Author: Isabel Kunkle
Edition: ebook
Pages: N/A
Pub. Date: March 2011
Rating: C
Amazon
"Connie thought freshman year might suck. She never thought it'd be literal.
Bad dreams? No big deal. After all, Connie Perez is starting her first year in the prep school her mom runs. Anyone would be a little stressed, right? When she starts dreaming about strange creatures and places that don't make sense, she doesn't think much about it: there's other stuff on her mind. Then she starts noticing that the people she dreams about get sick right afterward.
Then everything gets weird.
There's something bad on the campus of Springden Academy. Something that feeds on students and warps their minds. And, as Connie and her friends try to figure out what's going on, it starts to look like she's the only one who can stop it.
Freshman year was hard enough without having to fight evil after class."
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My Review
I wanted to love this novel terribly bad. I hyped it up in my head too much, I believe. Because, once I actually read it, I did not like it.
Hickey of the Beast is written as a letter to a friend from Connie's POV. That was one thing that made me want to read it. Experience a different format. But it felt like it took away from the story. There was too much slang. No, I don't mean "Yo, what up my homes?" type of slang. It was too friendly, and made me feel like I was missing too much.
Imagine reading a letter to someone you know nothing about. You are going to be confused on some level. The way the letter is talking to him/her is the way the real life friend would talk. That means a level of understanding you might not see.
Another thing that made me turn away is it was so slow in the beginning. I was having to pull myself through page after page with hope that things would speed up. At one point, it did, but not the way I wanted it to. All of a sudden, you went from point A to point D, totally skipping B and C.
And Connie. She was too... Empty, I guess. I'm not too sure how to describe her. I didn't connect to her at all.
After a few chapters, I lost interest. Nothing kept me going and I failed.
The one thing I do love is how this will be published. Hickey of the Beast is what you call a "serial novel". This means the book is being released in weekly chapters that you will receive when you pay for a subscription.
You have 2 options.
Option 1: Buy the eBook for one price and have to entire book on your eReader at once.
Option 2: Wait every week for a new chapter.
Honestly, I would buy the subscription. I think if you do that, you might enjoy it more. Because it's not all just sitting there. You have just a few pages every week. Almost like a TV show.
I am actually going to do that. Read a chapter a week. Maybe I will have a new and improved opinion on it.
I am not saying I hate this book nor that I don't think you should read it. I actually WANT you to read it. Give it a chance. I know I will give it one more shot, soon.
