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kristindowner's review against another edition
2.0
This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
The idea behind "Dark Time" by Greg Herren was a great one. A young man getting a summer job only to find out the entire town is harboring a secret and his life is now at risk? Who wouldn't want to read it? But while the idea was there, the execution of the story was not as great.
The synopsis explains a story of mystery and thrills and was aimed at a YA & Teen audience, yet some of the content was not that of which I would allow any child of mine to read. A lot of sexual undertones and insinuations pushed this past the likes of young teens. Herren also took a story that would have been great in a 3rd person perspective and made it into a 1st person P.O.V. Ricky, the main character, is the P.O.V you are reading in, yet you know none of his actual thoughts or feelings. His secrets are secrets even to the reader, who is suppose to be Ricky. Being in a 1st person P.O.V, this story came across very confusing because of the changes in who Ricky actually was and what his intentions were. Not exactly a horrible criticism because I would have loved this book had it not been for the viewpoint. It made it unbelievable because we should have known our own character.
Aside from a confusing story line, synopsis not matching the book much, and a little off on the age appropriateness, the characters were well developed and the writing was great. Herren definitely knows how to build his characters from the ground up.
While it was not my favorite, I can see how this would appeal to a target audience.
The idea behind "Dark Time" by Greg Herren was a great one. A young man getting a summer job only to find out the entire town is harboring a secret and his life is now at risk? Who wouldn't want to read it? But while the idea was there, the execution of the story was not as great.
The synopsis explains a story of mystery and thrills and was aimed at a YA & Teen audience, yet some of the content was not that of which I would allow any child of mine to read. A lot of sexual undertones and insinuations pushed this past the likes of young teens. Herren also took a story that would have been great in a 3rd person perspective and made it into a 1st person P.O.V. Ricky, the main character, is the P.O.V you are reading in, yet you know none of his actual thoughts or feelings. His secrets are secrets even to the reader, who is suppose to be Ricky. Being in a 1st person P.O.V, this story came across very confusing because of the changes in who Ricky actually was and what his intentions were. Not exactly a horrible criticism because I would have loved this book had it not been for the viewpoint. It made it unbelievable because we should have known our own character.
Aside from a confusing story line, synopsis not matching the book much, and a little off on the age appropriateness, the characters were well developed and the writing was great. Herren definitely knows how to build his characters from the ground up.
While it was not my favorite, I can see how this would appeal to a target audience.
apostrophen's review
4.0
One of my favorite things when reading a mystery is not being able to figure it all out, but enjoying getting to the destination and finding the clues spread out behind me and realizing all I was missing was the right perspective. Dark Tide, though a YA thriller, has that sense in abundance, with not just one, but two major turns that threw me for a loop but gave that sense of hindsight.
Obviously, I'm not going to put any spoilers in this review. The basic set-up is this - Ricky, a young man from a poor family who has an upcoming swimming scholarship for school that won't cover everything, drops his plans for a summer job with his father on almost no notice to take a job as a lifeguard at the Mermaid Inn for the summer. The Mermaid Inn is in a small town with no lack of secrets - not the least of which is what happened to last year's lifeguard, a young man very much like Ricky who simply vanished.
Herren skillfully plays with reader expectations here, leading you one way only to turn you another, and there are revelations throughout Dark Tide that delivered shocks to the system. Again, with a bit of reader hindsight, I was left smiling and pleased at the surprises.
Character is king here. Ricky is pretty quick to realize nothing - and especially no one - is exactly as first appearances would lead him to believe. And throughout it all, there's the biggest question of all: what happened to the last young man in his position?
Obviously, I'm not going to put any spoilers in this review. The basic set-up is this - Ricky, a young man from a poor family who has an upcoming swimming scholarship for school that won't cover everything, drops his plans for a summer job with his father on almost no notice to take a job as a lifeguard at the Mermaid Inn for the summer. The Mermaid Inn is in a small town with no lack of secrets - not the least of which is what happened to last year's lifeguard, a young man very much like Ricky who simply vanished.
Herren skillfully plays with reader expectations here, leading you one way only to turn you another, and there are revelations throughout Dark Tide that delivered shocks to the system. Again, with a bit of reader hindsight, I was left smiling and pleased at the surprises.
Character is king here. Ricky is pretty quick to realize nothing - and especially no one - is exactly as first appearances would lead him to believe. And throughout it all, there's the biggest question of all: what happened to the last young man in his position?
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