether he’s gonna get the girl. He always sometimes gets the girl. The real question is whether Dalton Rev can outwit crooked cops and killer cliques in time to solve the mystery of “The Body” before it solves him.

My Thoughts:

You Killed Wesley Payne is among my list for “most unique books ever read”. We follow the storyline in Dalton’s perspective as he enters Salt River High to solve a mystery. Salt Water High is one of the most interesting high schools I’ve ever read about. Teenagers used to carry guns in the hall ways, and the school system is so corrupt that you need to pay people to get anything—even your own school schedule. I’m not sure about you guys, but I have never encountered any high school like Salt Water in real life. I’d be broke a hundred times over if I went there.

That being said, the novel was highly entertaining and very humorous. Something was always making fun of something else, and a lot of the ideas in the book are far-fetched. (See above paragraph for crazy high school). There were a couple of times where I laughed out loud (in a good way) from the absurdity of some of the things/ideas in the book.

In Salt River, there are a ton of cliques. And when I say a ton, I mean a toooon. I had a bit of troubling remembering which clique was which, and which clique was a sub-clique of a clique. There is a sort of glossary of cliques in the front of the book, but each clique had a description that I can only describe as a wall of text. Normally, I don’t mind reading stuff like that. However, when I’m in the middle of the story, I just want to focus on the story. My mind tends to wander, so after having read a big description on a clique, I’ll forget why I was looking it up in the first place. The cliques are a very important factor into the book, because everyone seems to take their cliques very seriously. Once you’re in a clique, you live and breathe just your clique.

Like cliques, there were also a ton of references in You Killed Wesley Payne. That may not seem like such a bad thing, but there were so many references that the glossary-of-references was about 12 pages long. I could guess what most of the references or slang were because of the context they were used in, but someone else might get confused by that – especially since I personally didn’t know there even was a glossary until I finished the book.

As far as characters go, I think I enjoyed reading about Dalton and Ronnie Newport the most. Dalton was a generally good guy, and I enjoyed reading the way he rationalized about things. He always did his best, even though it seemed like he was doing nothing at all. Ronnie, well... Ronnie was just Ronnie. Out of all the characters, he was the coolest and the least cold-hearted of the bunch.

And lastly, the mystery... All I’ll say about the mystery is that everyone is not who you think they are. Predictability-wise, I was able to guess who killed Wesley Payne the moment they were introduced, but I think that was just pure luck with a wild guess based on previous mystery novels read.

Cover Musings: It’s alright. I love the outline for Dalton. But as far as attention catching goes, I’m not sure I’d pick it up based on the cover alone.

Memorable Quotes:

“Or haven’t you noticed? The only thing that matters is to act like you don’t care. And don’t say a word. Something really bad happens? Pretend it doesn’t exist. Move on. Keep working the rackets. I mean, there’s people shooting off the rooftops, for Bob’s sake, and it’s like, hey, just another day in geography class.” (pg. 64)

Dalton peered over a cardboard box full of disassembled Christmas tree parts. In the back corner, a large, dark shadow flickered, moving slightly. It was hard to tell if the thing was ducking between boxes, or if it was the effect of the bare bulb hanging over the utility sink.

The one that Dalton hadn’t turned on.

Run. Scream.

There had to be a better option.

Pee pants? (pg. 106)

Mole pulled the Kia next to Dalton’s scooter and revved the engine. “Love you, man.”
“Okay,” Dalton said.
“Okay? Okay, guy? What’s that all about? Where’re the warriors expressing their true feelings in a manly but totally expressive way before going into battle?”
“We’re not going into battle.” (pg. 249)

He wanted to ask what you did when you thought you knew someone, when you let down your defenses and let them see a part of you that you didn’t even know was there, and then it turned out you didn’t know them at all. He wanted to ask what you did when there was no way to scream loud enough or run fast enough or punch something hard enough. When there was just another morning and just another lawn and not a single thing to look forward to. Ever. (pg. 301-302)

“Mom says the doctor says I have ADD. You know what that stands for?”
“Attention Deficit Disorder?”
“No. It means Absolute Dictatorship, Dude. It means I was born to be in charge.” (pg. 309)

Overall Thoughts/Final Comments: Overall, You Killed Wesley Payne was a highly humorous novel that’s loaded with mystery around every corner. Not everyone is who you think they are, and alliances between cliques can go from friendly to assaultive in the matter of minutes. It isn’t the best book out there, but I did enjoy reading it a lot. There were a ton of references and cliques that were hard to grasp during the first 100-or-so pages, but there’s a glossary provided for both in the front and back of the books. If Dalton’s stories were made into a sequel, I’d definitely pick another one up!

