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A review by chemwitch
Game by Barry Lyga
4.0
Okay so... despite the 4-star rating I have a lot of negative things to say about this book. Just keep in mind that I thought this book was tons of fun and I did enjoy it!
This was a wild ride. We follow Jazz as he's taken to New York to solve the case of the Dog-Hat Murderer. In the weirdest twist of all time, this turns out to be two separate killers. Playing a game of Monopoly. I shit you not. While I didn't see this twist coming (at all), which is a complaint I lodged about the first, this Monopoly thing felt like it came way out of left field. It was too weird.
Then there's the bit where Jazz's aunt is apparently a serial killer. Yep. Not only his dad, but his aunt. It's a family affair. The whole thing just went from "neat little dark murder mysteries" to "serial killer secret society conspiracy" in like 50 pages. It just felt very convenient for his dad AND his aunt to kill. And get away with it. I don't know.
And then thrown into all this is romance! Because what would a YA novel be without it. Even when it makes no sense. Connie and Jazz are literally in New York trying to catch a serial murderer. They're discussing rape and torture and disemboweling and then... the subject of if they'll have sex? It just didn't really fit.
AND then there's the text messages between Connie and mystery person. Allllll that shit with the Impressionist and she doesn't go to the police? She just walks in knowing it's gonna be a trap? What the actual fuck. Also, a birth certificate with the father part missing doesn't mean that Billy isn't Jazz's father. That leap was astonishing. It could just mean he didn't write his name on the birth certificate. I just... Ugh. This book.
It was way too much but also a lot of fun and a surprisingly quick read which is why it gets 4 stars despite my wall of text complaining.
1/14/19:This was so over-the-top ridiculous but also such a goddamn page-turner that it’d be criminal to rate it under 4 stars.
Rtc
This was a wild ride. We follow Jazz as he's taken to New York to solve the case of the Dog-Hat Murderer. In the weirdest twist of all time, this turns out to be two separate killers. Playing a game of Monopoly. I shit you not. While I didn't see this twist coming (at all), which is a complaint I lodged about the first, this Monopoly thing felt like it came way out of left field. It was too weird.
Then there's the bit where Jazz's aunt is apparently a serial killer. Yep. Not only his dad, but his aunt. It's a family affair. The whole thing just went from "neat little dark murder mysteries" to "serial killer secret society conspiracy" in like 50 pages. It just felt very convenient for his dad AND his aunt to kill. And get away with it. I don't know.
And then thrown into all this is romance! Because what would a YA novel be without it. Even when it makes no sense. Connie and Jazz are literally in New York trying to catch a serial murderer. They're discussing rape and torture and disemboweling and then... the subject of if they'll have sex? It just didn't really fit.
AND then there's the text messages between Connie and mystery person. Allllll that shit with the Impressionist and she doesn't go to the police? She just walks in knowing it's gonna be a trap? What the actual fuck. Also, a birth certificate with the father part missing doesn't mean that Billy isn't Jazz's father. That leap was astonishing. It could just mean he didn't write his name on the birth certificate. I just... Ugh. This book.
It was way too much but also a lot of fun and a surprisingly quick read which is why it gets 4 stars despite my wall of text complaining.
1/14/19:This was so over-the-top ridiculous but also such a goddamn page-turner that it’d be criminal to rate it under 4 stars.
Rtc