eheitzman's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This is a very predictable story. You can guess the ending by the end of the first chapter.
snowbenton's review against another edition
3.0
I liked this book; the main character was someone I'd like to be friends with, the love interest was adorkable, the spurned boy still managed to be a gentleman. But in six months I'm sure I'll have completely forgotten it.
There was no suspense; you know right from the beginning who the murderer is, why he is doing the murdering, and that Veronica is his next intended victim. And I'm fine with that if the story is really about the ghosts themselves, or what the "Event" actually was, or what it means to be alive. And the story touches on those things, but it's trying so hard to do thriller and spine-chiller and romance and sad-mom story that it doesn't do anything well enough.
There was no suspense; you know right from the beginning who the murderer is, why he is doing the murdering, and that Veronica is his next intended victim. And I'm fine with that if the story is really about the ghosts themselves, or what the "Event" actually was, or what it means to be alive. And the story touches on those things, but it's trying so hard to do thriller and spine-chiller and romance and sad-mom story that it doesn't do anything well enough.
tyrshand's review against another edition
4.0
This book was hovering at five stars for me most of the way through, but the very end brought it down for me. It's funny, I think for me, the story would have been better as an exploration of the world after the Event and the ghosts and how people related to them without the teacher plot. If the teacher plot had remained, it would have been fine with me if it remained a background mystery that was resolved at the end, rather than being at the forefront of the plot. Also, I had a really hard time believing that none of them would tell ANYONE. The teacher was obviously acting unstable and even if no one believed he was a killer (not a spoiler -- it's in the book description) people would still take action against him for menacing students in ANY way and certainly some of the consequences he threatened them with are not valid. For instance, you are perfectly within the law to take pictures of the outside of people's houses -- if it can be seen from the street it is not an invasion of privacy. ESPECIALLY when the teacher is going on about it really loudly while grabbing a student painfully on school grounds.
So yeah, fantastically interesting world-building, some interesting explorations of the relationship between the living and the dead.
So yeah, fantastically interesting world-building, some interesting explorations of the relationship between the living and the dead.
bhalpin's review
5.0
This book completely knocked me out. A really interesting twist on the ghost story that is dark, compelling, ultimately hopeful, and at times painfully honest about grief. I kept putting it down because I wanted to savor it and then picking it up again because I had to know what happened. Oh yeah--it's also beautifully written and full of three-dimensional, believable characters.
I hope that readers who like horror novels but don't usually read YA will find this because it is an exceptional horror novel.
Damn, I wish I'd written this.
I hope that readers who like horror novels but don't usually read YA will find this because it is an exceptional horror novel.
Damn, I wish I'd written this.
lilo82's review
2.0
Read thoughts here: http://onreading.tumblr.com/post/46756698365/break-my-heart-1-000-times
shidoburrito's review
4.0
So take a look at this cover and judge what the book will be about, like I did. I set this book aside because my judgement was: "Oh the girl on this cover looks pissed, and judging by the title, she must have gone through a tough breakup and is out for revenge." It looks like that, right? WRONG! I could never be more wrong! This book is amazing and creepy! No, this girl, Veronica, is haunted by ghosts, like everyone else in the world, because after the Event, images of people that had departed the world come back for brief moments to play out a snippet of their life, to be played over and over again. And no wonder she looks haunted, her dead father appears at the kitchen table at the same time every morning to read the same newspaper and take the same sip of coffee before disappearing. Everyone is haunted by these images, and while many have learned to live with it, some can't. Like Veronica's friend. Or her history teacher August Bittner, who is haunted by the girls he has killed, and he will kill again, because Veronica may be the one whom he can kill to bring his daughter back to life.
Yeah, Mr. Bittner may have been one of the creepiest characters I have ever read. Even though this book's events of the Event and ghosts/images are unrealistic, the character of Mr. Bittner was realistically insane.
Yeah, Mr. Bittner may have been one of the creepiest characters I have ever read. Even though this book's events of the Event and ghosts/images are unrealistic, the character of Mr. Bittner was realistically insane.
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