Title: 13 To LifeAuthor: Shannon Delany
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Paperback: 308 Pages
Published Date: June 22, 2010
Average Rating: 3.91 Stars
Goodreads Blurb:
Everything about Jessie Gillmansen’s life changed when her mother died. Now even her hometown of Junction is changing. Mysterious dark things are happening. All Jessie wants is to avoid more change. But showing a hot new guy around Junction High, she’s about to discover a whole new type of change. Pietr Rusakova is more than good looks and a fascinating accent—he’s a guy with a dangerous secret. And his very existence is sure to bring big trouble to Jessie’s small town. It seems change is the one thing Jessie can’t avoid…
My Review:
This is a wonderfully paced and easily read novel. Shannon Delany knows how to write for the young adult. I'm not saying there were flaws, but there weren't many. For starters, I read on somebody else's review that Pietr's last name was of a female surname for the Russian culture. His name should have been Rusakov not Rusakova. However, Shannon Delany has a method to her madness because in the second book (very first page) she mentions that the father did some stuff to make the mother want her kids to have her last name. So after I found that out, it didn't bug me as much as it did prior to reading that. Another thing that got a little irritating was how much the Rusakova's used some Russian terms for "sorry," "no," things like that. I didn't have as much of a problem with "nyet" or "da" but there were others that I just couldn't pronounce and it bugged me. The third and final problem was with the main character Jessie...please live a little for yourself, dammit! Her motto was "We don't just live our lives for ourself," (pg. 37). This irritated me because of how little she did for herself!
Onto the better stuff :D The characters are very relatable. I absolutely fell in love with pretty much all of them (especially Pietr and Amy). Pietr has a knack for pointing out the obvious which gave the book a bit of a comedic aspect to it. Amy, Jessie's best friend, I absolutely LOVED! As for Jessie...other than her motto that she lives by... I liked her. She was sarcastic and quick-witted which made me relate to her so much more. It takes about 100 pages to get to the really good stuff but just hang in there because you won't regret it! Plus, you want to know what exactly happened with the "accident" and the "test" that Jessie is put through to show her loyalty and trust to the Rusakova family. Trust me!
All-in-all, I think that this was a very good book that was well written and keeps you wanting more. After reading the first in this series, I immediately went and bought the second one and will probably do the same for the third one. So ultimately.. I cannot wait until the fourth one comes out at the end of January 2012.
Memorable Quotes:
"Trembling like my dogs, I looked at the pitchfork in my hands and laughed. Add a torch and I'd be set to join the mob in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. What did I think was out there? A monster?"
"'Not love at first sight. Lust at first sight. Haven't you ever just wanted something?' 'Yes, yes I have,' I admitted. She leaned closer. I looked into her pale blue eyes and said, 'Every time a new vampire novel comes out I want it.'"
“You know, considering your IQ, you're really socially retarded sometimes."
My Rating:
4.5 Stars
xoxo stephanie
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