What if the secret to being charismatic were actually a gene you could inherit, and pass along to your children. What if this "X-factor" could make you a star? Welcome to the world of Cease de Menich, a sixteen-year-old actress in New York City who gets cast as Joan-of-Arc in a reality-drama, only to discover her "acting gift" has been passed down through her bloodline for almost six-hundred-years. Cease finds the plot of the drama reveals dark secrets from her past--an abusive mother, a brother who committed suicide--and the reader must decide if she's a reliable narrator or a terrified girl who's succumb to the pressure of fame and the abuse of her past.
Cease & Desist is a dark, contemporary YA thriller with a supernatural twist. Readers of books like I Let You Go and The Girl on the Train will enjoy this coming-of-age story, which struggles with the realities of sexuality, violence as entertainment, and mental illness. Cease & Desist has excellent crossover potential into the adult marketplace.
My Review:
This book was really strange! I enjoyed reading it, but I was confused what was happening half the time. There were some weird jumps, and I would've liked it to have started a bit earlier, so we saw more of what the show was like before it got to the level of crazy that it did (or at least known crazy, it could be argued that the whole thing was, and only after the real weapons came out did it become known crazy!)
Honestly, this book came very close for the minuses to outweigh the pluses. They didn't, but it came close. Which is why this review sounds so negative, but I did enjoy this book! There just were parts that I didn't like or didn't understand! I got whiplash from the topic switches when the top didn't seem finished, and usually wasn't, and there wasn't very many segues. So confused!
I enjoyed the Jeanne parts, and they added so much to this book, along with the mystery, of what happened with her family, and who her family is. Plus, how the struggle of sex, violence and real love of teens is depicted and discussed. That was a big point of the show, and this book did an excellent job!
Really enjoyed how things ending! Well, parts of it were halfhearted, that there wasn't any clear justice, after all the pain that was caused, that sucked. But it was a pretty great ending for Cease, Nina and Jeanne!
This book was strange and isn't for everyone, but it was pretty great to read!
Author: Stephen David Hurley
Read: October 24th, 2016
Source: YA Bound Review Copy
Reason Why: Sounded really good! And it's a SAC 2016 Book!
Publisher: Stephen David Hurley
Published: October 10th 2016
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| 4/5 Hearts |
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| 3.5/5 Books |
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| 3.5/5 Stars |
Stephen David Hurley teaches middle school and blogs about fiction, faith and young people. You can find his blog at—you guessed it—fictionfaithandyoungpeople.com
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