BOOK REPORT of Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
bff charm: yay!
swoonworthy scale: 5
talky talk: 2 legit 2 quit
bonus factors: Maine! Tasty Business, Angels
relationship status: Friends with benefits
the deal:
Nora is your typical teenage girl living in a a farmhouse in Coldwater, Maine. Her best friend Vee Sky is a buxom, potty-mouthed crazy pants, and the two of them are convinced they are soul twins, just like BFF’s should be. The two of them also work on the school’s eZine, and do things like review plays and stuff that I never heard of high school students doing, but it makes them cool and literary, so I’m all for it.
Our story begins on a fateful day in biology class when Coach McConaughy decides to mix things up in sex-ed class and splits up our two best friends- seating Nora next to Patch, a tall, dark and dangerous student who transferred to the school earlier in the year. Patch unsettles Nora, what with all of his ‘ooh, I’m super sexy and mysterious’ -ness. So, she decides to do what any red-blooded teenage girl would: she’s going to find out all of his secrets.
However, things begin happening to Nora that soon have her questioning her sanity. Who is the clearly dangerous person in the ski mask that seems to be following her? What happened that night in the car- she could swear someone jumped out at her. And, most importantly, what’s she to do about her growing feelings for Patch?
BFF Charm: yay
Nora is awesome. She’s confused and suspicious and cautious, which is the perfect balance for Vee, ’cause THAT girl is trouble! In fact, although I was glad that Nora and Vee had each other, Vee was not what I’d call a ‘good’ friend. She got the two of them in all kinds of trouble, and put Nora in some pretty embarrassing- not to mention dangerous -situations.
Swoonworthy Scale: 5
Nora KNOWS Patch is an uber bad boy, but just like any good girl, he gets her hot and bothered. Of course, hot and bothered- translated into teenaged girl -turns into her feeling that somehow, someway, he’s trustworthy. Even though all signs point to ‘no’. Things get moderately steamy between our couple, but the mysterious circumstances surrounding them is the driving force of the story.
Talky Talk: 2 legit 2 quit
Becca Fitzpatrick has found an easy balance in telling her story and being convincing as Nora’s voice. I thoroughly enjoyed Nora’s thoughts and found this an easy read. The mystery was very clever- almost too good. At times the story felt like it was being set up as a series, because the mysteries were not forthcoming, and there were some questions I had that went unanswered. I don’t know if there is a series in the works, but I’d kind of like there to be.
Bonus Factors: Maine!
Hey, anybody who sets their story in Maine gets some sort of tough gold star made of ice.
Bonus Factor: Tasty Business
These girls like their food, and spend a fair amount of time talking about it, and ordering at the Mexican restaurant that it just so happens is where Patch works.
Bonus Factors: Angels
So we’ve noticed here on FYA that angels are the new vampire. I like this. There’s all sorts of mythology that can be tapped into, and this particular book about angels is solid.
Casting Call:
Camilla Belle as Nora
Nora is a serious girl, but she’s also silly.
Hayden Panettiere as Vee Sky
She’s not really tall enough to be Vee, especially next to Camilla’s Nora, but there’s no one else I would cast in this role.
Ben Barnes as Patch
I tried, you guys. Really I did. I even did a google image search for young actors to avoid using Mr. Barnes again. It’s just that this particular picture is branded upon my brain whenever I read the words “dark” and “hot”. And “panty melter”.
Relationship Status: Friends with benefits
I kept seeing this book in the store, and I have to admit, I was really intrigued. Just like all attraction, I was drawn to the cover, and thought that not only was it appealing to look at, but that it at least seemed to have substance. I looked away shyly when the book made eye contact with me, and left the store quickly. This became a pattern with me and the book over the next month, in part because I didn’t want to drop money going dutch on the hard cover, since it was the new book in town. Attraction won out, though, and I plunked down my $17.99 for a date. There were sparks, and this book and I got it on, but ultimately we weren’t relationship material. Still, as long as we’re both single…
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You’ve seen Hot Rod?! OMG, I love that movie, and I’ve barely met any people who’ve seen it! I loved Hush, Hush too. One of my faves.
Jessica, I haven’t seen Hot Rod, or even heard of it before. However, I just googled it, and HAVE to watch it. Anything with Bill Hader…
Glad you also enjoyed Hush, Hush!
ok, wait, his name is PATCH? why do we keep having to put up with lame names in YA? first katniss, then peeta, now PATCH? ugh. i’m starting to think i need to facilitate a workshop on “cringeworthy names: how to identify them and avoid them like the plague that they are” at a YA writer conference cos COME ON Y’ALL.
sorry, just had to rant for a minute.
i guess i’m into the angel thing? i’m not sure yet. maybe this book will help me figure it out!
I’m definitely into angels. Dunno why, except they’re hot and interesting and NOT VAMPIRES YAWN. On Supernatural, when creator/show-runner Eric Kripke was planning for Season 4, he was talking to the writers and producers and said: “Okay, guys, for next season, how about angels? But here’s the thing: they’re assholes!” And I have found it to be immensely entertaining television.
I love Maine! And novels set there! But I do not believe that they have good Mexican food.
mexican food in maine? i’m extremely dubious. but maine! i’ve never been there, but it just sounds cool!
i’m on the fence about angels, also, but this book looks like a good place to start. the last angel whatever (besides blue bloods, i guess) i saw was dogma, and i totally love the angels-are-assholes schtick.
You guys, you’re right to be dubious of Mexican food in Maine. I lived there. Meghan, it’s a great place to visit.
Posh, I agree wholeheartedly with you on the name thing! Really!
Why would you eat Mexican food in Maine when you have all that nice lobstah?
Patch reminds me of a character from Days of Our Lives when I was 8. And/or a dog.
I love the angel thing to bits. Vampires are tired, especially the romantic kind, and there is SO MUCH backstory and moral intrigue that you just need to know/create to have any kind of literary angelic legitimacy. (HAH. Anyway.) I feel like people get lazy with vampires–”ooh, yep, they’re immortal, you all know the drill, all the cliches are sort of right except the inconvenient ones, and now they’re here, wooin’ the ladies and having emotions and ennui and business” and not much work and not NEARLY enough history!porn, which is such wasted potential it’s ridiculous. Angels, on the other hand, come with a need for mythology from the beginning. They imply the existence of God, or *a* God, and the writer needs to deal with that and what that means. They live by a higher law that doesn’t necessarily overlap with human morality but is fundamentally divine, and if they eff that up they are epically, EPICALLY screwed, even if said effing-up-of-angelic-laws is for a cause that seems humanly good. So, yes, angels should be assholes–they have no reason to buy into humans’ shit. It works, and it’s awesome.
All of which is to say: I like this trend. (Long comment is long.)
Well said, Crezia! Also, I think history!porn is my new favorite subject!
jackson rathbone would play patch best personally > think he’s really hot and talented x.
Hey Jenny, you probably know this already but this is a series. Book 2, called Crescendo, comes out in October. Nora starts looking for answers to all her questions about her dad. While I read Hush, Hush I keep waiting for some big reveal about her dad’s death and was disappointed when her story didn’t go there. I look forward to learning more about that in book 2.
Thing is. I read the sneak peak to the next book and Marcie popped up again. lol What the hell? Where did she go last time and why did someone beat her up? She doesn’t fit like the rest of the puzzle pieces.