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tobyyy's review against another edition
4.0
Many thanks to Red Adept Publishing, via NetGalley, for a copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review.
4.5
I didn't really read any of the earlier reviews in-depth -- sometimes I do, other times not. However, I did skim them and one of the reviewers said that she had no idea why this book isn't better known/hasn't gotten more attention than it has. And I agree with that question fully.
Grunge Gods and Graveyards was one of the best YA books I've read in a long time. I'm not entirely sure how it would be classed -- in my mind, it's a combination of paranormal romance plus murder mystery, but even those words don't encompass the awesomeness that was this book.
I really liked the protagonist, Lainey. I liked how imperfect she was, and although by the end it was getting tiresome to hear all of the "it was my fault that Danny died" stuff, I'm glad that she found out the truth at the end. And I hated, absolutely hated, Wynter and her bullying -- again, until the end, when a little more was clarified about why Wynter was the way she was.
There is also a fair bit in this book dealing with corrupt officials, which is an interesting topic for a YA novel. Obviously, not normally tackled in YA books since I guess in general teens don't really bother themselves with politics, but in this book, since the corrupt official "stuff" had to do with Danny's death, Lainey got in the thick of it, so to speak.
I liked the similarities between Lainey and her sister, Liz, and how they eventually semi-bonded over them. I am also a sucker for happy endings, and this book definitely did provide that as well.
Will definitely recommend for anyone who is a fan of YA, paranormal romance, and/or murder mysteries. I'm so glad I was accepted to read Grunge Gods and Graveyards and I think more people should read it. I am definitely going to be looking for other books by Ms. Giarratano! :)
4.5
I didn't really read any of the earlier reviews in-depth -- sometimes I do, other times not. However, I did skim them and one of the reviewers said that she had no idea why this book isn't better known/hasn't gotten more attention than it has. And I agree with that question fully.
Grunge Gods and Graveyards was one of the best YA books I've read in a long time. I'm not entirely sure how it would be classed -- in my mind, it's a combination of paranormal romance plus murder mystery, but even those words don't encompass the awesomeness that was this book.
I really liked the protagonist, Lainey. I liked how imperfect she was, and although by the end it was getting tiresome to hear all of the "it was my fault that Danny died" stuff, I'm glad that she found out the truth at the end. And I hated, absolutely hated, Wynter and her bullying -- again, until the end, when a little more was clarified about why Wynter was the way she was.
There is also a fair bit in this book dealing with corrupt officials, which is an interesting topic for a YA novel. Obviously, not normally tackled in YA books since I guess in general teens don't really bother themselves with politics, but in this book, since the corrupt official "stuff" had to do with Danny's death, Lainey got in the thick of it, so to speak.
I liked the similarities between Lainey and her sister, Liz, and how they eventually semi-bonded over them. I am also a sucker for happy endings, and this book definitely did provide that as well.
Will definitely recommend for anyone who is a fan of YA, paranormal romance, and/or murder mysteries. I'm so glad I was accepted to read Grunge Gods and Graveyards and I think more people should read it. I am definitely going to be looking for other books by Ms. Giarratano! :)
angelas_library's review
4.0
A free copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
When I was a kid, I used to like hanging out in graveyards (I was a weird child - what more can I say?). I would spend hours walking up and down the the rows, reading the tombstones and wondering about the people buried there. Thinking about those people and the lives they'd left behind always gave me a feeling of wistfulness; how could someone be there one day and gone the next? What business had they left unfinished? Who was remembering and missing them?
These are some of the questions that Giarratano focuses on in Grunge Gods and Graveyards. The book tells the story of Lainey Bloom and Danny Obregon, two teenagers whose burgeoning romance is abruptly cut short when Danny is killed in a hit and run accident. After the accident, vicious rumors spread through the town, painting Danny as an arsonist and Lainey as an obsessed, love-crazed girl who literally chased Danny into the path of an oncoming car. When Danny's restless spirit returns to Ash seeking closure, Lainey determines to help him get to the bottom of the events surrounding his death, hoping to clear both of their names and help Danny get the closure he needs to cross over and be at peace.
Grunge Gods and Graveyards can be classified as a mystery novel, but I was was much more interested in watching the interactions between Lainey and Danny than I was in the whodunnit aspect. One of the tragedies of Danny's untimely death is that he died just as he and Lainey had decided to give their relationship a shot. Their romance ended before it could truly begin, before they could discover what they might have been together.
After Danny's ghost returns, he and Lainey attempt to pick up where they left off. As you can imagine, though, it's no easy task to carry on a relationship where one party is alive and the other is deceased. For one thing, Lainey can't confide in anyone, can't talk about Danny (or to him when they're in public) without people thinking she's crazy. Danny wants more for Lainey than a life of isolation with no one but a ghost for company, but Lainey can't imagine going on without him.
