I don’t read many books that fall into the young adult/teen category anymore. I think it’s mostly because of the high school age drama that seems to be all over these books, drama that I want nothing to do with. When I saw SciFiGuy’s post that Hush, Hush is set to become a graphic novel I had the urge to figure out why.
Hush, Hush is the story of sixteen year old Nora Grey. Her father’s violent and untimely death a year before have only reinforced her issues with trust and as a result she has put most of her focus into school. When a project forces her to get to know bad boy transfer student Patch, she goes on the defensive in response to her attraction to him. Patch isn’t any old bad boy though, he’s actually a fallen angel stuck in a body that can’t feel anything. Soon after starting to spend time with Patch, strange things start to happen to Nora and what was once a fairly ordinary life, if a bit boring, becomes a fight for life.
I may have read Hush, Hush in one sitting, but my reaction is still mixed. There is a part of me that really wants to (and in a way does) like this book, but there is a bigger part of me that is not at all impressed.
I have to say it, at various points throughout my reading experience I felt like I was watching or reading Twilight. The biology class, the strange city neighborhood, the hunky teenage boy who’s not actually a teenage boy with some sort of big secret, strange occurrences… This just didn’t feel original, at all.
I found the book to be plain aggravating at times. The inability to see through obvious lies and the best friend totally disregarding what is being said – way to be supportive… awesome examples to set for the teenagers reading this book. But what tops the list? Patch’s level of sheer asshole-ism (not a word, I know) and the situation with Elliot. Regardless of what is discovered after the fact, I don’t think it is appropriate to EVER have a character play down or dismiss violence against anyone. A scuffle is one thing, but being forced against the side of a house with a hand at your throat is not nothing. When the ‘best friend’ tried to say that it didn’t mean anything because the guy was hungover and wouldn’t do this normally, and obviously believing it, well I don’t really care what anyone says, its fiction or whatever else you might say to excuse it, I don’t buy it. As for Patch, well I think part of the reason I disliked the way he acted is because I saw a bit of myself in Nora, what with her attraction to the dangerous guy who acts like a jerk.
There was good stuff too, which is probably what kept me reading the book. I got really into the back story of being a fallen angel and everything that comes along with it. The idea of Nephilim, and the part they play, is interesting.
Personally, I just can’t get over the negatives and for me they outweigh the good. I feel like there is just so much bad that young readers don’t need to have as an example in this book. I’m not exactly the target audience, and obviously enough Hush, Hush has a story line that has, and will probably continue to, catch a lot of readers (especially those teenage girls!), so I don’t see it going anywhere. I just hope that there are adults out there to say hey, lets talk about what goes on in this book, because certain things are not okay.
The Hush, Hush Saga:
1. Hush, Hush
2. Crescendo
3. Silence (To be released: October 4, 2011)
Among Stories 