1 June 2015

Review #232: Modern Monsters by Kelley York



My rating: 4 of 5 stars


“The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off.”

---- Gloria Steinem, an American feminist, journalist, and social and political activist



Kelley York, pens her new young adult contemporary novel, Modern Monsters that revolves around a dangerous crime destroying the life of an innocent teenager, and also threatens to snatch away his quiet yet successful future, thus it forces him to embark upon on a road where he can clear his name, but little did he knew that this road to truth can be a real bumpy one.





Synopsis:

Vic Howard never wanted to go to the party. He’s the Invisible Guy at school, a special kind of hell for quiet, nice guys. But because his best friend is as popular as Vic is ignored, he went…

And wished he hadn’t.

Because something happened to a girl that night. Something terrible, unimaginable, and Callie Wheeler’s life will never be the same. Plus, now Callie has told the police that Vic is responsible. Suddenly, Invisible Vic is painfully visible, on trial both literally, with the police, and figuratively, with the angry kids at school. As the whispers and violence escalate, he becomes determined to clear his name, even if it means an uneasy alliance with Callie's best friend, the beautiful but aloof Autumn Dixon.

But as Autumn and Vic slowly peel back the layers of what happened at the party, they realize that while the truth can set Vic free, it can also shatter everything he thought he knew about his life…



Vic is an unpopular nerd yet he had a heart of gold, but surprisingly, his best friend was the most popular kid in the school, hence almost every other weekend, Vic ended up at a corner in a very happening party. But one party changes his life drastically when he sees a drunk girl throwing up and likewise his kind-heart rules it over by helping her to a room where he tucks her in to the bed. And when Monday, everything changed, when he found out that particular drunk girl named, Callie is raped and the last person she remembers is Vic's face. Against all odds, when his own mother too turned her back on her own son, Vic stands strong with his best friend's support, and along with Callie's best friend, Autumn's help, he plans to clear his own name from this mess.

The writing is very flawless and the mood that she set in with the confusing and dark tome is something really alluring to read. From the very first chapter itself, Vic's demeanor drew me in, although he was a complete geek, still his kindness pulled me like a magnet. The author depicts a sensitive topic through this story which the author have compassionately unraveled. The mystery is so deep that it immediately made me hooked on to the story. Although at some point, the strings of the mystery loosened, and it became easy for me to predict the real culprit.

The evocative narrative style and the way the dialogues are kept closer to reality kept me engaged till the very end. The pace of the book is very fast and an eloquent prose proved that the author knew what she was doing with this story. The characters are all strongly developed and sound very real through their narration. Vic, Brett, Autumn as well as Callie are the strongest elements of this book and which makes the story even more gripping.

Vic is an unusual character compared to his age, since the author helps him to transform and grow into a mature person who could stand against all the negativity around him. Brett and Autumn proves that there are still those friends who could die for us. And Callie surprisingly doesn't make herself feel sorry for her situation, she voices her opinion against this crime, yet she too fights with Vic and others to help him clear his name. The friendships depicted in the book are quite unique, given the fact that Vic and Brett's friendship is only an one-sided affair, while on the other hand, Callie and Autumn can die for each other.

And the author have done a great job in etching out these characters with depths with all their flaws and shortcomings. There is also a lot of chemistry in the book and at times, the storyline diverts to that direction and that annoyed me a little bit since there is lot of other issues that runs parallely in the background and with the progress of the story, the author lost touch with those issues thus hanging us leaving with a big question mark. The climax of the book is very satisfying and is justifies according to the storyline.

Overall, this is an emotional story of not only Vic but also for Callie and Autumn, which is sure to touch quite a number of teenage hearts!

Verdict: YA readers will find it appealing since this book covers a lot of teenage issues like acceptance, bullying, teenage rape, parent problems, unusual friendships etc.

Courtesy: I received this book for a blog tour. 
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Author Info:
Once upon a time, Kelley York was born in central California. And it's there she she still resides with her wife, step-daughter, and way too many pets. Kelley is a sucker for dark fiction. She loves writing twisted characters, tragic happenings, and bittersweet endings that leave you wondering and crying. Character development takes center stage in her books because the bounds of a person's character and the workings of their mind are limitless.
Visit her here


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