Rating: 4/5

**I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Choker by Elizabeth Woods

Choker

Author: Elizabeth Woods

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Series: N/A

Pages: 240

Genre: Thriller

Release Date: January 4, 2011

How Received: GalleyGrab

Summary: Sixteen-year-old Cara Lange has been a loner ever since she moved away from her best and only friend, Zoe, years ago. She eats lunch with the other girls from the track team, but they're not really her friends. Mostly she spends her time watching Ethan Gray from a distance, wishing he would finally notice her, and avoiding the popular girls who call her "Choker" after a humiliating incident in the cafeteria.

Then one day Cara comes home to find Zoe waiting for her. Zoe's on the run from problems at home, and Cara agrees to help her hide. With her best friend back, Cara's life changes overnight. Zoe gives her a new look and new confidence, and the next thing she knows, she's getting invited to parties and flirting with Ethan. Best of all, she has her BFF there to confide in.

But just as quickly as Cara's life came together, it starts to unravel. A girl goes missing in her town, and everyone is a suspect--including Ethan. Worse still, Zoe starts behaving strangely, and Cara begins to wonder what exactly her friend does all day when she's at school. You're supposed to trust your best friend no matter what, but what if she turns into a total stranger? 

My Thoughts:

If I could describe Choker in two words, they would be: twisted and disturbing. That pink cover really threw me for a loop – I hadn’t anticipated how twisted this book would be. (I mean, really, poisoning a poor dog?! And that isn’t even the end of it!) Or how much of a psychological aspect would be involved in the book.

Cara, the main character, is a very quiet girl. She doesn’t speak up for herself and she’s mostly left on her own most of the time. She has to endure very harsh bullying from several people in highschool. It was disheartening to watch her go through with that. While I’m a quiet girl and could identify with her through that aspect, I also knew how to stand up for myself (more or less). It was a bit aggravating to see Cara going through all the crap she went through; I wanted to shake her, or at least stand up for her. No one stood up for her.

Zoe, Cara’s best friend, was just plain creepy. Even from the beginning. I mean, if my best friend that I haven’t seen for years showed up in my dark bed room (the house was locked), I would have freaked the hell out and probably kick her to the curb. You can tell right from the get-go that something isn’t quite right with Zoe. Half of the things she says or does are just plain twisted, creepy, and any other adjectives there are for creepy. She’s definitely the strong one in the friendship, and the strength she brought Cara was one of Zoe’s redeeming aspects.

The title, Choker, plays into the book in so many ways. Cara ends up choking on a piece of carrot and has to get CPR. She nearly dies in front of a lot of people, and what do they do? Start calling her “Choker” and mock her by pretend-choking. They claim she choked just to get some attention. It was really sad, actually.

The plot to Choker is pretty predictable. I ended up guessing a lot of what happened early on, but that surprisingly didn’t take away from the book. I still wanted to know what happened in between the gaps. The mystery and suspense for this book was really killer (no pun intended). It was built up overtime: we’d get a few scenes away from all of the suspense, and then a few suspenseful chapters, and vice versa. There were a couple of times when this slow build up drove me crazy – I wanted to know what the heck was going on!

I am a wuss. Truly. Anything even remotely scary terrifies me. Choker ended up terrifying me, because I was reading it at 2AM and there were unexplained noises going on in my house. Just thinking about what happened in Choker gives me goosebumps. A couple of the scenes were so suspenseful that I had to do double-checks that no one was behind me or in the room. And my god, that ending! That ending really blew me away. I gasped, my jaw dropped, a couple of flies flew in, my eyes bulged – yknow, the whole shabang.  It was crazy. I could see it coming (though I didn’t think the entirety of it), but it still blew me away because it was unexpected. Does that make sense? It’s something easy to predict, but it caught me off guard.

