Review: One Good Hustle by Billie Livingston

One Good Hustle
Billie Livingston
Release date: July 24th 2012
by Random House of Canada

 

The child of 2 con artists, 16-year-old Sammie Bell always prided herself on knowing the score. But now she finds herself backed into a corner. After a hustle gone dangerously wrong, her mother, Marlene, is sliding into an abyss of alcoholic depression, spending her days fantasizing aloud about death--a goal Sammie is tempted to help her accomplish. Horrified by the appeal of this, Sammie packs a bag and leaves her mother to her own devices.

With her father missing in action, she has nowhere else to go but the home of a friend with 2 parents who seem to actually love their daughter and each other--and who awkwardly try to extend some semblance of family to Sammie. Throughout a long summer of crisis among the normals, Sammie is torn between her longing for the approval of the con-man father she was named for and her desire for the "weird, spearmint-fresh feeling" of life in the straight world. Sammie wants to be normal but fears that where she comes from makes that beyond the realm of possibility.

One Good Hustle chronicles 2 months in Sammie Bell's struggle with her dread that she is somehow doomed genetically to be just another hustler.

*A copy was provided by Random House of Canada for review purposes*

As the child of 2 hustlers, Sammie did not have it easy. Now that her dad has left, and her mother spends her days (and nights) drinking, she has no choice but to go live at her friend's house where she longs for… something. Her father? Normalcy? Love? One Good Hustle is the story of a young girl's struggle over her identity, over how her life is likely to turn out.

As this is a chronicle, it's a bit different from my typical contemporary reads. Instead of a front to back story, it's essentially a simple, and thoroughly engrossing, depiction of Sammie's life as a hustler's daughter. From as far as she can remember, her parents have involved her in scams. Making her a part of their hustles and showing her the ropes. Due to her upbringing, one might expect Sammie to be this broken criminal with no sense of right and wrong. Instead, Sammie is a well-rounded, disciplined teenager who, even though she has done her share of cons, is in her right mind. She's simply afraid that she's doomed to end up like her parents. I found her personality very realistic for her situation. Even through all her mother's faults, she stays a loyal and loving daughter. Never failing to have her back, even when she knows what people are saying is true. I loved her cleverness and spunky attitude throughout which makes the narration especially engaging.

Billie Livingston does not shy away from harsh situations and tough love in this novel. She shows us the nitty gritty of such a lifestyle and its consequences. Frequent flashbacks send us into Sammie's childhood where we get instances of what it was like for her during a hustle, and, eventually, to the events that left her on her friend's doorstep with a missing father and a drunk mother. When she's taken in by her friend Jill's family, she finally gets a glimpse of normalcy; getting to experience the other side of the coin. Consequently making her yearn, even more so, for a normal life. If I had one word to describe this story, it would be dirty. It's rough, it's jagged, and it's a life that is not sugarcoated. I think it's even listed as an adult novel despite being a teenager's story. So don't go in this expecting fluffiness and rainbows. There's swearing, and cheats, and let downs, but there's a little romance, humor, and wit to light up the grit, some.

Dark and riveting, Billie Livingston combines a dangerous atypical lifestyle with an insightful narrative of a teenager born on the wrong path. Don't expect an action-packed, edge of your seat novel, though. It's a chronicle of Sammie tackling what life has given her, rather than an action adventure. All in all, One Good Hustle is a brilliantly told and brutally honest story of one person's struggles.

4 Hot Espressos

Review: Red Heart Tattoo

Red Heart Tattoo
Lurlene McDaniel
Series: Standalone
Publication date: July 24th 2012
by Random House Children's Books


 

At 7:45 a.m. on the day before Thanksgiving break, a bomb goes off at Edison High. Nine people die instantly. Fifteen are critically injured. Twenty-two suffer less severe injuries. And one is blinded. Those who survive, struggle to cope with the loss and destruction. All must find new meaning for their lives as a result of something they may never understand.

*A copy was provided by Random House Children's Books for review purposes*

With an eye widening prologue that winds up your emotions, Red Heart Tattoo's powerful beginning sets the ideal mood for the whole book. Told in five perspectives, we experience the before and after of a school bombing that leaves grief at every corner, and loss at every rubble.

With five perspectives, we get a lot of individual consequences to the school bombing. Showing us how different people cope, how they grieve and support each other. Since the book begins a few months before the incident, we get to know each one of these kids from before, when they were relatively happy and life was simple. This builds the characters greatly, getting us to care about them. With so many POVs, it's natural to have a few that will get into your hearts more than others. Overall the cast is well balanced with characters that will make you feel their pain, their heartache, but also their love, and their strength. Morgan, our main perspective, shows us that even though dire consequences may seem like the end of the world, we should never let it break us. I adored her and admired her attitude.

