Scan barcode
A review by rachd24
Night Owls by Jenn Bennett
4.0
Check out my full review here: https://confessionsofabookgeek.com/2016/04/22/review-night-owls/
I picked up this read based on the beautiful cover (yes, sometimes I am that shallow).
Jack and Bex are reasonably complex teen characters – Jack is from a privileged background and has some family issues going on (mental health related), he’s also an anonymous graffiti artist (in a loveable rogue kind of way). Bex comes from a single parent household, has an out gay brother, and wants to be a medical artist (which is a pretty unusual career choice). For a story that centres on two teen characters and their immediate families, there’s quite a lot going on, which is reflective of real life, but often difficult to translate in a standalone contemporary – Bennett achieves this and then some. On top of all this, parents play an active role in the storyline, which is refreshing as parents are so often absent in contemporary YA, and the story is sex-positive. This in itself was such a winner for me, because realistic portrayals of teen sex scenarios, teen sex conversations, and the reality of teenage hormones and lust are so often avoided, given unnecessary euphemisms, or played down in order to be “safe”.
Overall, this book gave me a big smack in the feels, and was just the right amount of cute and fluffy for a contemporary YA read, while providing a bit more depth and sexy times to entertain an older reader. Highly recommended, and I’d be interested in trying out Bennett’s adult urban fantasy series too!
Rating: 4/5
I picked up this read based on the beautiful cover (yes, sometimes I am that shallow).
Jack and Bex are reasonably complex teen characters – Jack is from a privileged background and has some family issues going on (mental health related), he’s also an anonymous graffiti artist (in a loveable rogue kind of way). Bex comes from a single parent household, has an out gay brother, and wants to be a medical artist (which is a pretty unusual career choice). For a story that centres on two teen characters and their immediate families, there’s quite a lot going on, which is reflective of real life, but often difficult to translate in a standalone contemporary – Bennett achieves this and then some. On top of all this, parents play an active role in the storyline, which is refreshing as parents are so often absent in contemporary YA, and the story is sex-positive. This in itself was such a winner for me, because realistic portrayals of teen sex scenarios, teen sex conversations, and the reality of teenage hormones and lust are so often avoided, given unnecessary euphemisms, or played down in order to be “safe”.
Overall, this book gave me a big smack in the feels, and was just the right amount of cute and fluffy for a contemporary YA read, while providing a bit more depth and sexy times to entertain an older reader. Highly recommended, and I’d be interested in trying out Bennett’s adult urban fantasy series too!
Rating: 4/5