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audreych's review against another edition
4.0
Read the full review on my blog, holes In My brain.
VICTIM RIGHTS lets me back into the awesomely familiar world of Ryan Dooley, I just love reading about every aspect of this boy's life, seriously. The conflict is immediately introduced without much dilly-dallying and Dooley's reactions are something that I found was true to his character (despite some angsty groans from me).
As usual, McClintock takes readers for a ride, having events gradually build and build before she throws yet another curveball at you. There were some jaw-dropping moments that kept the intensity going, never lulling back into a sluggish pace. What I liked about this third installment is that she focuses a lot more on characters, on Dooley and Beth in particular, than she did in the previous novel where the crime overruled.
Another aspect about this novel I enjoyed is that the third person narrative didn't disconnect the reader in me, it sucked me back into the story pretty quickly, as if there wasn't even a year in between reading books 2 and 3. A slight disappointment I had with the novel is that I didn't feel the desperation and urgency as much as I did in the previous two. True, they deal with vastly different topics, but especially with the second twist I didn't find everything as... atmospheric.
There is an underlying mystery in this book that's mentioned briefly throughout several scenes that is the basis of Dooley's alibi which I just couldn't get myself to love. It didn't play a big enough factor for being such a big plot point, if you get what I mean. In the first two books the 'underlying mystery' blew me away, this time I was underwhelmed. But alas, it is underlying for a reason, because the overlying stuff was fantastic.
VICTIM RIGHTS lets me back into the awesomely familiar world of Ryan Dooley, I just love reading about every aspect of this boy's life, seriously. The conflict is immediately introduced without much dilly-dallying and Dooley's reactions are something that I found was true to his character (despite some angsty groans from me).
As usual, McClintock takes readers for a ride, having events gradually build and build before she throws yet another curveball at you. There were some jaw-dropping moments that kept the intensity going, never lulling back into a sluggish pace. What I liked about this third installment is that she focuses a lot more on characters, on Dooley and Beth in particular, than she did in the previous novel where the crime overruled.
Another aspect about this novel I enjoyed is that the third person narrative didn't disconnect the reader in me, it sucked me back into the story pretty quickly, as if there wasn't even a year in between reading books 2 and 3. A slight disappointment I had with the novel is that I didn't feel the desperation and urgency as much as I did in the previous two. True, they deal with vastly different topics, but especially with the second twist I didn't find everything as... atmospheric.
There is an underlying mystery in this book that's mentioned briefly throughout several scenes that is the basis of Dooley's alibi which I just couldn't get myself to love. It didn't play a big enough factor for being such a big plot point, if you get what I mean. In the first two books the 'underlying mystery' blew me away, this time I was underwhelmed. But alas, it is underlying for a reason, because the overlying stuff was fantastic.
canadianbookworm's review
3.0
This teen novel is part of the series featuring Ryan Dooley. Ryan is trying to get his act together after a crime he committed a few years before. He lives with his "uncle", who is a retired police officer, and he is back in high school.
He has a girlfriend, Beth, who is from a well-off family that don't like that he is part of her life. They tolerate him. In this book, Beth is going away to do a work project with her school friends, building homes for a charity. She has hidden from Ryan that a boys school will be going as well until the last minute. He is a bit resentful of this and makes that clear to her. She promises to phone him every day, but she doesn't.
When he hears that she has been flirting with a rich boy and perhaps more, he is upset. He must fight his emotions to find out what is really going on, and who is telling the truth.
This is a good teen novel, with lots of issues around relationships, truth, and perceptions. It also deals with the issue of power and class.
As usual McClintock does a great job of being in the head of a young man and expressing his inner thoughts.
He has a girlfriend, Beth, who is from a well-off family that don't like that he is part of her life. They tolerate him. In this book, Beth is going away to do a work project with her school friends, building homes for a charity. She has hidden from Ryan that a boys school will be going as well until the last minute. He is a bit resentful of this and makes that clear to her. She promises to phone him every day, but she doesn't.
When he hears that she has been flirting with a rich boy and perhaps more, he is upset. He must fight his emotions to find out what is really going on, and who is telling the truth.
This is a good teen novel, with lots of issues around relationships, truth, and perceptions. It also deals with the issue of power and class.
As usual McClintock does a great job of being in the head of a young man and expressing his inner thoughts.
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