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3.14 AVERAGE
3.14 AVERAGE
My expectations were high for this based on some articles I've read and were quickly disappointed. The book was at least a quick read, so my disappointment wasn't of much duration. I found the mystery obvious (and seemingly trying to be Veronica Mars), which made the characters all seem stupid for not figuring it out quickly. I also found Rose to be the most compelling narrator so the book felt downhill after her section. Some quibbles:
Spoiler
If Mari initially turned down the payoff from the Gregorys for moral reasons, why was she suddenly an evil schemer when the narrative called for it? And if no one respected the Club workers, why would Lina think her parents would believe Mari re: their daughter's sexuality? Why would grandfather Gregory put a morality clause in his grandson's trustfund so that he would then have to pay people off and cover things up so the grandson wouldn't lose it (unless the clause was put in by the kid's more moral parents)? If grandfather Gregory cut Trip out of his will for being a psychopath/killing his parents, why was he otherwise totally fine for letting him be at large (when he did not just hurt non-family but his parents and then his brother)? It also bothered me that it seemed like we were supposed to mostly forgive the grandfather in the end when he'd clearly enabled/helped create Trip's behavior, it wasn't just random psychopathy like I worried the book was suggesting. Also, are roofies really that hard to get that Trip and his dealer could only get them because they were Sloane's narcolepsy medicine?
4.5 Stars
This is my first crime novel and I honestly doesn't have any idea what to expect nonetheless I'm surprised by how much I like This is W. A. R. Mini review to come.
This is my first crime novel and I honestly doesn't have any idea what to expect nonetheless I'm surprised by how much I like This is W. A. R. Mini review to come.
As soon as I read the book description, I was intrigued. I’m a fan of the television show Revenge as well as Pretty Little Liars, and I thought that this book sounded like something I would enjoy. In the end, I didn’t love it, but I did have fun listening to the audiobook. I can definitely see the teen appeal in this dark and intense mystery.
While reading a story from four different points of view was cool, I never really connected with any of the characters, probably because this novel is more plot-driven than character-driven. Nevertheless, it was entertaining to put the pieces together as more and more plot details were revealed about what really happened the night of Willa’s drowning.
I have no complaints about the audiobook production. The sound was clear and the narrator had a pleasant voice. I was impressed with her ability to differentiate between the four main characters’ voices as well as many secondary characters. I always knew who was speaking. Plus, I loved that it was a really quick listen—sometimes I have a short attention span when it comes to audiobooks, and this one was the perfect length! I’d recommend this to teen readers who enjoy fast-paced mysteries.
While reading a story from four different points of view was cool, I never really connected with any of the characters, probably because this novel is more plot-driven than character-driven. Nevertheless, it was entertaining to put the pieces together as more and more plot details were revealed about what really happened the night of Willa’s drowning.
I have no complaints about the audiobook production. The sound was clear and the narrator had a pleasant voice. I was impressed with her ability to differentiate between the four main characters’ voices as well as many secondary characters. I always knew who was speaking. Plus, I loved that it was a really quick listen—sometimes I have a short attention span when it comes to audiobooks, and this one was the perfect length! I’d recommend this to teen readers who enjoy fast-paced mysteries.
The voice actress who did the narration sold this one for me. Really well done with the different characters and dialogue.
I picked this up because I'm a fan of the Liar's Society books by Lisa and Laura Roecker and wanted to see what would happen when they branched out from Kate Lowry. I was also intrigued by the former title of this books, The Hush Fund, but there's no point in going into that as the title was clearly changed. And 'This is W.A.R.' probably sums up this book a little better than it's formative title did. Still. There's something in me, and just about everyone else in the world, who can't get enough of rich kids behaving badly. Of course, usually, that doesn't include murder.
No one has to wonder who killed Willa Ames-Rowan because everybody knows. On the night of July 4th Willa went out on a boat with James Gregory and only one of them came back. But James, heir apparent at Hawthorne Lake Country Club, is impossible to get at. No one is willing to talk. So Willa's friends, step-sister Madge, rebel Lina, Sloane, who doesn't live up to her stereotypes, and Rose, the daughter of the club's activities director decide to take matters in their own hands. Together they pool their resources, a cool twenty five thousand each, and form a club dedicated to bringing down the Gregorys; not just James, but his brother Trip (who helped Willa into the boat), and patriarch Club president The Captain. But as their schemes work their magic the girls start to question what they thought they knew for sure until they have to question what exactly did happen that night?
Now, first off, this book was not perfect. There were a lot of cliches, a lot of obvious twists, and unrealistic plots. I am not denying that. I can see how someone could read this book and really really hate it. But, I didn't. Perhaps it was a little bit silly but it was a very fun book. It would be easy to call the characters one dimensional, but only really because they work off cliches, both bucking them and utilizing them. Rose is the Latina employee's daughter, caught between the staff and the members. Lina is the classic rebel, who's parents don't pay her any attention and she lashes out by getting tattoos. Sloane is the Asian daughter of two well respected doctors, but she's spent her whole life trying to disguise the fact that she's undeniably stupid. Madge is the collected sister of the perfect blonde girl. The Gregorys are also typical. James spends half his page time stumbling around drunk and moaning about his rotten life while Trip passes out roofies like they're bubblegum. We've seen all these characters before. Many times. But, somehow, I found them endearing here. They all had their reasons for wanting to avenge Willa and they exhibited the correct amounts of fury and reticence. Sure, some of their ideas were a little ridiculous, but I can look past that for the sake of amusement.
