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halcyone's review against another edition
3.0
This review was posted at The Cozy Armchair.
I first heard about Narc when I went to a meeting at Books & Books for book bloggers and found out the author was going to have a signing there. I picked up a copy because I was intrigued by its Miami setting mostly. I don’t care much for contemporary books that deal with teenagers and drugs, but I hoped that Narc would bring something new to the table. Unfortunately, my hopes were dashed because Narc is a pretty average book.
Aaron came off as a bland protagonist. I just could not make a connection with him and his situation. It felt really off to me that he gets roped into being a narc without his mom being informed, without lawyers getting involved. The book depict the police as abusive assholes who are willing to threaten an underage teen to rat out a drug dealer or else go to jail over a bag of weed. That the book starts that way really left a bitter taste, and then the following situations make even less sense.
The story aims to be gritty, raw, but it feels rather melodramatic at times, especially when it comes to the girls that Aaron befriends (one of which he falls in love with, of course). It read like an after school special sometimes - there’s the girl that’s super rich but has no real friends, the misunderstood girl that self-harms, and so on. Because Aaron’s POV felt so detached, it was hard to feel much for any of the characters.
And Aaron himself was hard to deal with most of the time because he kept wavering over his decisions, regretting everything, unsure about whether he wanted to protect his family or the girls or whether he even wanted to go through with being a narc.
The pacing is really slow at first, too, so the story seems to drag. Not much happens at first, besides some parties and high school angst. When the end rolls around, it’s a shock because one thing after another happens (including someone getting shot) until bam, the end. The final scenes honestly made no sense to me.
It just felt like something was missing in Narc and in Aaron, something to give the story more emotional depth and impact. Narc tells a pretty bleak story and the only sliver of hope comes with the ending, which had the appropriate amount of realism I’d been waiting for. It’s only too bad I had to wait for the end of the book to begin to understand these characters.
I first heard about Narc when I went to a meeting at Books & Books for book bloggers and found out the author was going to have a signing there. I picked up a copy because I was intrigued by its Miami setting mostly. I don’t care much for contemporary books that deal with teenagers and drugs, but I hoped that Narc would bring something new to the table. Unfortunately, my hopes were dashed because Narc is a pretty average book.
Aaron came off as a bland protagonist. I just could not make a connection with him and his situation. It felt really off to me that he gets roped into being a narc without his mom being informed, without lawyers getting involved. The book depict the police as abusive assholes who are willing to threaten an underage teen to rat out a drug dealer or else go to jail over a bag of weed. That the book starts that way really left a bitter taste, and then the following situations make even less sense.
The story aims to be gritty, raw, but it feels rather melodramatic at times, especially when it comes to the girls that Aaron befriends (one of which he falls in love with, of course). It read like an after school special sometimes - there’s the girl that’s super rich but has no real friends, the misunderstood girl that self-harms, and so on. Because Aaron’s POV felt so detached, it was hard to feel much for any of the characters.
And Aaron himself was hard to deal with most of the time because he kept wavering over his decisions, regretting everything, unsure about whether he wanted to protect his family or the girls or whether he even wanted to go through with being a narc.
The pacing is really slow at first, too, so the story seems to drag. Not much happens at first, besides some parties and high school angst. When the end rolls around, it’s a shock because one thing after another happens (including someone getting shot) until bam, the end. The final scenes honestly made no sense to me.
It just felt like something was missing in Narc and in Aaron, something to give the story more emotional depth and impact. Narc tells a pretty bleak story and the only sliver of hope comes with the ending, which had the appropriate amount of realism I’d been waiting for. It’s only too bad I had to wait for the end of the book to begin to understand these characters.
louisasbookshelf's review against another edition
3.0
I have had this book for SO LONG and I finally read it! It was a quick read and kept me entertained :)
danicapage's review against another edition
4.0
My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.
Disclaimers: I received an e-galley of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.
My Overall Thoughts/Impressions: I went into this novel with no expectations. I liked the cover and the first line of the synopsis had me hooked. You're going to hate me forever when you learn my secret. That pulled me into this novel. I was slightly hesitant to read this novel because it's about drugs, but I figured I'd give it a shot.
I enjoyed this novel immensely. I liked the writing style and I actually did like the character Aaron. Even though he had clearly messed up and got in drugs, I liked him more than I had anticipated. He was about the only character I liked. Morgan and Skully intrigued me, but Aaron was one that I actually liked. Aaron became a narc to help save his sister and so he decided to become one. It was an intriguing premise.
I've mentioned that I had no expectations for this novel, but I ended up being pleasantly surprised. The novel was well-written and the characters were well-developed.
So why four stars? I originally had this at a three because this isn't typically the type of book I like to read. However, the more I thought about it, I decided this is actually a 4 star novel. The writing was brilliant and while I might not have loved the subject of the novel, I was sucked into the novel. An intriguing read and definitely one that was well-written. You just need to decide if the plot line is for you.
In Summary: A novel that I thoroughly enjoyed. Wonderful writing with intriguing characters that led to an intriguing and entertaining story.
Warnings/Side-notes: It's about drugs so of course the novel mentions drugs several times. There were several instances of strong language. Some minor violence in the novel and sexual undertones. Not your cleanest read, but definitely not a filthy read. Not for young readers, but I think older teens could handle this just fine.
The Wrap-up: This was a unique book for me to pick up. I took a chance on it and I'm glad I did. It was an addicting read. Definitely glad I read this one. If you like novels that look at the edgier side of young adult fiction, I definitely recommend this one.
Love,
Danica Page
Disclaimers: I received an e-galley of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.
My Overall Thoughts/Impressions: I went into this novel with no expectations. I liked the cover and the first line of the synopsis had me hooked. You're going to hate me forever when you learn my secret. That pulled me into this novel. I was slightly hesitant to read this novel because it's about drugs, but I figured I'd give it a shot.