Cover Musings: The fact that such a dark and disturbing book has a pink cover is... (for lack of a better word) disturbing. I mean, I like it and all. It’s pretty. I love the font, the rose (thorned), and the POV of staring up to the top of the trees. But seeing this cover for this book is just... really disturbing. Misleading, as well. But I love how you could probably break this cover down and actually attempt to interpret it (as my old english teachers probably would). Like the contrast of the light, pale colors (goodness, purity), and the darker color of the title (evil, darkness). But since I'm a lazy sod (I have Brodie to thank for that term :P), I'll just leave it at it was pretty, if only disturbing. 

Memorable Quotes:

Her lungs were sending distress signals through her body. She could feel her chest tightening. Her eyes bulging, she waved her hands. Choking, I’m choking, she tried to telegraph. She tried to retch, but she felt the carrot lodge even more firmly in her throat. The noise around her swirled in a colorful chaos.

I’m dying, and no one’s going to notice. (pg. 12)

“Oh my God,” she said to the ceiling tiles. An entire conversation with Ethan Gray—and he saw her in her sports bra—and he gave her two compliments. Cara rose from the mat and made her way toward the showers on unsteady legs. Next Prince William was going to call from England and ask her to marry him. (pg. 73)

"I just feel out of place. It’s actually kind of like what you were talking about before, how you felt in middle school. Except it’s still happening to me. Like I think people are watching me, but I don’t know how to act or what to say. It just seems easier to stay out of the way.” (pg. 110)

Cara forced a little laugh. “Listen, Zoe. Did you have anything to do... with... Alexis going missing?” Just then, she felt a searing pain on her neck. She screamed and jerked away violently, knocking over her chair. She clapped a hand on the back of her neck as if to protect it. Zoe stood there, holding the burning flatiron.

“I’m sorry,” she said, but she didn’t look that sorry. “I must have had it up too high.” (pg. 186)

I did something bad, Cara. But it’s not anything worse than what he did to me. (pg. 210)

Overall Thoughts/Final Comments: Choker was so messed up and twisted, but it was also such a great book. Reading about Cara and her every day troubles and her progressing relationship with Ethan was very realistic. Then watching as the glory she had just gained disintegrate was so disheartening. The ending was... Holy crap, the ending was... it left me speechless. I sort of saw it coming, but I hadn’t anticipated the depth of my prediction. Very twistastic. There were two, and I only guessed one. And despite the fact that there were murders and that animals were harmed in the reading of this book, I would definitely recommend it!

Rating: 4/5

*This review was submitted in the 2011 Debut Author Challenge!

**I received a digital copy of Choker from the publisher, Simon and Schuster, through GalleyGrab. 

Review: The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting

The Body Finder

Author: Kimberly Derting

Publisher: Harper Collins

Series: The Body Finder #1

Pages: 336

Genre: Paranormal

Release Date: March 16, 2010

How Received: Library

Summary: Violet Ambrose is grappling with two major issues: Jay Heaton and her morbid secret ability. While the sixteen-year-old is confused by her new feelings for her best friend since childhood, she is more disturbed by her “power” to sense dead bodies—or at least those that have been murdered. Since she was a little girl, she had felt the echoes the dead leave behind in the world... and the imprints that attach to their killers.

Violet has never considered her strange talent to be a gift; it mostly just led her to find dead birds her cat left for her. But now that a serial killer is terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he’s claimed haunt her daily, Violet realizes she might be the only person who can stop him.

Despite his fierce protectiveness over her, Jay reluctantly agrees to help Violet find the murderer—and Violet is unnerved by her hope that Jay’s intentions are much more than friendly. But even as she’s falling intensely in love, Violet is getting closer and closer to discovering a killer... and becoming his prey herself.

My Thoughts:

*Just a word of fore-warning: this review is based solely on fan-girling hysteria. Good day. 

I’m sobbing as I write this review. My throat is so tight that I can barely gasp for breath. So I won’t be coherent, and I don’t care, because that just exemplifies how amazing this novel is.

