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A review by alifromkc1907
Send by Patty Blount
5.0
Read more at http://rainbowreviews.wix.com/reading free or on Instagram @RainbowReviewsKC
Story Line - 5
Writing Style - 5
Characters - 4
Excitement Factor -4
Believability for type and topics - 5
Similarity to other books - 5 (unique)
Cover art - 5
Dust Jacket Art - N/A
Title Relevance - 5
When Daniel starts over (again), he fights the closeness he feels to Brandon and Julie - and the anger he feels towards Jeff. But, will he be able to fight his own demons longer than he'll be able to fight Brandon's friendships and Julie's attraction?
You may like this book if you like the following sub-genres:
Cyber Bullying
Prison
Youth Violence
Admittedly, when I started this book, I was sent back to the ABC Family movie, Cyberbully. But it also reminded me why justice isn't always accurately served. The story line on this book was really well done. Not only are we faced with Daniel's attempt to start fresh, but how he becomes Daniel is equally as important as coping with who he used to be. The story itself is intriguing enough, even if you weren't bullied, or if you weren't the bully (and let's face it, one of us have been one or both in more than one situation-even if we weren't entirely aware of it), you can still feel something for one or more of the characters. If I were a junior-high/high-school english teacher, this would definitely be a required reading for my students - and I think I would've liked to do the cross-the-line activity (more information here). I have done this several times over the years, and every time I felt more connected to the other students in my classroom, whether it was junior high or college. I think this paired with that activity are a simple way to show that Mr. Popular/Mr. Varsity might have more in common with the kid who lives in a homeless shelter (yes, this happened in one of my activities). This book reminded me of how important that activity is - even if you explore those statements with friends and family in isolated incidents, I think this book reminds you that it's okay to be different, but it's not okay to degrade someone for being different. (Yes, we still need this reminder in 2016. Kids are evil. All of them.)
Speaking of the characters, I was slightly annoyed with the parallels between Julie and Brandon. When they were both up, they were both up. When they were both down, they were both down. It became more annoying as the novel grew on. I found it difficult to connect to Julie because her character was hot and cold every chapter - and it's hard to connect to someone when you're just trying to figure out which version you're dealing with (and I thought Daniel dealt with this about as well as any teenage boy with a troubled past, trust issues, and an emotional hard on for a cute girl, which is probably why I didn't find him to be as annoying as I found Julie to be). Brandon, too, was hot and then cold. But I think with Brandon, it felt okay. I would've preferred that he and Julie weren't in the same mood at the same time, but - at least his behavior felt realistic, or acceptable; I'm not really sure. (I can't give away details about why it's okay for Brandon, but not okay for Julie, but I think it'll become clear a few chapters in.) And while this is minute, I was slightly frustrated with the lack of Dr. P. I felt as if that should've been a huge component to this novel - and maybe Blount didn't want to over extend her novel's story line, but I think I could've dealt with a little less Julie/Brandon-drama and a little more Dr. P feedback; after all, she should've been a much larger part to this "Daniel," and how to cope with his past. The character issues/strengths were probably the biggest let down for me. I thought Daniel was done really well, and I liked seeing Kenny's presence, as well. It was a unique way to see Daniel as Daniel, and Daniel combating his past in a realistic scenario.
The writing style paired with the uniqueness of this book worked well with one another. I never felt as if I was being forced into someone else's point of view - which for the sake of Daniel, was a nice touch. I didn't "care" what Julie or Brandon were feeling because Daniel felt it, which means we, too, as an audience felt it. I'm sure if this book had alternate perspectives from other characters, I might have disliked it or found it annoying (just by way of pet peeve). The story wasn't exciting the entire way through, but I think it was a really steady flow of exciting moments met with the typical mundane moments of high school. I'm glad that we were only looking at a year's worth of time, because any more and I might have been too annoyed with Julie and Brandon's parallel state of emotions to keep reading. I thought it was energetic when it needed to be and down-in-the-dumps when it needed to be. The book was only dull in brief moments when it got repetitive (again, this is a Julie issue for me... because we watched her go from hot-to-cold about once every 10 pages - and that's once-every-10-pages too many for my taste). Overall, the story propelled itself by our own personal investment in Daniel's well-being and his ability to cope and share his past on his own terms.
The title is appropriate. And not just because it is the core reason for Daniel's awakening - but because the book ends (abruptly, which wasn't nice, by the way... I looked down, turned the page, but there was nothing more than discussion questions) in a way that "Send" ties everything in Daniel's life full-circle - and I won't divulge anything, but it should make sense when you see the way "send" applies to his story. The cover was well done. It was a blurred vision of Julie and (I'm assuming) Daniel. I'm glad I wasn't looking at some trashy romance novel cover, and I think the blurred-effect was a nice component to the haze that Daniel, Julie, and Brandon are living in - and the secondary characters could probably be grouped into that, too, but I'll let you decide if you feel the blurred-effect works for them, too.
