Book Review: Shade Me by Jennifer Brown

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Shade Me
Author: Jennifer Brown
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery
Released: January 19, 2016
Review Source: Katherine Tegen Books

Nikki Kill does not see the world like everyone else. In her eyes, happiness is pink, sadness is a mixture of brown and green, and lies are gray. Thanks to a rare phenomenon called synesthesia, Nikki’s senses overlap, in a way that both comforts and overwhelms her.

Always an outsider, just one ‘D’ shy of flunking out, Nikki’s life is on the fast track to nowhere until the night a mysterious call lights her phone up bright orange—the color of emergencies. It’s the local hospital. They need Nikki to identify a Jane Doe who is barely hanging on to life after a horrible attack.

The victim is Peyton Hollis, a popular girl from Nikki’s school who Nikki hardly knows. One thing is clear: Someone wants Peyton dead. But why? And why was Nikki’s cell the only number in Peyton’s phone?

As she tries to decipher the strange kaleidoscope of clues, Nikki finds herself thrust into the dark, glittering world of the ultra-rich Hollis family, and drawn towards Peyton’s handsome, never-do-well older brother Dru. While Nikki’s colors seem to help her unravel the puzzle, what she can’t see is that she may be falling into a trap. The only truth she can be sure of is that death is a deep, pulsing crimson.

Shade Me is award-winning author Jennifer Brown’s first book in a thrilling suspense series about Nikki Kill.

Nikki Kill has synesthesia. Which is something I've rarely heard of before, but it was very intriguing, and also the reason I was thrilled to read this book. With the help of this different vision she has a mystery to solve.

My favorite thing about Shade Me was the overall vibe it gave off.  I sort of pictured everything, all the colors, being very muted with only the clues being super vibrant. Which, is the perfect mystery setting am I right? It was definitely jam packed with mystery and action and I love that! The only let down I would say about it though was that I ended up guessing some of the mystery correctly. And yes, I don't like being right when it comes to mystery novels! LOL

Jennifer Brown has an awesome way of writing. Description and setting are A+ for me throughout Shade Me. The synesthesia element was also very cool and interesting, and added that different element to the book that keeps you hooked. And, although I didn't connect with or relate to Nikki, I still REALLY loved her character.

So, overall, if you're looking for a mystery with a twist that seems paranormal but is not (synesthesia) pick up this Nikki Kill novel Shade Me!

Book Review: Torn Away by Jennifer Brown

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Torn Away
Author: Jennifer Brown
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Contemporary
Released: May 6th 2014
Review Source: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers | NetGalley

Born and raised in the Midwest, Jersey Cameron knows all about tornadoes. Or so she thinks. When her town is devastated by a twister, Jersey survives -- but loses her mother, her young sister, and her home. As she struggles to overcome her grief, she's sent to live with her only surviving relatives: first her biological father, then her estranged grandparents.

In an unfamiliar place, Jersey faces a reality she's never considered before -- one in which her mother wasn't perfect, and neither were her grandparents, but they all loved her just the same. Together, they create a new definition of family. And that's something no tornado can touch.

Well this is the kind of story that hits your heart and keeps it wounded the entire time. From the very beginning it was plagued with disaster and troubled times for Jersey. Although it was sad and I hurt every page for this girl I absolutely loved the story.

Torn Away follows a young girl named Jersey, who lives in Elizabeth, a small town in Missouri. While being raised in the Midwest you know a thing or two about tornados, and that most of the time when the sirens go off it’s no big deal, nothing will actually touch down. Unfortunately that was not the case one fateful day, Jersey was at home all by herself getting dinner ready for when her family comes home, and then the sirens go off. She wasn’t planning on going downstairs until the lights go out. After the storm ensued her entire house was destroyed, and the entire town was destroyed. Not only did Jersey lose her home and her belongings, she lost her family, her mom and sister Marin. A few days later her step-dad shows up, but he can barely hold himself together so he forces her to live with her estranged father that had abandoned Jersey and her mother. What Jersey goes through after the tornado is not only heartbreaking, but beautiful; she truly does have strength within.

Torn Away was just a beautiful contemporary story and I really felt like I was sucked into the story from the very beginning. For myself, I was raised in the Midwest and totally understood the whole tornado drills and not really believing one is actually coming, I couldn’t tell you how many times I just stood outside and watched the storm unravel. When Jersey is forced to live with her estranged drunk father and his entire family, I mean entire family; aunt, her three kids, grandma and grandpa, her father and fathers wife and their two kids, she is basically not cared about. Nobody other than her aunt cared about what she just went through and the amount of trauma she just endured, not only from the storm but being forced to live with someone who didn’t care that she lost everything. This story was absolutely touching and completely consumed me in her pain and grief.

This is definitely a book to add to your reading list. It was beautiful, sad, and a story that touched my soul to the very core. I could never imagine having to go through all of this loss and tragedy by myself and at such a young age.

Book Review: Perfect Escape by Jennifer Brown

Perfect Escape
Author: Jennifer Brown
Reading Level: YA
Genre: Contemporary
Released: July 10th 2012
Review Source: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Available: Amazon

Summary: (from goodreads) Kendra has always felt overshadowed by her older brother, Grayson, whose OCD forces him to live a life of carefully coordinated routines. The only way Kendra can stand out next to Grayson is to be perfect, and she has perfection down to an art -- until a cheating scandal threatens her flawless reputation.

Behind the wheel of her car, with Grayson asleep beside her, Kendra decides to drive away from it all -- with enough distance, maybe she'll be able to figure everything out. But eventually, Kendra must stop running and come to terms with herself, her brother, and her past.

With undeniable grace and humor, acclaimed author Jennifer Brown explores OCD, the pressure for perfection, and the emotional highs and lows of a complex sibling relationship.

The cover and title of this book seemed to me as though the story would be about a couple of teenagers taking a road trip and having some life-changing experiences along the way. In reality, I guess the author must have been shooting for that but, in my opinion, the story just fell short. We are introduced to siblings, Kendra and Grayson. Kendra is an honor student that can do no wrong and is suddenly caught up in a cheating scandal at school. Grayson is her older brother who suffers from severe OCD.

When the cheating scandal is catching up to her and she is in danger of being completely busted for her role in it, she suddenly decides to “drive away from it all”. In the process, Kendra takes her brother, who is asleep in the car, along with her. She figures that without their doting mother in the picture, she can help Grayson get better. Mind you, his OCD is extremely severe and he is often placed by their parents in residential facilities for treatment and therapy to help him cope. Kendra is the “perfect” child who is feeling the pressure to stay perfect. I felt the story was that of a girl who spontaneously runs away and takes her brother with her. There wasn’t much that was perfect about it.

Although the siblings come across a few events that perhaps helped Kendra understand Grayson better, I couldn’t help but dislike Kendra. As bright as her character is made out to be, she reacted selfishly at every turn. Her thought process and her woe-is-me attitude was simply annoying. I liked Grayson so much more than her, just because he put up with her. Her actions centered solely around herself and the pressure she had felt all of her life to be the perfect kid because her brother was far from it.

I feel horrible in giving a book such a low rating, especially when it’s by a solid author like Jennifer Brown. But, I just did not feel touched by the storyline or the characters and can’t bring myself to recommend it to readers. I’d suggest passing on this one altogether.