This was the best thing about the book: I have never had my emotions so frayed by one single book before. The Body Finder did that to me. I was beguiled throughout the entire book. Kimberly is a genius, plain and simple. She would feed us something, but it wasn’t the entire truth, the bigger picture. She made me believe something happened, but in truth, something completely different happened. I was so close to the characters and so immersed in the plot that when the end rolled around, I was sobbing as I read. Like, sobbing hysterically. My mom came upstairs to check on me because I was apparently crying so loudly – I was that connected to the plot. I never saw the things that were coming, which I should have, but I was totally blindsided and mislead. I won’t ruin the ending for you all, but I will say this: Kimberly had played me damn hard and I fell for it.

The romance was UGH. It was unbelievably realistic and captivating. I have NEVER, NEVER, NEVER been as giddy reading a book as I was with The Body Finder. Not even with Twilight. I was giggling like a schoolgirl, my heartbeat increased and my palms got sweaty... I’m sure my brother (who was in the other room) thought I was insane as I cackled with glee in my room. It was intense. It was so sweet and tender – I felt like I was falling in love (which I did). Because this romance story wasn’t a “Oh, I saw him and instantly fell in love” story. It was a gradual love story – Violet and Jay have been best friends since they were kids, and now Violet is developing feelings for Jay. She’s struggling with her feelings, worries over potentially ruining a life-long friendship, and the jealousy she feels over Jay giving other girls the time of day. I never would have thought that a novel involving murders and dead bodies would be as romantic as it was. BUT IT WAS. I give Violet and Jay the Kristina Stamp of Approval – A+.

Kimberly has a knack for portraying serial killers, especially ones who get off on the hunt and on killing. I was a bit surprised at how well she wrote the serial killer’s psyche – it was terrifying, it was disturbing, it was suspenseful, and it was intense. I’m glad that she put in so many passages including the serial killer, because we got a glimpse of the sick and harrowing thoughts that ran through his head as he hunted for his prey.

I loved the main character, Violet. I connected with her so much, maybe because I would have chosen the decisions she had made. She has a good head on her shoulders, even if she’s drawn to precarious situations, and usually tries to make rational decisions. She acts off her emotions sometimes, but honestly, who doesn’t? That’s what I loved about this book – I felt like I was reading about real life teenagers, not just a teenager portrayed by a writer. I loved that her parents were actively involved in her life, as was her uncle, and they were supportive 85% of the time.

Lastly, screw Edward Cullen. I want Jay Heaton! I fell in love with him before I even realized it. He’s such a great character – everything I’d want in a guy. He’s protective, caring, gentle, quirky and humorous, gets jealous in really cute ways... I felt myself falling in love with him just as much as Violet was. He would always say things that made me giggle like one of the hysterical girls pining for him. He was superbly written and realistic – a lot of his reactions are what I’d expect from a teenage boy.

Cover Musings: Preeeeeeeetty. I absolutely love the covers for the Body Finder and Desires of the Dead!

Memorable Quotes:

That, or she was seriously losing her mind, because that was the only way she could possibly explain the ridiculous butterflies she got whenever Jay was close to her. And what really irritated Violet was that he seemed to be completely oblivious to these new, and completely insane, reactions she was having to him. Obviously, whatever she had wasn’t contagious. (pg. 12)

He knew how to play this game. He got off on this game. He smiled back at her, trying to look protective and fatherly. “Of course not.” And then he said the words that would win her over once and for all. “If my wife knew I’d left you out here without help, she’d have my hide. Besides, you’re only a couple of years older than our daughter, and I would want someone to help her if she were stranded.”

That was all it took. She was his. (pg. 23)

 “What are you doing here?” she asked. [...]

He shrugged. “I couldn’t sleep. What about you?”

She opted for the obvious and filled her voice with as much sarcasm as she could. “I live here, actually.” (pg. 42-43)

 He smiled. “I think I did pretty good. It’s not my fault you can’t walk.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. She wanted to tell him that it was his fault, that she would never have tripped if he’d just stayed the same old Jay he’d always been, gangly and childlike. But she knew that she was being irrational. He was bound to grow up eventually; she’d just never imagined that he’d grow up so well. (pg. 48)

 She realized that she was smiling now, and she had to force it away, not wanting anyone to see her as she searched in vain for the missing girl, grinning like the village idiot. (pg. 193)

 “Sorry about that,” he said apologetically as he concentrated on maneuvering through the busy parking lot. “I’ve been so worried about strange men following you around that I forgot how dangerous Homecoming Queens can be.” (pg. 276)

Overall Thoughts/Final Comments: I had reservations about reading this book, because I can’t do scary at all. But The Body Finder was the scary I could do. While it was suspenseful and creepy and involved a lot of dead bodies and precarious situations, it wasn’t over-the-top scary. The romance in the book definitely put a balance to all of the murders and dead-body craziness. The pacing was great – not too fast, not too slow. Just right. I felt like I couldn’t get through the pages fast enough! Kimberly’s prose was amazing, and she was able to weave together a tale filled with suspense and romance almost seamlessly. Did I mention I <3 Jay?!

