carolinafsilva2's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
bibliobethreads's review against another edition
4.0
I have only read one of James Dawson’s novels before which I enjoyed but I had high expectations for this one after a rave review from my sister and fellow blogger Chrissi Reads, whose opinion I definitely trust if she thinks I will enjoy something. Luckily, I wasn’t disappointed! The story revolves around a group of friends who meet for a relaxing break in sunny Spain but have barely seen each other since the previous summer when tragedy struck and one of their friends Janey lost her life. From the very beginning however it becomes clear that what was thought of as a suicide attempt on the part of Janey may have actually been a murder which had to have been carried out by one of the members of the group. This is corroborated when an extra (unwanted?) guest turns up at their villa and confirms that she has the evidence that Janey’s death was neither an accident or suicide and if they want her to keep schtum, they had better pay up.
Then, just like in a horror movie, the hand of Death strikes again, and the group of friends now have to deal with the fact that there may be a murderer amongst them, and we have a pretty mixed bag of characters/potential villains. Furthermore, the group find themselves in a situation way over their heads and contacting the police for assistance is no longer an option. I have to admit I did end up guessing the identity of the killer in the end but not their reasons behind it which was fantastically drawn by our author. One of the things I loved most about this novel is the way it was written, in other words imagined as a film script by one of our lead characters Ryan (superstar wannabe and theatre darling) who I completely fell in love with. In this way we also heard the voices of several other characters as well as Ryan, which was a very effective way of getting into their mindset and motive for murder as they grieve (or cry crocodile tears) over the friend they lost a year ago.
There are so many delicious twists and turns to this novel, and it really reminded me of some of the Point Horror books I devoured as a teenager. As with those, the author kept me turning the pages while I tried to figure out exactly what was happening and who was responsible. And the ending? The pacing just builds and builds right to the nail-biting finale and the dramatic revelations. I found this novel a perfect and exciting young adult read from a very talented author who I hope keeps churning books like these out for a long time to come.
Please see my full review at http://www.bibliobeth.com
Then, just like in a horror movie, the hand of Death strikes again, and the group of friends now have to deal with the fact that there may be a murderer amongst them, and we have a pretty mixed bag of characters/potential villains. Furthermore, the group find themselves in a situation way over their heads and contacting the police for assistance is no longer an option. I have to admit I did end up guessing the identity of the killer in the end but not their reasons behind it which was fantastically drawn by our author. One of the things I loved most about this novel is the way it was written, in other words imagined as a film script by one of our lead characters Ryan (superstar wannabe and theatre darling) who I completely fell in love with. In this way we also heard the voices of several other characters as well as Ryan, which was a very effective way of getting into their mindset and motive for murder as they grieve (or cry crocodile tears) over the friend they lost a year ago.
There are so many delicious twists and turns to this novel, and it really reminded me of some of the Point Horror books I devoured as a teenager. As with those, the author kept me turning the pages while I tried to figure out exactly what was happening and who was responsible. And the ending? The pacing just builds and builds right to the nail-biting finale and the dramatic revelations. I found this novel a perfect and exciting young adult read from a very talented author who I hope keeps churning books like these out for a long time to come.
Please see my full review at http://www.bibliobeth.com
moni_ava's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Racial slurs
kba76's review against another edition
3.0
A difficult review to write, as I enjoyed this book but it was all just too knowing for me (without some of the elements you get when it's done really well).
The book opens with a chapter called 'Fade In'...telling us about the moment Janey died. It's strongly hinted that she was murdered. The book ends with a chapter called 'Fade Out' where we leave our characters with all manner of secrets revealed, and most of our questions answered. In-between this frame we are given a series of scenes telling us the story.
Katie and her group have friends have never really got over the apparent suicide of their friend Janey a year ago. They decide to go away on holiday to Katie's villa...and, of course, they have questions about that night. Nobody wants to talk about it, but someone is about to force their hand.
We see events through the eyes of Ryan, our TV star in the making. He views everything as if it was his own personal TV show, which is a form of coping mechanism, but it means everything is elevated to a more significant status in an attempt to show its worthiness. It also means that there's a rather irritating tendency to self-consciously deconstruct everything to tell us why it's significant, or to force us into a certain train of thought.
There's the standard cliches: jock, good girl, nerd...we think we know what to expect and Dawson plays up to this. We watch these supposedly 'perfect teens' implode as secrets are outed. Some of the secrets are given up more easily than others, and some offer more of a motive for murder than others.
Throughout, I felt like I was reading a paint-by-numbers screenplay for a teen scary movie. It was good fun, but didn't move beyond what we'd expect. If you want to know who did it, you'll have to read the book. You'll probably have sussed it very early on, but it's good fun watching our various characters work things out.
The book opens with a chapter called 'Fade In'...telling us about the moment Janey died. It's strongly hinted that she was murdered. The book ends with a chapter called 'Fade Out' where we leave our characters with all manner of secrets revealed, and most of our questions answered. In-between this frame we are given a series of scenes telling us the story.