And that's what this is, truly, amusement. I didn't read this because I thought it would be some earth shattering piece of literature, I read it because I wanted a page turning book of suspense and mystery. I got what I wanted, my expectations were met, and I would recommend this. If you're read any of the Roecker's Liar's Society books you basically get more of the same, albeit with new characters and new circumstances.
No one has to wonder who killed Willa Ames-Rowan because everybody knows. On the night of July 4th Willa went out on a boat with James Gregory and only one of them came back. But James, heir apparent at Hawthorne Lake Country Club, is impossible to get at. No one is willing to talk. So Willa's friends, step-sister Madge, rebel Lina, Sloane, who doesn't live up to her stereotypes, and Rose, the daughter of the club's activities director decide to take matters in their own hands. Together they pool their resources, a cool twenty five thousand each, and form a club dedicated to bringing down the Gregorys; not just James, but his brother Trip (who helped Willa into the boat), and patriarch Club president The Captain. But as their schemes work their magic the girls start to question what they thought they knew for sure until they have to question what exactly did happen that night?
Now, first off, this book was not perfect. There were a lot of cliches, a lot of obvious twists, and unrealistic plots. I am not denying that. I can see how someone could read this book and really really hate it. But, I didn't. Perhaps it was a little bit silly but it was a very fun book. It would be easy to call the characters one dimensional, but only really because they work off cliches, both bucking them and utilizing them. Rose is the Latina employee's daughter, caught between the staff and the members. Lina is the classic rebel, who's parents don't pay her any attention and she lashes out by getting tattoos. Sloane is the Asian daughter of two well respected doctors, but she's spent her whole life trying to disguise the fact that she's undeniably stupid. Madge is the collected sister of the perfect blonde girl. The Gregorys are also typical. James spends half his page time stumbling around drunk and moaning about his rotten life while Trip passes out roofies like they're bubblegum. We've seen all these characters before. Many times. But, somehow, I found them endearing here. They all had their reasons for wanting to avenge Willa and they exhibited the correct amounts of fury and reticence. Sure, some of their ideas were a little ridiculous, but I can look past that for the sake of amusement.
And that's what this is, truly, amusement. I didn't read this because I thought it would be some earth shattering piece of literature, I read it because I wanted a page turning book of suspense and mystery. I got what I wanted, my expectations were met, and I would recommend this. If you're read any of the Roecker's Liar's Society books you basically get more of the same, albeit with new characters and new circumstances.
This is W.A.R My reasons for requesting this book were two-fold. One, Soho Teen has amazing titles and two, the premise sounded so deliciously creepy. A country club that covers up lies? Definitely sounds like the perfect place for a thrilling mystery! Luckily, This is W.A.R. dove right into the mystery of Willa's death. I found myself anxious to figure out why Willa died, and who the culprit was. I was hooked, and you couldn't have stopped me from finishing if you'd tried.
The characters were really what made this story so much fun for me. Each had their own unique personality that really contributed to this vigilante battle. We have Lina, who is bold and brutally honest, Sloane who is lost, Madge who is bossy, and Rose who is just trying to fit in. It's no surprise that I loved Rose the most. I always cheer on the underdog , and I loved watching her grow from an outcast into someone who was able to take charge. Best of all, every character has a secret that they are hiding and I found myself eagerly waiting to find out what they were.
That being said, there was a lot I loved about the mystery in this story. The clues are well laid out. Willa's mystery unravels at a nice, even pace and expertly ties into each character's life. No one is ever what they seem at Hawthorne Lake, and it creates delicious tension. Still, I have to admit that I just didn't feel the excitement that I usually feel with mysteries like these. I wanted to see more sleuthing and more plotting for revenge. The girls have plenty of resources on their side, but I honestly felt like they didn't always use them as well as they could have.
Still, I can't deny that This is W.A.R. was a book that kept me reading until the very end. Despite slight issues I may have had with it, the story itself drew me in and the vivid characters sealed my reading fate. I had no choice but to read ravenously, and I had more than a few moments of intense emotion as the story unfolded. This was a story that I ended up loving, and I have a feeling that you will too.
The characters were really what made this story so much fun for me. Each had their own unique personality that really contributed to this vigilante battle. We have Lina, who is bold and brutally honest, Sloane who is lost, Madge who is bossy, and Rose who is just trying to fit in. It's no surprise that I loved Rose the most. I always cheer on the underdog , and I loved watching her grow from an outcast into someone who was able to take charge. Best of all, every character has a secret that they are hiding and I found myself eagerly waiting to find out what they were.