In addition to their emotional challenges, Danny and Lainey also have physical obstacles to their relationship. Danny hasn't quite mastered his ghostly abilities, meaning that he and Lainey usually can't touch one another. When they are able to touch, though, look out - these scenes are hot enough to make you sizzle!
Danny is easily the highlight of this novel. I loved everything about his character, with the exception of his poor taste in dating bitchy Wynter Woods prior to hooking up with Lainey. He seems so real, not just in the sense that his character is believable (though that is the case), but in the sense that he seems like a genuine, caring, laid-back guy who's easy to be around and who will always make you smile. I also appreciate that Danny stands out from the host of other popular kings-of-high-school in YA literature. He's a musician, not a jock, and he's Mexican, which sets him apart from the rest of his white-bread town.
As much as I enjoyed Danny's character, I felt there were some inconsistencies in the characterization of some of the book's other players. For example, Lainey's father bounces back and forth between sympathetic father and ruthless dictator, and her best friend abruptly switches from Most Understanding Friend in the World to Cold, Unforgiving Jerk in the span of a few pages.
I also was a little skeptical of the number of antagonists in the novel. Just about everyone in Lainey's life, from her family and friends to her classmates and the entire administration of her high school, seems to be conspiring against her. I understand people being turned off by her erratic behavior, but it was a bit implausible for the entire community to be out to get her.
Still, don't let this turn you off from the book. Giarratano's smooth writing style and Danny and Lainey's charmingly bittersweet love story more than make up from any rough spots. Grunge Gods and Graveyards is definitely worth a read!
This review can also be found on my blog, Angela's Library.
When I was a kid, I used to like hanging out in graveyards (I was a weird child - what more can I say?). I would spend hours walking up and down the the rows, reading the tombstones and wondering about the people buried there. Thinking about those people and the lives they'd left behind always gave me a feeling of wistfulness; how could someone be there one day and gone the next? What business had they left unfinished? Who was remembering and missing them?
These are some of the questions that Giarratano focuses on in Grunge Gods and Graveyards. The book tells the story of Lainey Bloom and Danny Obregon, two teenagers whose burgeoning romance is abruptly cut short when Danny is killed in a hit and run accident. After the accident, vicious rumors spread through the town, painting Danny as an arsonist and Lainey as an obsessed, love-crazed girl who literally chased Danny into the path of an oncoming car. When Danny's restless spirit returns to Ash seeking closure, Lainey determines to help him get to the bottom of the events surrounding his death, hoping to clear both of their names and help Danny get the closure he needs to cross over and be at peace.
Grunge Gods and Graveyards can be classified as a mystery novel, but I was was much more interested in watching the interactions between Lainey and Danny than I was in the whodunnit aspect. One of the tragedies of Danny's untimely death is that he died just as he and Lainey had decided to give their relationship a shot. Their romance ended before it could truly begin, before they could discover what they might have been together.
After Danny's ghost returns, he and Lainey attempt to pick up where they left off. As you can imagine, though, it's no easy task to carry on a relationship where one party is alive and the other is deceased. For one thing, Lainey can't confide in anyone, can't talk about Danny (or to him when they're in public) without people thinking she's crazy. Danny wants more for Lainey than a life of isolation with no one but a ghost for company, but Lainey can't imagine going on without him.
In addition to their emotional challenges, Danny and Lainey also have physical obstacles to their relationship. Danny hasn't quite mastered his ghostly abilities, meaning that he and Lainey usually can't touch one another. When they are able to touch, though, look out - these scenes are hot enough to make you sizzle!
Danny is easily the highlight of this novel. I loved everything about his character, with the exception of his poor taste in dating bitchy Wynter Woods prior to hooking up with Lainey. He seems so real, not just in the sense that his character is believable (though that is the case), but in the sense that he seems like a genuine, caring, laid-back guy who's easy to be around and who will always make you smile. I also appreciate that Danny stands out from the host of other popular kings-of-high-school in YA literature. He's a musician, not a jock, and he's Mexican, which sets him apart from the rest of his white-bread town.
As much as I enjoyed Danny's character, I felt there were some inconsistencies in the characterization of some of the book's other players. For example, Lainey's father bounces back and forth between sympathetic father and ruthless dictator, and her best friend abruptly switches from Most Understanding Friend in the World to Cold, Unforgiving Jerk in the span of a few pages.
I also was a little skeptical of the number of antagonists in the novel. Just about everyone in Lainey's life, from her family and friends to her classmates and the entire administration of her high school, seems to be conspiring against her. I understand people being turned off by her erratic behavior, but it was a bit implausible for the entire community to be out to get her.