I highly, highly recommend this book. It easily topped my favorite books of all time.

Rating: 5/5

**This review was submitted in the 2010 Debut Author Challenge!

Review: No Greater Sacrifice by John C. Stipa

No Greater Sacrifice

Author: John C. Stipa

Publisher: Self-published

Series: N/A

Pages: 394

Genre: Fiction, mystery

Release Date: September 4, 2009

How Received: Author

Summary: When terminally-ill archaeologist Renée d’Arcadia is summoned to France to take part in the reading of a will, she is plunged into a maelstrom of deceit and destruction to solve a 100-year-old mystery originating from a sinister church where nothing is as it seems. Renée joins forces with David Arturo, an ex-helicopter pilot with a troubled past, to interpret clues cleverly hidden in tombstones and classic works of literature to find artifacts scattered across Europe. Racing against time, Renée and David must overcome their inner demons to outmaneuver a network of evil bent on destroying them. What they find in each other just might provide answers to some of mankind’s oldest myths. 

My Thoughts:

No Greater Sacrifice is a cross between Indiana Jones and The Da Vinci Code (or at least these are two of the more prominent titles that is close to his work/influence). If you’re a Dan Brown lover, you’ll love this book. But at the same time, it is in no way comparable, because the concept is unique and there was so much more involved than just mystery. I took a long time to read this because I was so absorbed into solving the mystery behind Sauniére’s secret myself – I was that intensely involved in the novel!

By default, you’d expect plot twists and jaw-dropping action unfolding, but John did it in a way that caught me so off-guard. Sometimes, he’d even do it relatively bluntly and you’d be left screaming, “What?!” at the page. The pacing of the novel was fast-paced most of the time. There were slow moments where Renée and David would debate back and forth, throwing ideas at each other, but after they’d reach a conclusion, the pace would pick up again in action-packed adventure.

I didn’t expect John to be writing about dealing with deeper issues – I really only suspected mystery and adventure. So when other issues came up, like death, betrayal, incest, insecurities, conspiracy, not living up to expectations, and cancer, I was mildly pleased! I loved how these issues were incorporated in the story, yet it never took hold of the story – we could still read about depressing issues without it transforming into a novel about cancer. 

The characters were extremely realistic and were very easy to connect with. There’s Renée, who is an archeologist and was always pushed hard by her father. She’s fierce, assertive, stubborn, resilient, and will never say no to an adventure. She’s battling with leukemia and her imminent death from it looms over most of the actions she takes, and she’s more reckless because of it. Then there is David, an ex-army man turned college professor who has inner demons and insecurities. He’s chivalrous, humorous, and so-darn-cute sometimes!

The romance in the novel (because yes, there’s romance, as well!) was outstanding. It was executed in such a way that it didn’t take the spotlight away from the original plot. Of course, it was still present and sometimes entire chapters were devoted to the romance, but ultimately, everything would come back to the mission. And wow, John wrote some romance scenes like a woman! That is not an insult – it’s a huge compliment. The romantic elements were tender, yet steamy; subtle, yet intense. I suppose I just assumed a man couldn’t write passages that radiated with such warmth and love... until I read this book.

The amount of work and research that went into this novel was amazing. There was so much detail of archaeology, mythology, religion, famous landmarks – it was easily overwhelming. I could practically see all the hard work and sweat that went into developing this novel. I have to give John mad props for weaving this tale and connecting all the dots so seamlessly that they made sense (to an otherwise slow person who can’t make connections, like myself!). The man is ingenious for all the debates and clue-work he did!

