High school is hard enough when you’re normal. There’s peer pressure, book reports, the in crowd and the enormous zit that has a life of its own. Having a family whose skeletons in the closet lean toward the paranormal is not a topper on anyone’s list. Sophomore Kasey Maxwell is busy juggling the typical teen angst. Add visions, ghosts and hairy four-legged monsters into the mix and you get FREAKSVILLE. It’s a wonder Kasey has survived.Every woman in the Maxwell family has the gift of sight. A talent sixteen-year-old Kasey would gladly give up. All she wants is a normal life. Shopping and talking about boys with her best friend and long-time sidekick Gillie Godshall consume her days. Until Kasey has a vision about Josh Johnstone, the foreign exchange student from England. The vision leads her into new waters, a lead in a play, a haunted theater…and into the arms of the Josh. Yet, both Kasey and Josh have secrets lurking in dark corners. Can Kasey’s new romance survive FREAKSVILLE?
Title: Freaksville
Author: Kitty Keswick
Format: paperback, 328 pages
Genre: young adult, first in a series, paranormal romance
Source: review copy
Published: January 2010 by Leap Books
Buy the book: The Book Depository | Amazon
Reviewed by Emily
50 words or less: High school, supernatural powers, werewolves, romance, exchange students, high school plays, ghosts and mysteries. Mix to combine and serve over cake.
If I had to pick a word to describe Freaksville it would be...cute. While I was reading, I kind of had to read with a divided mind; my adult mind which wanted to know the nuts and bolts of the paranormal world that's the setting for the story and why things work and how they happen; then there was my high school mind, which would have been happy if Josh (English exchange student, da-rool, da-rool) just read the phone book or something for the entirety of the story and everything was spelled out phonetically. What I mean is, if you're expecting serious paranormal romance with twists and turns and debauchery and all that good stuff, this probably isn't the book for you; if you're looking for light, funny, high school drama with a dash of paranormal and romance thrown in, then by all means, dive right in.
Kasey is your "average" high school girl, worried about grades and college and the play and whether or not her fawning over Josh, the English exchange student, could technically be considered stalking. She has some slight after market modifications; namely, she has visions where she can see the past and the future and occasionally manages to effect change in the present based on them. Josh, on the other hand, is tall, dark and handsome and has a few secrets of his own. When they get cast as the title couple in the school presentation of Romeo and Juliet, well, things are just too perfect for words. I mean, he gets a little furry sometimes, but that's just to be expected, right?
The story is told through a series of blog posts, complete with comments, and it's not too hard to figure out what's going on or who's talking. There's a ghost story and lots of theater lore woven into the story, and the drama between Kasey and Josh gives soap opera drama a serious run for its money. Therein lies the one major issue I had with this book- the pacing was very difficult to maintain at times. It was extremely fun in that it was exactly the way conversations on this certain topic (relationships and relationship drama and romantic hyperbole and adventures, okay, so these topics) always go; however, when you're reading that, it can be difficult to follow after awhile. I did catch myself wishing the story was more streamlined. There were added dramatic moments at the end that were definitely paving the way for the next book in the series that felt kind of dangly and unfinished as well.
Beyond that, though, this is a cute book, with nothing objectionable for younger readers. I like my paranormal romance a little more flushed out and developed personally, but if you know a Twilight fan or someone who is into something funky and fresh without anything graphic, then Freaksville is a good choice. Overall Grade: B
Emily’s Rating
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Doesn't look too amazing, but I will read it!
ReplyDeleteHmmm, this one sounds great for my 16 yo sister!=) I am always looking for books for her!!=)
ReplyDeleteThis may not be a good read for me but I know about 10 teenage girls that would love it
ReplyDelete