Hush, Hush (Hush, Hush, #1)

by Becca Fitzpatrick

[Kelly]

Rant, not a review.

I'd like to think I'm a fairy open minded person. Boys look lovely in pink, real men aren't afraid to cry and Lady Gaga is welcomed to wear an ensemble made of small goods found at your local delicatessen if she so wishes. And after reading Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick for the second time...

I'm even open to flamboyant vegetarian vampires who sparkle in the sun.

The first time I read Hush Hush, was just after I had discovered The Hunger Games. Katniss Everdeen is the ultimate heroine, strong and sassy with intellect and ability to lead a revolution.

Nora Grey, alas, is not.

It's not that I dislike her character, you almost feel a pathetic pity for her. She's clearly a social outcast with only one friend, one mortal enemy and now not only a supposed smoking hot boyfriend, but a second male party interested as well. For a girl who has never clearly been popular, she seems to take her new found status in her stride without question.

Introducing Patch. Is he worthy of the 'Book Boyfriend' label? No. Why?
Pool playing hustler? Check ✔
Creepy stalker? Check ✔
Being sexually suggestive towards a female minor? Check ✔
It's really not too bad, considering he is a cardboard version of the luminescent Edward Cullen.

And that's isn't a compliment.

The supporting characters are pretty forgettable. We have the cliche best friend Vee, talking the leg off a table. She isn't the brightest crayon in the box, but she makes up for the lack of intellect with peer pressure. Convincing Nora to date Elliot, when Nora has made it clear that she wants nothing to do with him. But as Vee is her supposed best friend forever, Nora caves.

Hello doormat.

Nora's father is dead, her mother works long hours leaving her teen daughter alone overnight. We see a Russian housekeeper for the first few chapters, but apart from the coach who taught biology (which is basically a class on sex to introduce Nora and Patch's attraction to one another), and the new school psychologist, where are all the adults? Nora's mother can hardly question her choice of boyfriend while she's a non existent parent. She's lucky her daughter isn't into hard drugs, unprotected sex and entering a contract with Mr Christian Grey.

While I'm being brutally honest, I loathed this book. Considering I mildly disliked it the first time, I'm even more frustrated for being dimwitted enough to bother to read it again. It's not just the annoying characters that bare the brunt of my loathing, it's also the writing. I don't doubt Becca Fitzpatrick's popularity, and I'm sure she's a lovely person, donating to various charities, helping the elderly cross the street, volunteering at her local homeless shelter. But this book is the equivalent of having a tooth pulled in paperback form. It's finding out that the neighbours ran over your cat. Finding the man of your dreams, only to learn that he's actually your cousin. It's why the bloody hell you bought the Kindle edition, when you already bought the paperback version last year and wasted more money. Why?

Because I'm stupid.