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A review by stephen_delavue
Asbury High and the Thief's Gamble: by Kelly Brady Channick
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
2.75
Okay so, there's a lot to cover here so I'm going to have to break this into sections.
Characters
The vast majority of the characters are very well done. I like that Pilot exists as a subversion of the typical geek character. He isn't meek or cowardly. He stands up for his friends as well as himself, and he nuts up to ask Carly out realativly early. Speaking of Carly is the typical girly girl of the group, which is fine although I feel like she's the blandest of the four, because she really doesn't get to do that much. Like, Cornelius has the conflict with his father, Maddie solves the mystery to clear her mother's name, and Pilot ad pointed out earlier goes against character type. Carly really could've benefited from her own arc; I don't even think that we get to know her parents all that well in comparison to the others. It definitely doesn't break the book, and it can be resolved pretty easily by expanding upon her in sequels.
Side Characters
For the most part they stand out as distinct individuals, but a few of them, such as Jason, get kind of lost in the weeds in terms of standing out. Alexis is fine, but she plays things a bit too close to the trope of being the typical "mean girl". I think that it would help if she had more of a reason for being mean. I understand that she doesn't like Maddie, but I'm not sure why. I think that it would add a lot to her character if that was expanded upon.
Worldbuilding
This is in my opinion the best part of the book. Asbury feels like a real place. I remember thinking very early on that the taco pancake restaurant was a fantastic touch at adding character to the town. I also love the class divide and how that makes its way into their local culture. I have no complaints here.
The Mystery
This by contrast is the worst part of the book, and I understand that it's kind of just their for the characters to have a goal to work towards in what is essentially a slice of life. My main problem with it is that it could have used a bit more page time in order to be properly developed. The kids never actually have any suspects that they're looking into outside of J.D. whose innocence is proven pretty early after the accusation is made. We don't really get to know Rodney at all, and a lot of the explanation with him felt as if it were added to the end of the book as a retcon. I can't even remember if he shows up before Prom night.
I don't want to end off on a negative note, because I did enjoy the book, so let's talk about the comedy. The book is very funny, and part of this is due to the fact that it has a very strong foundation within its characters. There were several times where I did laugh out loud.
Asbury High gets 2.75 Stars and is the highest of the indie books so far.
Characters
The vast majority of the characters are very well done. I like that Pilot exists as a subversion of the typical geek character. He isn't meek or cowardly. He stands up for his friends as well as himself, and he nuts up to ask Carly out realativly early. Speaking of Carly is the typical girly girl of the group, which is fine although I feel like she's the blandest of the four, because she really doesn't get to do that much. Like, Cornelius has the conflict with his father, Maddie solves the mystery to clear her mother's name, and Pilot ad pointed out earlier goes against character type. Carly really could've benefited from her own arc; I don't even think that we get to know her parents all that well in comparison to the others. It definitely doesn't break the book, and it can be resolved pretty easily by expanding upon her in sequels.
Side Characters
For the most part they stand out as distinct individuals, but a few of them, such as Jason, get kind of lost in the weeds in terms of standing out. Alexis is fine, but she plays things a bit too close to the trope of being the typical "mean girl". I think that it would help if she had more of a reason for being mean. I understand that she doesn't like Maddie, but I'm not sure why. I think that it would add a lot to her character if that was expanded upon.
Worldbuilding
This is in my opinion the best part of the book. Asbury feels like a real place. I remember thinking very early on that the taco pancake restaurant was a fantastic touch at adding character to the town. I also love the class divide and how that makes its way into their local culture. I have no complaints here.
The Mystery
This by contrast is the worst part of the book, and I understand that it's kind of just their for the characters to have a goal to work towards in what is essentially a slice of life. My main problem with it is that it could have used a bit more page time in order to be properly developed. The kids never actually have any suspects that they're looking into outside of J.D. whose innocence is proven pretty early after the accusation is made. We don't really get to know Rodney at all, and a lot of the explanation with him felt as if it were added to the end of the book as a retcon. I can't even remember if he shows up before Prom night.
I don't want to end off on a negative note, because I did enjoy the book, so let's talk about the comedy. The book is very funny, and part of this is due to the fact that it has a very strong foundation within its characters. There were several times where I did laugh out loud.
Asbury High gets 2.75 Stars and is the highest of the indie books so far.