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yabetsy's review against another edition
4.0
A great mystery about a young man with a past who finds himself caught up in a police investigation when he witnesses a suicide.
quietjenn's review against another edition
3.0
really enjoyable high school mystery from canada. moves very quickly and had a great protagonist and supporting characters with a decent mystery at the heart of it. but, thumbs down on the big reveal, seen coming from miles and miles away.
pandamans's review against another edition
3.0
Dooley has had a checkered past and his reputation precedes him when he begins attending his new High School. One evening, Dooley witnesses someone falling from a bridge - and comes upon the body of one of his new classmates moments later. Suspicions are cast and it isn't long before Dooley is in hot water. A little mystery, a little love - a handful of language and lots of violence leaning this towards the upper rungs of YA literature.
ohmymidnight's review against another edition
4.0
I used to read a lot of Norah McClintock's book in high school. Now that I'm in college I'm just starting to rediscover my love of reading and decided to give this familiar author a good shot.
This book is a mystery novel written from the point of view of our male protagonist, Ryan Dooley.
Dooley is a delinquent who has spent much of his time getting into trouble and numbing his feelings with drugs. Now, after serving his time for a violent crime he's trying his best to live straight and narrow under his new guardian, his uncle - a retired cop. Unfortunately, the past three months that he's shown of good behaviour is put to the test when he witnesses what he believes is a suicide coming home from work. Due to his past involvement in crime he is scrutinized by his peers, the police, his uncle, and even the victim's sister - whom he has a crush on. The more he tries to claim his innocence the more things start to look like he may have had a hand in the crime...
Let me break down what was good about this book:
- mystery/suspense - Forget about the mystery. Just learning about the main character, his past, how he came to live with his uncle, how he is connected to other characters - let alone the actual mystery - are all information that the author makes you work for. Everything comes in bite size pieces. You definitely feel like you're were an outsider looking and everyone knows so much about what you don't know and that pushes you to keep reading to find out more.
- male POV - first* I can't say that I've read a lot of books from a male perspective. So this was really refreshing - especially because. I don't share the same troubled past as Dooley so I definitely felt as if I was taking a walk in his shoes. Also, I'm used to characters feeling very sympathetic for victims or having a really quick character turn around for the better. Dooley remained true to his hard nature. He was very real and although he didn't care for plenty of people and things we find out that he's not as bad as people think he is. He had a hard angle on life and at times would ask questions that would make you stop and pause.
Cons
-I picked up at least 3-4 (maybe even more) times of characters "whispering in _____ ears". It started to feel redundant through out the book - there's only so many times i can read that phrase before it gets distracting. **note: otherwise i find the author is very descriptive and great and building her characters and settings
- the ending - the book had a great build up but the ending was too rushed and sloppy. So much time went into finding out more information piece by piece that by the time we got to the end it was like AND OK THERE - THE END. I didn't mind the dramatics but something that was a bit more conclusive would have been better for me.
All in all, This book is a great read. It should be a fast/decent pace for most people. The death that Dooley witnesses is literally on the first page. Your immediately thrown into the mystery disoriented and confused and you spend the entire book in Dooley's shoes trying to figure out what the buck happened.
some highlights that made me laugh:
immediately after Dooley stands up for the school nerd who is picked on he is inwardly criticizing the kid for the same reasons other kids make fun of him
I liked this amazing description of Dooley's crush
The school nerd, Warren schools Dooley on the first rule of comedy/life. I feel like i should know this reference but I can't put my finger on it
This book is a mystery novel written from the point of view of our male protagonist, Ryan Dooley.
Dooley is a delinquent who has spent much of his time getting into trouble and numbing his feelings with drugs. Now, after serving his time for a violent crime he's trying his best to live straight and narrow under his new guardian, his uncle - a retired cop. Unfortunately, the past three months that he's shown of good behaviour is put to the test when he witnesses what he believes is a suicide coming home from work. Due to his past involvement in crime he is scrutinized by his peers, the police, his uncle, and even the victim's sister - whom he has a crush on. The more he tries to claim his innocence the more things start to look like he may have had a hand in the crime...
Let me break down what was good about this book:
- mystery/suspense - Forget about the mystery. Just learning about the main character, his past, how he came to live with his uncle, how he is connected to other characters - let alone the actual mystery - are all information that the author makes you work for. Everything comes in bite size pieces. You definitely feel like you're were an outsider looking and everyone knows so much about what you don't know and that pushes you to keep reading to find out more.
- male POV - first* I can't say that I've read a lot of books from a male perspective. So this was really refreshing - especially because. I don't share the same troubled past as Dooley so I definitely felt as if I was taking a walk in his shoes. Also, I'm used to characters feeling very sympathetic for victims or having a really quick character turn around for the better. Dooley remained true to his hard nature. He was very real and although he didn't care for plenty of people and things we find out that he's not as bad as people think he is. He had a hard angle on life and at times would ask questions that would make you stop and pause.
Cons
-I picked up at least 3-4 (maybe even more) times of characters "whispering in _____ ears". It started to feel redundant through out the book - there's only so many times i can read that phrase before it gets distracting. **note: otherwise i find the author is very descriptive and great and building her characters and settings
- the ending - the book had a great build up but the ending was too rushed and sloppy. So much time went into finding out more information piece by piece that by the time we got to the end it was like AND OK THERE - THE END. I didn't mind the dramatics but something that was a bit more conclusive would have been better for me.
All in all, This book is a great read. It should be a fast/decent pace for most people. The death that Dooley witnesses is literally on the first page. Your immediately thrown into the mystery disoriented and confused and you spend the entire book in Dooley's shoes trying to figure out what the buck happened.
some highlights that made me laugh:
immediately after Dooley stands up for the school nerd who is picked on he is inwardly criticizing the kid for the same reasons other kids make fun of him
pg. 104 "geeze, what a loser. he had a kind of whiny voice that could get on your nerves real fast"
I liked this amazing description of Dooley's crush
pg. 187 "her smile got wider. she had great teeth-straight as soldiers on parade, white as newly scrubbed porcelain."
The school nerd, Warren schools Dooley on the first rule of comedy/life. I feel like i should know this reference but I can't put my finger on it
pg. 250 "the first rule of comedy-the biggest laughs come from someone else's pain"
marathonofbooks's review against another edition
3.0
http://amysmarathonofbooks.ca/dooley-takes-the-fall/
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