Although a truly emotional book, Red Heart Tattoo potentially could have been a million times more poignant if we hadn't skirted around some of the most powerful scenes. Instead of witnessing the consequences and emotions during a few of the big happenings, we're simply told via memories after the fact. It's disappointing to finish a chapter in a breakthrough, only to start the next once the climax of its reactions has come and gone, leaving us yearning for what their immediate responses and feeling were.

Regardless, the story has great, realistic developments, some predictable though never unaffecting, some that will leave you with pain, some with warmth. An overall very satisfying school bombing story that, surprisingly, has a lot of heart amongst the trauma. As far as the ending, I can't help but feel like the epilogue leaves us hanging. We fast-forward a year, and what we learn feels jumbled and incomplete. I did not see the necessity to include it at all as it adds no real substance to the story, only wonderment. One could argue that that was the point, life is never certain. Yet, I can't help feeling that it would have been better left alone pre-epilogue. I also have to mention the cover; I understand its significance after the fact, but it could be misleading as the romance is not on the forefront of this novel.

School crimes and violence regrettably happen way too often, Lurlene takes a disastrous event and creates an eye-opening, affecting story that, even though it encounters a bit of lost potential, it's certainly worth the read.

3 Hot Espressos

Waiting on Wednesday (46)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event that is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. 

My pick this week:

Spirit and Dust

Rosemary Clement-Moore

Release date: May 14th, 2013

by Delacorte Books for Young Readers

 

Speaking to the dead is no new thing for Daisy Goodnight. The living, on the other hand, can occasionally be a problem. Especially when they knock you out, kidnap you, and force you to be their magical police dog.

Donald Maguire—mob boss, extraordinaire—has a missing daughter and Daisy is his first choice to track her down. But he didn't actually ask her for help. When she woke up in his guest bedroom, she was told. But why her? And who—or what—in the world is the Black Jackal?

Spirits? Mob boss? Kidnapping? Missing girl? What's not to love! Seriously!

PS: There's a different synopsis on Amazon that gives a bit more away.

What did you pick this week?

Link me up! :)

Review: Cold Fury by T.M. Goeglein

Cold Fury
T.M. Goeglein
Series: Cold Fury, #1
Release date: July 24th 2012
by Putnam Juvenile

 

Jason Bourne meets The Sopranos in this breathtaking adventure

Sara Jane Rispoli is a normal sixteen-year-old coping with school and a budding romance--until her parents and brother are kidnapped and she discovers her family is deeply embedded in the Chicago Outfit (aka the mob).

Now on the run from a masked assassin, rogue cops and her turncoat uncle, Sara Jane is chased and attacked at every turn, fighting back with cold fury as she searches for her family. It's a quest that takes her through concealed doors and forgotten speakeasies--a city hiding in plain sight. Though armed with a .45 and 96K in cash, an old tattered notebook might be her best defense--hidden in its pages the secret to "ultimate power." It's why she's being pursued, why her family was taken, and could be the key to saving all of their lives.

*A copy was provided by Penguin Group USA for review purposes*

"Jason Bourne meets The Sopranos"! Yeah!

Starting off slowly, Cold Fury begins by throwing us into Sara's past - her family dynamics in particular - which has always been filled with whispers and secrets. This is all done via flashbacks and, while interesting, can become a bit tedious, or even confusing. Although I can't say that I was ever bored as the mysteriousness kept my attention from faltering. Page 104 is where it really begins, with a bang. House in shambles, her family gone, on the run from what seems to be everyone who looks at her on the street; from this point on it's action packed until the very end. A race for answers - literally! With her pursuers ranging from family members to crooked cops, no one and nowhere is safe.

Like action movies, it's best to read this without thinking very much about the probabilities of what Sara conveniently stumbles upon that, at the very last second, saves her life. We've got the typical conveniently located trap doors, tunnels, insider connections, and, my personal favourite: ninja rats. Ninja. Rats. :D Trained and bread to become body guards of sorts, rats, among other things, are the deus ex machina of this plot. On the same wavelength, there are flashes of paranormal powers that certain members of the mob inhibits. I was hoping that this would get a deeper explanation, or at least a bigger meaning. A few vague passages that are barely more than a brush off are not enough to give credibility to these plot elements. Thus, it makes it seem like a lot of twists are simply added for some extra oomph that, ultimately, means nothing. However, it works to give an exciting action mob story. You just have to roll with the punches.