Katie and her group have friends have never really got over the apparent suicide of their friend Janey a year ago. They decide to go away on holiday to Katie's villa...and, of course, they have questions about that night. Nobody wants to talk about it, but someone is about to force their hand.
We see events through the eyes of Ryan, our TV star in the making. He views everything as if it was his own personal TV show, which is a form of coping mechanism, but it means everything is elevated to a more significant status in an attempt to show its worthiness. It also means that there's a rather irritating tendency to self-consciously deconstruct everything to tell us why it's significant, or to force us into a certain train of thought.
There's the standard cliches: jock, good girl, nerd...we think we know what to expect and Dawson plays up to this. We watch these supposedly 'perfect teens' implode as secrets are outed. Some of the secrets are given up more easily than others, and some offer more of a motive for murder than others.
Throughout, I felt like I was reading a paint-by-numbers screenplay for a teen scary movie. It was good fun, but didn't move beyond what we'd expect. If you want to know who did it, you'll have to read the book. You'll probably have sussed it very early on, but it's good fun watching our various characters work things out.
cat_demon's review against another edition
2.0
I read only the first 120 pages until I realised how stupid the characters are and then read the last few pages at the end of the book. I thought the book was a bit ridiculous because Ryan and his friends decided not to tell the police about Roxanne's murder because they would all have to go to prison, but the police would have to do a proper investigation before they arrested anyone, so the fact they didn't tell anyone and the reason seems pretty stupid. In the end only 3 of the friends are left and one is the murderer so it seems even more stupid that they didn't tell anyone. Also it was pretty predictable. However the bits that I read were well written and can understand why people might like this book. Also the book was predictable. However, I thought that what I read was well written and I can understand why people like this book.
pixiejess8's review against another edition
4.0
Cruel Summer was a great time, lots of suspense, lots of scares and lots of fun. The fun is had by me the reader and not the characters of the book, they get maybe 40 pages of carefree good times and then its a bunch of stress, terror and regret. There was a basement scene that made me a bit jumpy and in all honesty a bit screamy when someone made a noise in my house,
reading is not for the faint of heart ...write that down.
Annnnnnyways back to Cruel Summer about a vacation that is sure to go wrong .
A year after Janey’s suicide, her friends reunite at a remote Spanish villa, desperate to put the past behind them.
These people should not be vacationing together, they have lots of baggage and resentment that has been brewing for the last year as they are all at separate colleges and have not seen each other for 12 mths. Basically no one is getting their security deposit back from this destination.
Greg and his new girlfriend Erin
Greg is going to be a pro footballer, he is the golden child of his parents and his hometown. He is also twin brother of
Alisha
Poor Alisha has had a rough go of it teenage years wise but is committed to a fresh start and is also harbouring a possible crush on
Ben
The loveable nerd who everyone states wouldn't hurt a fly and just seems to be the sweetest. He is also ex-boyfriend of
Katie
The soft spoken good girl that has trouble saying a bad word about anybody, a bit of a pushover and seems to be polar opposite to dear friend Ryan
Ryan was my favourite character he is an actor waiting for his big break. We get Ryan's point of view for half of the story,he is gay, attractive and comfortable in his own skin. I enjoyed Ryan's inner thoughts and actions the most. I knew when the book was over I would miss Ryan's take on everything, well done character that will be what I remember about this book.
Full disclosure it took a good 50 pages for me to get properly into this book, but once I was in I was in for the long haul which was not really a long haul at all, my epub was under 300 pages long which was perfect
reading is not for the faint of heart ...write that down.
Annnnnnyways back to Cruel Summer about a vacation that is sure to go wrong .
A year after Janey’s suicide, her friends reunite at a remote Spanish villa, desperate to put the past behind them.
These people should not be vacationing together, they have lots of baggage and resentment that has been brewing for the last year as they are all at separate colleges and have not seen each other for 12 mths. Basically no one is getting their security deposit back from this destination.
Greg and his new girlfriend Erin
Greg is going to be a pro footballer, he is the golden child of his parents and his hometown. He is also twin brother of
Alisha
Poor Alisha has had a rough go of it teenage years wise but is committed to a fresh start and is also harbouring a possible crush on
Ben
The loveable nerd who everyone states wouldn't hurt a fly and just seems to be the sweetest. He is also ex-boyfriend of
Katie
The soft spoken good girl that has trouble saying a bad word about anybody, a bit of a pushover and seems to be polar opposite to dear friend Ryan
Ryan was my favourite character he is an actor waiting for his big break. We get Ryan's point of view for half of the story,he is gay, attractive and comfortable in his own skin. I enjoyed Ryan's inner thoughts and actions the most. I knew when the book was over I would miss Ryan's take on everything, well done character that will be what I remember about this book.
Full disclosure it took a good 50 pages for me to get properly into this book, but once I was in I was in for the long haul which was not really a long haul at all, my epub was under 300 pages long which was perfect
faradaygamblegittings83's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
mrlnxy's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0