016--Book Review Friday

I am going to try something out and see if it really works out or if I am just wasting my time trying to pull this off.  As suggested by a friend, every Friday I will attempt a book review to give you all an idea of what I'm reading and where I draw my writing influences from.  After all, "they" say that all good writers read.

So, this week I will be reviewing Party by Tom Leveen (a link for which--via Barnes and Noble--can be found at the end of this review).  I am very much the type of book-buyer who is drawn to an intriguing cover and a title that gives away nothing about the overall plot, so this was right up my alley.  The blurb on the inside flap of Party "for eleven people, the reasons for being there are way more complicated..." and then proceeds to list of seven classic teenage angst-filled reasons for attending an end-of-the-year party.  While reading each of the eleven characters' chapters, I found myself referring to the introductory list, finding that each character had multiple reasons for their attendance at the party.  I enjoyed the alternating points of view--as I usually do in young adult fiction--but each chapter could have been drawn out more fully in order to develop a connection between the reader and the characters.  I can honestly say that while characters are depicted on the cover of the book, there was only one I could identify, and that is only because of his football gear; all around, I found the characters to be a little flat.  The novel struggled to catch my interest until about the sixth chapter during an intense verbal and physical altercation.  If it weren't for my determination to finish things I start, I would have put this book down after the first chapter, and I would have missed the drama-filled finale that really made the book.

I rate this book a 6 out of 10.  The final chapters of the book made up for the rest of it, but not enough to receive a truly satisfactory rating from me.

If I have not completely turned you off from Party, here is a link to where you can purchase it:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/party-tom-leveen/1100292412?ean=9780375864360&itm=1&usri=leveen

Let me know what you think of my book review, if you'd like to see more of this, etc.