June 1, 2015

"Modern Monsters" Review


23014835

Book: Modern Monsters

Author: Kelley York

Format: ARC

Page Count: (Final Paperback) 352

Publisher: Entangled Teen

My Rating: ★★★ 1/4

Synopsis: Vic Howard never wanted to go to the party. He’s the Invisible Guy at school, a special kind of hell for quiet, nice guys. But because his best friend is as popular as Vic is ignored, he went…

And wished he hadn’t.

Because something happened to a girl that night. Something terrible, unimaginable, and Callie Wheeler’s life will never be the same. Plus, now Callie has told the police that Vic is responsible. Suddenly, Invisible Vic is painfully visible, on trial both literally, with the police, and figuratively, with the angry kids at school. As the whispers and violence escalate, he becomes determined to clear his name, even if it means an uneasy alliance with Callie's best friend, the beautiful but aloof Autumn Dixon.

But as Autumn and Vic slowly peel back the layers of what happened at the party, they realize that while the truth can set Vic free, it can also shatter everything he thought he knew about his life…

So I came into this book with very high expectations because of the topic of this book: rape. When you target such incredibly sensitive topics, authors need to be extra careful they way they approach the situation. Needless to say I was excited and nervous.


My original thoughts on the book were high. The beginning was really interesting, especially with the characterization of the main character, Vic. Vic is a very shy guy with a stutter, which intrigued me because that usually isn't a typical character you find in YA. The story progressed and the setup for the story and rape occurred, setting my expectations really high.


That's right, my hopes were crushed. Unfortunately it didn't take the direction I wanted it to. The focus of the rape didn't stay where I wanted it to. The way the synopsis is setup, you would think a lot of the story's focus would be on clearing Vic's name. Nope. There were several irrelevant sideplots. Despite this, there was still some good.


The section before the very end made up for what the book lacked. There was a plot twist that I did not see coming at all, and I enjoyed that. But then the end disappointed me, so there's that.


Overall, I liked it some and it was definitely a quick read, but I felt that it could have gone so much better. There were so many better directions this book could have taken, especially with a subject like this.

Join the conversation!

Please leave a comment down below because I would love to hear your thoughts. To ensure you see my reply, make sure to click "Notify Me".