Review: "Reality Boy" by A.S. King

In this fearless portrayal of a boy on the edge, highly acclaimed Printz Honor author A.S. King explores the desperate reality of a former child "star" struggling to break free of his anger. Gerald Faust knows exactly when he started feeling angry: the day his mother invited a reality TV crew into his five-year-old life. Twelve years later, he is still haunted by his rage-filled youth--which the entire world got to watch from every imaginable angle--and his anger issues have resulted in violent outbursts, zero friends, and clueless adults dumping him in the special education room at school. No one cares that Gerald has tried to learn to control himself; they're all just waiting for him to snap. And he's starting to feel dangerously close to doing just that...until he chooses to create possibilities for himself that he never knew he deserved.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to review an ARC of this book.

Did I like this book?

I'm not sure why I held off on reading this book for so long, but I wish I hadn't.  I really loved this book, so, so much!  It has jumped right onto my list of favourites for 2014, and from completely out of nowhere!

Poor Gerald!  He is one seriously messed up kid!  I honestly couldn't believe some of the crap he'd gone through, most especially at the hands of his eldest sister!  My heart was breaking for him from the first page. Yes, he has violent outbursts and has trouble controlling himself, but it didn't take long for me to empathize with his situation once I got a bit of his backstory.  And even though this book can be quite serious, and sometimes tear-inducing, I found myself laughing like a hyena at other times, and don't those make for the best books?

Will you like this book?

I'd like to say that because I loved this book, everyone else will too, but I'm not sure that this is the case.  I think if you can be forgiving of a narrator with more than his fair share of flaws and enjoy reading about seriously dysfunctional families, then "Reality Boy" might be right up your alley.

Will I read more by this author?

This was my first book by A.S. King, and after I finished, I immediately added her other titles to my TBR list.  Very excited to read more from her!

My rating:  4.5 stars!

Review: "I Hunt Killers" by Barry Lyga

What if the world's worst serial killer...was your dad? Jasper "Jazz" Dent is a likable teenager. A charmer, one might say. But he's also the son of the world's most infamous serial killer, and for Dear Old Dad, Take Your Son to Work Day was year-round. Jazz has witnessed crime scenes the way cops wish they could—from the criminal's point of view. And now bodies are piling up in Lobo's Nod. In an effort to clear his name, Jazz joins the police in a hunt for a new serial killer. But Jazz has a secret—could he be more like his father than anyone knows?

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review a copy of this book.  I had also purchased my own copy of this book earlier in the year, but it was getting a review copy through Netgalley that gave me the push to get off my butt and finally read it!

So, my daughter saw me reading this book - she's nine - and asked if she could read it after I was finished.  I was like, "No freakin' way!  Maybe when you're twenty!  It's sick, twisted, demented, insane, psycho, grotesque, brutal!!!  No WAY are you reading this book!!!"  But I gotta tell ya, I loved every minute of it! 

Jasper Dent, gah, what can I say about this kid?  He's doing everything he can to fight the whole nature vs. nurture thing.  He's been nurtured since birth to become a serial killer, but there are times when it seems that the thirst for killing might also be in his nature.  Those are the times that while I was reading made me cringe with fear.  Seriously disturbing!  

It's also interesting to watch Jasper work his charm.  He's been trained so well by "Dear Old Dad" that turning on the charisma comes naturally to him.  It also makes it easy for him to act, in theatre productions and whenever he needs to become a certain character in real life.  Truly amazing!  I don't think I've ever read another character remotely like Jazz, and I found him completely enthralling.

There are a few secondary characters in Jazz's life, but it's really difficult to get a read on what he feels for them.  On the surface, it's obvious that Jazz cares about Connie, Howie and G. William, but how much is he able to feel when he's been brainwashed not to?

The mystery and suspense were really well done here - I had no idea from one moment to the next what was going to happen!  I'll definitely be buying the other books in this series to add to my library - highly recommended!

My rating: 5 stars