Review: I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Publication Date:  April 3rd, 2012

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?

(Courtesy of Goodreads)

This book has been on my radar for awhile.  I remember seeing it in the Hachette catalog last year and thinking, "That looks intense! I need to read that!", and then kind of forgetting about it.  When my *fabulous* book club decided to read it, I was excited because I now had no excuse not to.  Ya'll?  Can someone please explain to me why I waited?  This book is made of morbid awesomeness!  This is something I knew before I even cracked the spine...  How did I know this?  It was blurbed on the back jacket by not one of my favorite authors, but THREE!  Here...

"Something just ain't right about Barry Lyga, and that's good news for all of us.  I Hunt Killers is a dark carnival ride through twisty questions of good and evil, nature and nurture, with a DELICIOUSLY DEMENTED teen as your guide.  Buckle up and keep your hands inside the ride at all times." -Libba Bray, Printz Award-winning author of Going Bovine and the Gemma Doyle trilogy

"I adored this book.  The mystery pulls you in from the first pages, and Jazz is a more CHILLINGLY CHARMING protagonist than Dexter Morgan." -Cassandra Clare, author of the Mortal Instruments series

"Being inside the mind of Jazz is so COMPELLING AND DISTURBING that I no longer want to be left alone with Barry Lyga- but I do want to spend lots more time with Jazz." -Holly Black, author of Tithe and the Curse Workers series

Libba freaking Bray?  Cassie Clare?  Holly Black?  Yeah.  Needless to say, I was sold!  Then I opened the freaking book, and I was blown away! There is no introduction or buildup; we get our first body on page two, and they keep piling up from there.  That in and of itself makes for a great mystery, but what really draws you in is the snippets of Jazz's grotesque childhood that are triggered throughout the book.  You see, Jasper Dent, aka Jazz, was raised by his Dear Old Dad, the notorious serial killer, Billy Dent, and Billy taught him everything he knows.  Billy had grand ideas that Jazz would carry on his legacy, being an even better killer than him.  Billy didn't hold anything back, and he started Jazz's training at a VERY young age.  This book is disturbing, riveting, twisted, and downright horrifying, and I loved it.  I have to say it... Thomas Harris (The Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal, Red Dragon), move over.  There's a new kid in town, and his name is Barry Lyga!

Now, I really want to go into detail about why I loved this book so much, but there is so much potential for spoilers, so I'm not going to.  I will say that the character development was absolutely brilliant.  Being inside of Jazz's head, trying to work out the whole nature vs. nurture thing along with him, was really compelling, and I honestly still don't quite know where I stand, because HE doesn't.  Then there were the supporting characters; his best friend Howie and his Granny, who both add a bit of levity to what would otherwise be an entirely dark and morbid tale; Connie, Jazz's girlfriend, who doesn't take his crap, and tells it like it is; local Sheriff G. William Tanner, the man who brought Billy Dent down, and is now on the new serial killer's case, and the list goes on...  Barry Lyga added an element of human connection to every single character mentioned, no matter how small a role they played, and it really added to the mystery and intrigue of the story.  

I don't think I need to to tell you any more about the plot to make you understand how engaging it is.  You are in the mind of a serial killer, via the the memories and thoughts of his teenage son, who is not sure if he will become like his dad because of his experiences and training from such a young age, while a copycat is committing murders of people he knows, in his back yard.  Um yeah.  So. Moving on.  Pacing... Everyone in my book club said the same thing...  They could NOT put this book down.  It is not at all predictable, and you will be blown away in the end.  I promise.  This book is so well written, so twisty and surprising, with little barbs thrown in here and there that make you say, "What?!?!", so often, that you happily forgo sleep just to find out what happens in the end.  It is one of the most engaging and astonishing books I've read. Finally, I have to comment on the cover.  The jacket is okay for me, but the actual cover is brilliant.  Don't buy the eBook of this one.  Pay the extra couple of bucks for the hardcover.  It is worth it!

Overall, I have to say that this is the best YA Psychological Thriller I have EVER read.  In fact, I'm going to venture and say that it is the best one I've read, YA or Adult.   If you like books like this, RUN out and buy it.  You won't regret it!  I can't wait for the second book in this series, Game (releases April 23, 2013),because while I Hunt Killers does wrap up nicely, there are still some seriously nagging questions in my mind.   I can promise you this... I will not be waiting for book club to read book two!  It will be read on release day, or sooner, if I can get my grubby paws on an advance copy. 

My Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★  

Grade Level Recommendation:  This is not, I repeat, NOT a YA book that should be read by upper-level reading elementary or middle school age students.  This book is loaded with graphic violence, disturbing images, and horrifying acts of torture inflicted on people and animals.  If you wouldn't let your child read or watch The Silence of the Lambs, don't let him read this book.  I almost question this book's YA classification.  I would have classed it a an Adult novel, with crossover appeal for OLDER teens, like The Lovely Bones.  I think this is most appropriate for TEENS, ages 15 and older (grades 10 and up).

Review: Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley

Publisher: Atheneum

Publication Date: May 3rd, 2011

Just when seventeen-year-old Cullen Witter thinks he understands everything about his small and painfully dull Arkansas town, it all disappears. . . .

