Tuesday 10 September 2013

Book Review : Streaks of Blue by Jack Chaucer

Summary ( from Goodreads )

Title: Streaks of Blue : How the Angels of Newtown Inspired One Girl to Save her Scool

Author:  Jack Chaucer

Publication Date:  27th September 2013

Publisher:  CreateSpace

Goodreads - Amazon







Summary:


Adam Upton and Thomas "Lee" Harvey are plotting the next big school massacre at their New Hampshire high school. Nicole Janicek, who knew Adam in elementary school, tries to reconnect with the damaged teen at the start of their senior year. But will Nicole’s attempt to befriend the would-be killer disrupt the plot and turn Adam’s life around before the clock strikes 12:14?

My Thoughts:


I got to read this book through NetGalley. And it was my very first approval. And I'm very thankful that I was given a chance to read and review such an outstanding book. Thank you very much Mr. Jack Chaucer for this opportunity.

While reading the book, I didn't want to stop, and it was one of that times when I wished I didn't need to sleep, because it was the time when I had to close the book and my eyes to get some hours of sleep.

The book tells us a story of Nicole (Nikki) Janicek, who is given a mission to save her school . The book starts with Nikki and her best friend Candice hiking Mt. Washington. Nikki's dream is to sleep under stars "The Lake of Clouds" as she calles them. Nikki has a dream/vision where she is given mission to help her classmate Adam Upton, and to prevent a mass murder at her school, which he is planning.

Nikki is trying to reconect with Adam after that dream/vision. She tries to befrind him, and faces many judgments and conciquences. But she doesn't back down, she is inspired to help him, because she sees good in him. And becuase she doesn't want another 12/14 Newtown mass murder at her own school.

The description of the school and it's cliques was so accurate, that I, just Graduated, Re-lived the school again. It was so alive, so real. I really my thought that the author was writing about my school, it was like a carbon copy of mine. And I had this idea of the author being a teenager, who was studing at school at the time of writing. Because only teenagers see the school like it was described in the book.

"...the hardest walk I ever made was very short and flat - the one from my table in the cafeteria to the table where Adam and Thomas sat about 25 feet away...."
"...I was too little, too late, I wasn't enough. We have to reach out to kids sooner. Everybody needs to step outside of their comfort zone and become friends with someone who is different, no matter what that difference is..."
Nikki's these words, made me re-think my school life, how we are rejecting our peers. And it made me call and write to all of my classmates and ask them if they wanted to talk and hang out. I would highly recommend this book not only to teenagers but to adults too. For teenagers, because it will make us think about our lives and how we reject people bacause they are different. And for adults, because they have to see what we sometimes suffer at school. And maybe if we all unite, and try to over come our stupid rejections, we will make this world a little bit better. It's up to us how we want to live.

Here are some of other parts which I loved during reading the book:
" I am worried about the ones who take the order from clever guy and turn murder into sport. I especially fear the damaged kid who read lyris like these - "Now you can join the ranks of the illustrious in history's great dark hall of faem" - and decides to start shooting to ease his pain...to spread his suffering around the rest of us."
"A lot of the kids in this school are going through a lot of different things with very different  family backgrounds. It's so easy to jugde each other, to jump to consclusions and dismiss each other. It's a toxic place sometimes and it freaks me out."
" I need your help with this, C.C., not your judgement. I'm trying to save your life, my life and the lives of everybody in this school, and all I get is grief from everyone."
" We had a great plan. We were going to be famous - way more famous that that baby killer Lanza or that punk in Norway...."
Happy Reading Everyone! and after reading please tell me what you thought about it. Enjoy :))  

My Rating:


Characters   5/5
Writing         5/5
Cover           4/5
Plot               5/5




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