Rating: 4 stars
Cover Rating: 4 stars (Eye-catching and definitely let's you on to what the book is about. I love that it's just the black of the guy instead of a whole image of him.)
Genre: Young Adult
Publication Date: February 1, 2011
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Page Count: 360 p.
Dalton Rev is a dick–a private investigator hired to figure out who killed Wesley Payne. This investigation is a bit more intense than the ones in his past. Usually he finds missing cats or items, this time he has to solve a murder. What's more is that he must do it with crooked cops, a faulty faculty and some kool kids who are way too into labeling themselves. The cliques also have fashioned a sort of gang war between The Balls and Pinker Casket (the top dogs). This may be Dalton's most dangerous mission yet but hopefully he can make it out alive, with money and maybe even the girl.
Well...ummm....this was weird. It was definitely an interesting read with Sean Beaudoin's brand of bizarre littered throughout the pages. I did like this one better than Fade to Blue. This one was very pulp noir, which I really enjoy and Dalton was great and a realistic detective. This was not necessarily an easy read, since at times it was bit confusing what with all the cliques and slang. There is a glossary in the back, but most of the lingo was easy to decode after a second and within context. There were some fantastic twists and turns that you just couldn't see coming, because you really didn't think you should be looking for them. Everything seemed clear and laid out and then BAM! twist and POW! turn. It was all quite impressive. I really liked how all the characters played their parts so well. Everyone was in their own cliques and they were loyal to those cliques, even when they didn't want to be. Dalton was just an amazing character. He was mostly comfortable with who he was, he knew what he wanted and he went out and found the best way for him to get it. It was like Shakespeare, Palahniuk and Dashiell Hammett all got together and wrote a novel. It was witty and fierce and enigmatic in equal doses. If any of what I said sounds like they would be right up your alley, make sure you pick this one up. Sean Beaudoin has proven again that he is his own voice in young adult fiction.
First Line:
"Dalton Rev thundered into the parking lot of Salt River High, a squat brick building at the top of a grassless hill that looked more like the last stop of the hopeless than a springboard to the college of your choice."
Favorite Lines:
"It had been seven full day since the entire camp had woken to an absolutely black morning, since the students and staff and faculty had been forced to admit that the sun had simply failed to rise."
"Unless you're a Russian general's daughter who hangs out in the parlor, receives eligible bachelors for tea, and is prone to vapors, fainting isn't a good look."
Dalton Rev is a dick–a private investigator hired to figure out who killed Wesley Payne. This investigation is a bit more intense than the ones in his past. Usually he finds missing cats or items, this time he has to solve a murder. What's more is that he must do it with crooked cops, a faulty faculty and some kool kids who are way too into labeling themselves. The cliques also have fashioned a sort of gang war between The Balls and Pinker Casket (the top dogs). This may be Dalton's most dangerous mission yet but hopefully he can make it out alive, with money and maybe even the girl.
Well...ummm....this was weird. It was definitely an interesting read with Sean Beaudoin's brand of bizarre littered throughout the pages. I did like this one better than Fade to Blue. This one was very pulp noir, which I really enjoy and Dalton was great and a realistic detective. This was not necessarily an easy read, since at times it was bit confusing what with all the cliques and slang. There is a glossary in the back, but most of the lingo was easy to decode after a second and within context. There were some fantastic twists and turns that you just couldn't see coming, because you really didn't think you should be looking for them. Everything seemed clear and laid out and then BAM! twist and POW! turn. It was all quite impressive. I really liked how all the characters played their parts so well. Everyone was in their own cliques and they were loyal to those cliques, even when they didn't want to be. Dalton was just an amazing character. He was mostly comfortable with who he was, he knew what he wanted and he went out and found the best way for him to get it. It was like Shakespeare, Palahniuk and Dashiell Hammett all got together and wrote a novel. It was witty and fierce and enigmatic in equal doses. If any of what I said sounds like they would be right up your alley, make sure you pick this one up. Sean Beaudoin has proven again that he is his own voice in young adult fiction.
First Line:
"Dalton Rev thundered into the parking lot of Salt River High, a squat brick building at the top of a grassless hill that looked more like the last stop of the hopeless than a springboard to the college of your choice."
Favorite Lines:
"It had been seven full day since the entire camp had woken to an absolutely black morning, since the students and staff and faculty had been forced to admit that the sun had simply failed to rise."
"Unless you're a Russian general's daughter who hangs out in the parlor, receives eligible bachelors for tea, and is prone to vapors, fainting isn't a good look."
I can honestly say I don't think I've ever read a book described this way before. It intrigues me, in that sense. I am, however, a bit concerned that I'd get lost, you know? Fabulous review though! :)
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