My only complaints are that John doesn’t name what foods are in the book – they sounded so delicious! I was ready to go out and order half of the things that were mentioned in the novel, but I didn’t have names to go with the delectable foods he was describing! I also didn’t like the alternating point of views within the same paragraph, but you get accustomed to it after the first 50 or so pages. Very, very small dislikes compared to an otherwise amazing novel.

Cover Musings: Okay so I didn’t think much of it at the beginning. I thought it was cool, but not great. Then I finished the story, took another look at the cover, and loved it. I didn’t even realize the clues in the novel were incorporated onto the cover until I finished the book! I was actively trying to figure things out on my own while reading, and I never had the idea to look at the cover. I won’t say what they are or what they mean, but it was cool. There’s even the Tower Magdala in the background if you squint closely enough! And turn the book upside down. Awesomeee!

Memorable Quotes:

Why anyone would want to be an archaeologist, Renée d’Arcadia could not fathom. If raw fingers, stinging sunburn, and swear weren’t enough to chase away the hopefuls, mosquito bites the size of a quarter would do the trick. Interested in chapped lips of a leper? Come to archaeology. Modern plumbing? Forget it. There was also the danger of dehydration, being bitten by something poisonous, or getting trapped by a cave-in, along with the mental torture of isolation and claustrophobia. Not to mention the constant doubt that one was even digging in the right place. Those were enough to test anyone’s mettle. (pg. 14) 

“The Greek government doesn’t know that I found anything that day in the temple,” Renée said. “And they for sure wouldn’t want to know about the little mess I left behind.” She grimaced.
“Little mess? You started a freakin’ cave in, you moron. Nice work by the way. Way to keep up international relations. ‘Uh, yeah, hi, I’m Renée, I’m an American. I’m here to, you know, like, drink all your wine, trash the joint, steal all your valuable shit and then bolt the country.’ Why didn’t you just drop your shorts and pee on the Parthenon?” (pg. 25) 

“What’s the story behind the place? Why were you researching it?”
“I thought every conspiracy theorist and treasure hunter knew the tale.”
“Sorry, must have cut the class the day my conspiracy teacher went over that one.” (pg. 46)

Figuring that he would want a friend to do the same for him, David took off the man’s boots and began stripping him down. David grimaced as he pulled Meehutch’s pants down to reveal shiny cheetah-print briefs. (pg. 116) 

Her lips against his ear sent volts of electricity through his whole body. The sensation was exhilarating, and his heart pounded as adrenaline surged through his veins. Heat built up on his scalp. His right hand began moving, seemingly beyond his control. Where do you think you’re going? Come back here. It sneaked its way to Renée’s waist. Stop. Hooked in a belt loop. Oh my God. He hooked on with the other hand. You’re insane. He pulled her close, and felt her hips angle toward him. (pg. 120)

“The true measure of a person’s character is revealed when they learn of another’s darkest fears. It is in that moment the listener either displays grace or the ugly head of apathy.” (pg. 154)

“Do you cook, David?”
“I’m Italian, remember? Take a blood sample and you’ll get marinara.” (pg. 199)

“What are you waiting for? Someone with your beauty won’t remain single for very long in France.”
“I’m taking my time, waiting for the right man to come along.”
At that moment, they both looked up at the house where David and Voison were gaing out the window. A warmness radiated through Renée’s chest. Turning back to Clothilde, Renée was startled by the intense gray eyes boring into her.
“Taking your time? If I had that hunk of a man, my foot would be through the floor on the accelerator.”(pg. 274) 

Overall Thoughts/Final Comments: No Greater Sacrifice is a complex novel about intriguing mystery and exhilarating adventure. This book was crafted on a highly intellectual level, incorporating endless mysteries and well-thought out debates. Plot twists and betrayals are around each corner. There were so many things incorporated into the book – mystery, adventure, mythology, religion, romance, archaeology, history, symbolism, social issues, disease, humor... You name it, this book has it! Plus, there are illustrations in the novel. That was way cool and definitely enhanced my reading experience (because I used them to try to solve things out before reading what Renée and David would come up with!). Not to mention the illustrations were drawn by his daughter! How cool is that?

I highly, highly recommend this book to anyone, really.

Rating: 5/5

Extras:

You can read an excerpt of No Greater Sacrifice at the bottom of John’s interview at theindiespotlight here.