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A review by pearloz
Citrus County by John Brandon
3.0
Really wish we could do half stars. This one's 3.5.
Shelby's walk through the woods while she followed Toby is one of the tensest scenes I've read in a long time. The tension was fucking nuts...he's completely unaware she's there, she's completely unaware of what/whom she only moments away from finding, and it all unraveled so naturally, so organically.
Both Shelby and Toby have a somewhat-trite older-than-their-years characterization, which could be cool, but is entirely disingenuous here because they're both in...what, seventh grade? They're each disaffected to the point of ennui, and Shelby has moments reminiscent of Ethan Hawke in Reality Bites.
That being said, this moment in the book (a four-page climax about ten percent from the end) developed in an entirely believable fashion with Shelby behaving exactly as we expect her to act.
But this great segment is completely undermined/undercut by the next segment. As Shelby opens the door to the bunker the chapter ends and next we are presented with Toby in a hospital the next day. WTF? How about racheting it up another notch? You don't have to have Shelby discovering Kaley, but how about a confrontation w/ Toby? Or...fuck that! Let's read about everything that happened! Everything! There is this great tension, I'm covering lines so I don't read ahead, but I'm reading as fast as I can b/c I need to know...and there's her hand on the door, and then...Nothing. Talk about deflating.
Shelby's walk through the woods while she followed Toby is one of the tensest scenes I've read in a long time. The tension was fucking nuts...he's completely unaware she's there, she's completely unaware of what/whom she only moments away from finding, and it all unraveled so naturally, so organically.
Both Shelby and Toby have a somewhat-trite older-than-their-years characterization, which could be cool, but is entirely disingenuous here because they're both in...what, seventh grade? They're each disaffected to the point of ennui, and Shelby has moments reminiscent of Ethan Hawke in Reality Bites.
That being said, this moment in the book (a four-page climax about ten percent from the end) developed in an entirely believable fashion with Shelby behaving exactly as we expect her to act.
But this great segment is completely undermined/undercut by the next segment. As Shelby opens the door to the bunker the chapter ends and next we are presented with Toby in a hospital the next day. WTF? How about racheting it up another notch? You don't have to have Shelby discovering Kaley, but how about a confrontation w/ Toby? Or...fuck that! Let's read about everything that happened! Everything! There is this great tension, I'm covering lines so I don't read ahead, but I'm reading as fast as I can b/c I need to know...and there's her hand on the door, and then...Nothing. Talk about deflating.