Title: Freaksville Book One
Illustrations by: Val Cox
Publication Date: January 2010
Tags: werewolves, paranormal romance, second sight, ghosts
Pages: approx 290
Series: First in a series
Book Acquisition: ARC from Other Shelf Tours
My Rating: 2 / 5 Stars
(from Author's website)
The story is told through the sixteen-year-old heroine’s blog.
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?
My Review:
I feel bad giving this book such a low star rating but the truth is I just really didn't enjoy it. To sum it up, the main reason I didn't like Freaksville was that it was too full. What do I mean by this? Well, there was just too much going on. We get werewolves, and ghosts, people who can see the future, people who can see the past, ancient family feuds and faeries, immature teens and gushy romance. Even 2 or 3 of these elements might be too much for one plot to hold but all of them? It didn't work for me.
Another big reason I couldn't warm up to this book was the main character Kasey. She's 16 but throughout most of the book, her attitude hoovers somewhere closer to 12 or 13. I found her to be extremely immature.
One other thing I have to mention is the style of the book. I really just didn't get it. Each chapter starts with "Kasey's Blog Chapter *" and then follow with the name of what I assume is suppose to be a blog post. At one point in the book Kasey states that she loves to blog but would never post anything on it about Josh, her crush, then boyfriend. But, each chapter ends with 'Comments' made from what I can only assume are real people in her life. These people are reading about Josh - if each chapter is meant to be a blog post. Also, Kasey will talk about some fact, people will comment on it, but the people in her life don't seem to know this fact until Kasey tells them - sometimes chapters later. It was all very confusing to me.
My favorite character was Gillie, Kasey's best friend. She was so sweet and was there for Kasey when she needed her. I've read a lot of books with less then likable BFFs so Gilly was a breath of fresh air.
I didn't hate this book, but I can't say that I liked it either. There is a second book in the series, that I don't plan on reading, but I might be swayed depending on what reviews pop up. I'll have to wait and see.
Books in the Series:
Freaksville (January 2010)
Furry and Freaked (?)
Linkage Love:
Leap Books
Author's Website
Illustrator's Website
Other Reviews:
The Book Butterfly
Teens Read and Write
Good Books & Wine
*if you would like your review added please leave me a link in the comments*
A very honest review. It sounds like one of those books that I would start and never finish, although the premise was intriguing. I do get what you had to say about too much going on. I read a earlier this year and had the same complaint.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't finish this. I give you props for being able to.
ReplyDeleteGreat review. I have troubles when I can't root for the main character.
ReplyDeleteIt was like a lot of good ideas all jumbled into one and very unrealistic.. I like my fantasy relatable. Very honest review! :-D
ReplyDelete