Badass, smart, determined, courageous, are some of the qualities we see in our protagonist, Sara. Her tomboy ways - including learning how to box at 4 years old - will appeal to those who like a little kick in their female leads. Though I will never understand why after days of her being attacked and almost killed several times as soon as she steps outdoors, she decides it would be a good idea to go to school. Education above all else? This detail aside, I found her personality refreshing, and her fierceness, engaging. With a Mafia implicated plot comes a large history where we see how Sara's family comes into play in this complex, very well depicted, mob story which puts her right in the middle of it.

Yes, it has a very Bourne Identity feel to it, though I wouldn't go as far as saying it compares to it (as one of my favourite movie sagas this would be a near impossible feat). Intense and exciting with an intriguing ending that has me looking forward to book 2; if you're looking for an action-packed high speed chase, Cold Fury will definitely give you a run for your money!

3 Hot Espressos

Frost Tour Stop: Review & Giveaway

Frost
Kate Avery Ellison
Series: Frost, #1
Release date: April 18th 2012

 

In the icy, monster-plagued world of the Frost, one wrong move and a person could end up dead—and Lia Weaver knows this better than anyone. After monsters kill her parents, she must keep the family farm running despite the freezing cold and threat of monster attacks or risk losing her siblings to reassignment by the village Elders. With dangers on all sides and failure just one wrong step away, she can’t afford to let her emotions lead her astray. So when her sister finds a fugitive bleeding to death in the forest—a young stranger named Gabe—Lia surprises herself and does the unthinkable.

She saves his life.

Giving shelter to the fugitive could get her in trouble. The Elders have always described the advanced society of people beyond the Frost, the “Farthers,” as ruthless and cruel. But Lia is startled to find that Gabe is empathetic and intelligent…and handsome. She might even be falling in love with him.

But time is running out. The monsters from the forest circle the farm at night. The village leader is starting to ask questions. Farther soldiers are searching for Gabe. Lia must locate a secret organization called the Thorns to help Gabe escape to safety, but every move she makes puts her in more danger.

Is compassion—and love—worth the risk?

*A copy was provided by Kate Avery Ellison for review purposes*

Original and… cold! This book is cold! Snow, ice, frost - it's a very chilly, dreary setting that, coming from Canada, I can easily relate to. I know how it feels to be snowed in after a storm. To be constantly cold during a storm (even though my house is sweltering). So although the characters could have been fleshed out, and the plot intensified, the setting is very vividly depicted, and it's clearly an incredibly unique premise that has a lot of potential. I think the book may have simply been too short.

This first book in The Frost Chronicles feels like one big long introduction. We're placed in a notably eerie, well built world in which we're portrayed an isolated village surrounded by deep forests where deadly creatures come out at night. It's not safe to go out once the sun has set - ever. This gloomy setting is made worse by the fact that they unable to leave their town, because beyond the forest are the Farthers - vicious humans living in a cruel advanced society. The brilliant detailing skillfully describes the colourless, depressing state of their world, as well as how their community is managed with quotas and rations. It's fascinating and well thought-out, getting me to feel the cold, the hopelessness, the uneasiness. Though well built, the book is missing electricity. I easily felt the hardships, but I can't say I was very perturbed by the events that occurred in the story. I kept waiting for the big moment when I would feel emotionally invested, the moment when things go from story building, to suspenseful and thrilling - neither came in full force. I wouldn't call the suspense nonexistent, it just wasn't to the depth I was hoping for. This isn't helped by the slow pacing; three quarters of the book in, I was still wondering of the plot's intention.

The characters, while not unlikeable, are not all-together remarkable. In exception to our main character Lia who is a strong, solid female lead, determinedly taking charge of her family's well being after her parent's death, I felt the characters lacked a bit of charm; their personalities hazy, failing to come to life completely. I felt the same in respect to the romance. It lacks the necessary chemistry to believe in the deep attraction they apparently feel for each other. Fortunately for me, the romance makes sparse appearances.

With intriguing developments towards the end, I'm certainly curious about the story's procession from this point on. The plot may not be mind-blowing, but the telling is very effective to give the setting an expressive feel. With a few more pages it could have been less of a "beginning only" novel. However, with a large potential, Frost is perfect for those who love their books dark and ominous.

3 Hot Espressos

Kate's Website / Goodreads / Twitter

When I was six years old, I dreamed up my first story--the tale of a hidden, prehistoric island complete with violent winter monsoons and vicious, man-eating dinosaurs. It was my first taste of storytelling, and it was like a drug. Making up stories became my passion, and I've never stopped since.  This is me! I'm now the author of several novels and short stories, and you can find more about my work in the tabs at the top of this blog.  I live with my husband and two cats near Atlanta, GA.

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