Story Line - 5
Writing Style - 5
Characters - 4
Excitement Factor -4
Believability for type and topics - 5
Similarity to other books - 5 (unique)
Cover art - 5
Dust Jacket Art - N/A
Title Relevance - 5
When Daniel starts over (again), he fights the closeness he feels to Brandon and Julie - and the anger he feels towards Jeff. But, will he be able to fight his own demons longer than he'll be able to fight Brandon's friendships and Julie's attraction?
You may like this book if you like the following sub-genres:
Cyber Bullying
Prison
Youth Violence
Admittedly, when I started this book, I was sent back to the ABC Family movie, Cyberbully. But it also reminded me why justice isn't always accurately served. The story line on this book was really well done. Not only are we faced with Daniel's attempt to start fresh, but how he becomes Daniel is equally as important as coping with who he used to be. The story itself is intriguing enough, even if you weren't bullied, or if you weren't the bully (and let's face it, one of us have been one or both in more than one situation-even if we weren't entirely aware of it), you can still feel something for one or more of the characters. If I were a junior-high/high-school english teacher, this would definitely be a required reading for my students - and I think I would've liked to do the cross-the-line activity (more information here). I have done this several times over the years, and every time I felt more connected to the other students in my classroom, whether it was junior high or college. I think this paired with that activity are a simple way to show that Mr. Popular/Mr. Varsity might have more in common with the kid who lives in a homeless shelter (yes, this happened in one of my activities). This book reminded me of how important that activity is - even if you explore those statements with friends and family in isolated incidents, I think this book reminds you that it's okay to be different, but it's not okay to degrade someone for being different. (Yes, we still need this reminder in 2016. Kids are evil. All of them.)
Speaking of the characters, I was slightly annoyed with the parallels between Julie and Brandon. When they were both up, they were both up. When they were both down, they were both down. It became more annoying as the novel grew on. I found it difficult to connect to Julie because her character was hot and cold every chapter - and it's hard to connect to someone when you're just trying to figure out which version you're dealing with (and I thought Daniel dealt with this about as well as any teenage boy with a troubled past, trust issues, and an emotional hard on for a cute girl, which is probably why I didn't find him to be as annoying as I found Julie to be). Brandon, too, was hot and then cold. But I think with Brandon, it felt okay. I would've preferred that he and Julie weren't in the same mood at the same time, but - at least his behavior felt realistic, or acceptable; I'm not really sure. (I can't give away details about why it's okay for Brandon, but not okay for Julie, but I think it'll become clear a few chapters in.) And while this is minute, I was slightly frustrated with the lack of Dr. P. I felt as if that should've been a huge component to this novel - and maybe Blount didn't want to over extend her novel's story line, but I think I could've dealt with a little less Julie/Brandon-drama and a little more Dr. P feedback; after all, she should've been a much larger part to this "Daniel," and how to cope with his past. The character issues/strengths were probably the biggest let down for me. I thought Daniel was done really well, and I liked seeing Kenny's presence, as well. It was a unique way to see Daniel as Daniel, and Daniel combating his past in a realistic scenario.
The writing style paired with the uniqueness of this book worked well with one another. I never felt as if I was being forced into someone else's point of view - which for the sake of Daniel, was a nice touch. I didn't "care" what Julie or Brandon were feeling because Daniel felt it, which means we, too, as an audience felt it. I'm sure if this book had alternate perspectives from other characters, I might have disliked it or found it annoying (just by way of pet peeve). The story wasn't exciting the entire way through, but I think it was a really steady flow of exciting moments met with the typical mundane moments of high school. I'm glad that we were only looking at a year's worth of time, because any more and I might have been too annoyed with Julie and Brandon's parallel state of emotions to keep reading. I thought it was energetic when it needed to be and down-in-the-dumps when it needed to be. The book was only dull in brief moments when it got repetitive (again, this is a Julie issue for me... because we watched her go from hot-to-cold about once every 10 pages - and that's once-every-10-pages too many for my taste). Overall, the story propelled itself by our own personal investment in Daniel's well-being and his ability to cope and share his past on his own terms.
The title is appropriate. And not just because it is the core reason for Daniel's awakening - but because the book ends (abruptly, which wasn't nice, by the way... I looked down, turned the page, but there was nothing more than discussion questions) in a way that "Send" ties everything in Daniel's life full-circle - and I won't divulge anything, but it should make sense when you see the way "send" applies to his story. The cover was well done. It was a blurred vision of Julie and (I'm assuming) Daniel. I'm glad I wasn't looking at some trashy romance novel cover, and I think the blurred-effect was a nice component to the haze that Daniel, Julie, and Brandon are living in - and the secondary characters could probably be grouped into that, too, but I'll let you decide if you feel the blurred-effect works for them, too.