In the summer before Cullen's senior year, a nominally-depressed birdwatcher named John Barling thinks he spots a species of woodpecker thought to be extinct since the 1940s in Lily, Arkansas. His rediscovery of the so-called Lazarus Woodpecker sparks a flurry of press and woodpecker-mania. Soon all the kids are getting woodpecker haircuts and everyone's eating "Lazarus burgers." But as absurd as the town's carnival atmosphere has become, nothing is more startling than the realization that Cullen’s sensitive, gifted fifteen-year-old brother Gabriel has suddenly and inexplicably disappeared.

While Cullen navigates his way through a summer of finding and losing love, holding his fragile family together, and muddling his way into adulthood, a young missionary in Africa, who has lost his faith, is searching for any semblance of meaning wherever he can find it. As distant as the two stories seem at the start, they are thoughtfully woven ever closer together and through masterful plotting, brought face to face in a surprising and harrowing climax.

Complex but truly extraordinary, tinged with melancholy and regret, comedy and absurdity, this novel finds wonder in the ordinary and emerges as ultimately hopeful. It's about a lot more than what Cullen calls, “that damn bird.” It’s about the dream of second chances.

(Courtesy of Goodreads)

I will start this review off by saying that John Corey Whaley owes Gabrielle Zevin an apology... Over the past couple of weeks, I've been working on my "Top 25 YA Books of 2011" list for my 25 Days of Jubilation Giveaway post that I have going up on the 19th.  I thought I had my list ready and wrote most of the post.  I was really proud of myself for being ahead of the game; I even had a list of runners-up with a few blanks, just in case I read something between then and the 19th that belonged on the list...  Then I read this book!  I had to rearrange my whole list and bump #25 (Gabrielle's All These Things I've Done) to the runners-up list.  So, John Corey Whaley, if you're reading this, you should apologize.  It's only right.  Moving on...

Hands down, this book is THE most underrated debut of 2011!  I always like to read the work of debut authors (as of now, I'm at 34 debuts for 2011) because it's awesome when you find that rare gem that not enough people know about and can spread the fangirl love (and then when said author becomes REALLY famous, brag to everyone that you told them about him/her first).  For me, that rare gem for 2011 is this book.  I know it's made some lists, but it really hasn't gotten a tremendous amount of attention and it totally deserves to!  I honestly only picked this up because I'm a bird-nerd and it had a woodpecker on the cover.  I'm so glad it did!  I loved it, and here's a list of reasons why...

• This book made me not hate Literary Fiction so much.  One of the reasons I read YA at age 35 is because I find most adult books painfully boring, depressing, and/or pompous.  YA is much more entertaining.  This book takes Literary Fiction and lightens it up and makes it enjoyable and entertaining.  It could have been depressing, but John Corey Whaley does a wonderful job balancing sarcasm, wit, and insight with the sad facts of life.
• The small-town setting was SO real to me.  I'm from a small town.  (We're talking, one traffic light.)  I get the desperation of small-town teens, and so does John Corey Whaley.  The difference between he and I?  He is able to articulate it well enough that people who don't share that background can get it.  That's not easy without resorting to cliches and stereotypes, but he manages it perfectly.
• The story, but not really...  I admit it, when I read the synopsis, I was more drawn to the fact that there was a Ivory-billed Woodpecker type situation involved.  If you're not a total dork like me, you have no idea what I'm talking about, and it doesn't matter because this book is not about woodpeckers, and it's not even the actual storyline that is important.  To me, this book is about hope, desperation, love, and human nature- our desire to hold on to all three at any cost.  It is beautifully written to make the reader feel those emotions deeply.  I'm not a crier, but I cried more than once while reading this.  I think most readers will find things it this book that touch them.
• The characters were so great.  I felt such a connection to every single one of them.  I could go on and list every character and why, but that will take forever, so I'm just going to list a few... Gabriel was my favorite.  He is such an old soul and so wise, despite his young age.  He said one thing that will always stay with the book-lover in me... He was saying that God was the best writer ever and when is brother asked why, he said, "Because he gives every good writer something to struggle with and try to work out by writing it down. That's genius."  There is so much truth in that statement... Lucas is amazing as well; a person who can be who HE wants to be in spite of the shitty lot life as given him.  I think Benton was the most tragic, yet honest character.  He spent his entire life doing everything to please others, never giving a thought to what HE wanted.  Then there's Cullen.  There were times that I wanted to shake him and tell him to get a grip, and there were times I wanted to hug him.  He was so real that his pain made me hurt as I read about it.  He was every teenager to me.

I think what surprised me most about this book, after I got past the fact that I loved it so much, was the fact that John Corey Whaley is so young!  He has such insight into what makes people tick; the kind of insight one would expect of an author who has been around the block many times, not someone who looks like he still gets his ID checked every time he buys beer.  I don't know what struggles God gave him that made him able to write this way at such a young age, but I for one, am glad he came out so well on the other side!

My Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 

Grade Level Recommendation:  There's some heavy themes in this book, and I think it would take a more mature reader to identify with a lot of them.  Grades 9 and up (ages 14+).