That being said, there was a lot I loved about the mystery in this story. The clues are well laid out. Willa's mystery unravels at a nice, even pace and expertly ties into each character's life. No one is ever what they seem at Hawthorne Lake, and it creates delicious tension. Still, I have to admit that I just didn't feel the excitement that I usually feel with mysteries like these. I wanted to see more sleuthing and more plotting for revenge. The girls have plenty of resources on their side, but I honestly felt like they didn't always use them as well as they could have.
Still, I can't deny that This is W.A.R. was a book that kept me reading until the very end. Despite slight issues I may have had with it, the story itself drew me in and the vivid characters sealed my reading fate. I had no choice but to read ravenously, and I had more than a few moments of intense emotion as the story unfolded. This was a story that I ended up loving, and I have a feeling that you will too.
This was a really interesting book. I read this on vacation, and really enjoyed it.
~2.5-3/5
This was a pretty mediocre read, I’m sad to say. I was expecting it to be better, and very much hoping so. It sounded good, it started good, and there were a couple of very good parts, but there were also a lot of rather boring ones. I just had a very hard time keeping my attention on the book, and wanting to keep reading.
This is told in four different perspectives, in five different parts (the last two are the same perspective). (Actually, I guess there’re five perspectives, since the prologue and epilogue are in a different perspective. Whatever.) The story centers on Willa Ames-Rowan's death, who killed her, and how the four main girls want justice to be served to the person who did it.
The girls were interesting, and the story was interesting. I had a pretty good idea of who did it by the end, but how it was done kept me curious to the very end, and that part was nicely done. The suspense, the curiosity, that kept the story going nicely, and the setup for it was well done as well. I wasn’t sure about the ending at first, but it's grown on me now, and I’m pretty okay with it at the moment. I kind of would have liked everyone/thing to have gone down as well, because they don’t deserve to still be up and pretending to be happy, but I guess I can accept it. I guess.
My biggest problem, I guess, was that I just didn’t really connect with the characters, any of them. They were interesting, as I said, and they were well done, their reasons were understandable, their lives were intriguing. I just didn’t connect, or care, I guess. None of it was keeping me wanting to read. That’s probably just me, though, because everything else was good.
I liked the book, but it ended up being just mediocre for me, I guess.
Thank you so much to Soho Teen and I Heart Daily for sending me a copy!
This review is also available on my blog, with extras.
This was a pretty mediocre read, I’m sad to say. I was expecting it to be better, and very much hoping so. It sounded good, it started good, and there were a couple of very good parts, but there were also a lot of rather boring ones. I just had a very hard time keeping my attention on the book, and wanting to keep reading.
This is told in four different perspectives, in five different parts (the last two are the same perspective). (Actually, I guess there’re five perspectives, since the prologue and epilogue are in a different perspective. Whatever.) The story centers on Willa Ames-Rowan's death, who killed her, and how the four main girls want justice to be served to the person who did it.
The girls were interesting, and the story was interesting. I had a pretty good idea of who did it by the end, but how it was done kept me curious to the very end, and that part was nicely done. The suspense, the curiosity, that kept the story going nicely, and the setup for it was well done as well. I wasn’t sure about the ending at first, but it's grown on me now, and I’m pretty okay with it at the moment. I kind of would have liked everyone/thing to have gone down as well, because they don’t deserve to still be up and pretending to be happy, but I guess I can accept it. I guess.
My biggest problem, I guess, was that I just didn’t really connect with the characters, any of them. They were interesting, as I said, and they were well done, their reasons were understandable, their lives were intriguing. I just didn’t connect, or care, I guess. None of it was keeping me wanting to read. That’s probably just me, though, because everything else was good.
I liked the book, but it ended up being just mediocre for me, I guess.
Thank you so much to Soho Teen and I Heart Daily for sending me a copy!
This review is also available on my blog, with extras.
After reading the book's description and the opening scene when Willa Ames-Rowan dies, I was looking forward to reading this book. After finishing it, however, I was disappointed. The girls' crusade for vengeance felt flat throughout the novel, the characters appeared shallow, one dimensional, and uninspiring, and there was nothing subtle or graceful about the writing.
Over all, not worth my time.
Over all, not worth my time.
I don't think I've ever read a book classified as a 'thriller for young adults.' Most of this genre gets classified as adult.
This book, was alright. It wasn't stunningly brilliant (in fact some of it was quite drab to be honest) but it was readable, I didn't even cross my mind to put it down before finishing. Aside from the prologue from Willa's point of view, it starts off incredibly boring. Yes, there's been a murder. Yes, people are lying. Yes, there have been bribes. But it tells us instead of shows, everything that you need to know is spoken out loud leaving no doubt about what's happening. The inner monologue is basically repetition of speech - especially Rose's.
•Rose was so much more interesting in other people's POVs. When you were actually in her head it was extremely dull. Other people made her seem more exciting.
•Sloane's chapter was my favourite. Some people here are saying that it was their least favourite or unrealistic, but I actually know some people like this, so it was a bit more relatable.
•Most other POVs focused on one problem, and it continued for the next few chapters without pause. Not very interesting.
•Throughout the book they complain about how the Gregory family get away with everything because they have money. Then a few hours later, they're getting revenge on the Gregory family, mainly because they have enough money to do so. Hypocrites.