I enjoyed this novel immensely. I liked the writing style and I actually did like the character Aaron. Even though he had clearly messed up and got in drugs, I liked him more than I had anticipated. He was about the only character I liked. Morgan and Skully intrigued me, but Aaron was one that I actually liked. Aaron became a narc to help save his sister and so he decided to become one. It was an intriguing premise.
I've mentioned that I had no expectations for this novel, but I ended up being pleasantly surprised. The novel was well-written and the characters were well-developed.
So why four stars? I originally had this at a three because this isn't typically the type of book I like to read. However, the more I thought about it, I decided this is actually a 4 star novel. The writing was brilliant and while I might not have loved the subject of the novel, I was sucked into the novel. An intriguing read and definitely one that was well-written. You just need to decide if the plot line is for you.
In Summary: A novel that I thoroughly enjoyed. Wonderful writing with intriguing characters that led to an intriguing and entertaining story.
Warnings/Side-notes: It's about drugs so of course the novel mentions drugs several times. There were several instances of strong language. Some minor violence in the novel and sexual undertones. Not your cleanest read, but definitely not a filthy read. Not for young readers, but I think older teens could handle this just fine.
The Wrap-up: This was a unique book for me to pick up. I took a chance on it and I'm glad I did. It was an addicting read. Definitely glad I read this one. If you like novels that look at the edgier side of young adult fiction, I definitely recommend this one.
Love,
Danica Page
heykellyjensen's review against another edition
2.0
Solid 2.5.
When Aaron gets pulled over for speeding and his little sister's caught with a bag of weed in her pocket, the officer makes him a deal: find out who the source of drug distribution is in his high school. Over the course of his duty, Aaron befriends Morgan and Skully, two girls who are themselves heavy into the school's drug culture and who have ties to the source. As soon as Aaron has the source in his sight, he's ready to spill to the police. Except, it's not as easy as it sounds. He's become friends with these people and he doesn't want them hurt.
NARC had a great premise, and the writing is fast-paced. As I was reading it, I knew exactly who this book would appeal to, since it has pretty great appeal -- readers who want to explore drug culture or drug life will eat this one up. I think this one will have good appeal to more reluctant readers, as well, particularly with the great pacing. Aaron himself is complex and throughout his story, he begins to understand that the people who choose to engage in drug use aren't simply burn outs. Many times, they're easing deeper pain. They're actual people.
The final quarter of the book, though, felt rushed and left me disappointed. At times, Aaron waffles between deciding to follow his orders or throwing those duties away in the name of friendship and honor. These moments were pretty powerful and telling about Aaron and about the issue of keeping secrets and keeping honor. The problem, though, was that the scenes at the end came rapid fire and didn't allow readers to really feel that mental torment with Aaron. Likewise, I felt the ending was a letdown. There was a great build up in the story but the final chapter flat lined.
Both Aaron and Morgan were great characters, and I found myself really caring about Haylie, too. I wish I had a little bit more about Aaron's father and the influence of his father on Aaron's choices and protective nature toward Haylie and his mother. I didn't find myself caring much about other characters, though, and I found Finch was pretty stock and uninteresting, even in light of what Morgan had to say about him. I wish we'd gotten a little bit more of Finch, perhaps through the lens of what Morgan had said about him to Aaron.
Longer review to come.
When Aaron gets pulled over for speeding and his little sister's caught with a bag of weed in her pocket, the officer makes him a deal: find out who the source of drug distribution is in his high school. Over the course of his duty, Aaron befriends Morgan and Skully, two girls who are themselves heavy into the school's drug culture and who have ties to the source. As soon as Aaron has the source in his sight, he's ready to spill to the police. Except, it's not as easy as it sounds. He's become friends with these people and he doesn't want them hurt.
NARC had a great premise, and the writing is fast-paced. As I was reading it, I knew exactly who this book would appeal to, since it has pretty great appeal -- readers who want to explore drug culture or drug life will eat this one up. I think this one will have good appeal to more reluctant readers, as well, particularly with the great pacing. Aaron himself is complex and throughout his story, he begins to understand that the people who choose to engage in drug use aren't simply burn outs. Many times, they're easing deeper pain. They're actual people.
The final quarter of the book, though, felt rushed and left me disappointed. At times, Aaron waffles between deciding to follow his orders or throwing those duties away in the name of friendship and honor. These moments were pretty powerful and telling about Aaron and about the issue of keeping secrets and keeping honor. The problem, though, was that the scenes at the end came rapid fire and didn't allow readers to really feel that mental torment with Aaron.
Spoiler
It really started falling apart when Aaron decides to leave home in order to protect his family's safety. He tells his mom he "has to go" for a while, and then he tells Skully that he's been kicked out of his house. This is all great set up for what's to come -- the bust -- but the thing is, as readers we never actually watch as Aaron thinks through his plan. It just happens. Prior to this, Aaron had given us a lot of insight into what he was thinking. After this moment, though, things just happen without tipping the reader off. Not always necessary to do that for the reader, but because the following events are huge -- the party in the Glades, the fight, the fire, the arrests, the release of those arrested -- I needed a little bit more of Aaron's insights.Both Aaron and Morgan were great characters, and I found myself really caring about Haylie, too. I wish I had a little bit more about Aaron's father and the influence of his father on Aaron's choices and protective nature toward Haylie and his mother. I didn't find myself caring much about other characters, though, and I found Finch was pretty stock and uninteresting, even in light of what Morgan had to say about him. I wish we'd gotten a little bit more of Finch, perhaps through the lens of what Morgan had said about him to Aaron.
Longer review to come.
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