Still, don't let this turn you off from the book. Giarratano's smooth writing style and Danny and Lainey's charmingly bittersweet love story more than make up from any rough spots. Grunge Gods and Graveyards is definitely worth a read!
This review can also be found on my blog, Angela's Library.
shay23's review
5.0
Orginaly posted at The Story Goes... -Blog tour stops on the 17th and the 21st!
I really really enjoyed this book, I mean I just I loved it. The thing is, for me, the more I love a book the more nonsense I write in my review, so just a warning. It pretty much goes like, I loved everything, I just say that word, love, over and over again. It's like I just want to run up to random strangers thrust the book in there faces and yell "I love this book!" as loud as I can. So that's all you need to know right? Right?
Let's start with the setting, not just the town, but the year, 1996, and this is mainly because of grunge music, hence the Grunge Gods part of the title. I loved all the music references and how music played into this book, it's not what makes this book so awesome but it's like the icing on the cake of awesomeness. I just loved it so much. I am a sucker for any kind of musical reference in books, whether the main character just listens to music or sings or whatever, and I've never seen anything that focuses on Grunge music and I just loved it so much.(Should we count how many times I say the word love?)
Then you have the graveyards, because if you're going to have ghosts you have to have graveyards. Let's actually talk ghosts though, okay? I loved(dammit) the mystery aspect to this book, of solving Danny's murder and everything, it really did keep me guessing until the very end. I really liked(ha) the way ghosts were portrayed in this book, I'm a huge fan of ghost books whether they're scary or bitter sweet, and I really liked the version the author chose to use, they weren't crazy or mean they were just stuck. It was bitter sweet and heartbreaking to see Danny's ghost and all the unsaid things between Lainey and him, it just gave me all the feels, like I wanted them to be together and then I wanted her to move on and then it's just so sad and all the feels...you know?
Which brings me to the next thing I loved, which was Lainey and her journey to acceptance, my heart broke a little bit each time she would remember that though she could see Danny he really was gone and...the feels, okay? The feels. All the scenes from the short week or so they had together and then the memories from before that when they were sorta kinda friends, I loved that we got to see so much of their relationship without it overwhelming the rest of the story. I also really enjoyed Lainey's relationship with her sister Liz, and her best friend Wilder(I really really enjoyed Wilders character). I thought all the characters were done really well, they never really annoyed me which says a lot, really it does, and they were believable which is always good. I wanted more Nutley though, from like the first sentence he was mentioned in I knew I was going to love him but we didn't really get to see much of him which was a little disappointing!
So basically I loved this book, there were a few little things that I didn't like, like I wanted more Nutely and more about the Lady In Blue but...I still loved this book. Also I don't know if this is going to be a series or what, but I really really want it to be one!
I really really enjoyed this book, I mean I just I loved it. The thing is, for me, the more I love a book the more nonsense I write in my review, so just a warning. It pretty much goes like, I loved everything, I just say that word, love, over and over again. It's like I just want to run up to random strangers thrust the book in there faces and yell "I love this book!" as loud as I can. So that's all you need to know right? Right?
Let's start with the setting, not just the town, but the year, 1996, and this is mainly because of grunge music, hence the Grunge Gods part of the title. I loved all the music references and how music played into this book, it's not what makes this book so awesome but it's like the icing on the cake of awesomeness. I just loved it so much. I am a sucker for any kind of musical reference in books, whether the main character just listens to music or sings or whatever, and I've never seen anything that focuses on Grunge music and I just loved it so much.(Should we count how many times I say the word love?)
Then you have the graveyards, because if you're going to have ghosts you have to have graveyards. Let's actually talk ghosts though, okay? I loved(dammit) the mystery aspect to this book, of solving Danny's murder and everything, it really did keep me guessing until the very end. I really liked(ha) the way ghosts were portrayed in this book, I'm a huge fan of ghost books whether they're scary or bitter sweet, and I really liked the version the author chose to use, they weren't crazy or mean they were just stuck. It was bitter sweet and heartbreaking to see Danny's ghost and all the unsaid things between Lainey and him, it just gave me all the feels, like I wanted them to be together and then I wanted her to move on and then it's just so sad and all the feels...you know?
Which brings me to the next thing I loved, which was Lainey and her journey to acceptance, my heart broke a little bit each time she would remember that though she could see Danny he really was gone and...the feels, okay? The feels. All the scenes from the short week or so they had together and then the memories from before that when they were sorta kinda friends, I loved that we got to see so much of their relationship without it overwhelming the rest of the story. I also really enjoyed Lainey's relationship with her sister Liz, and her best friend Wilder(I really really enjoyed Wilders character). I thought all the characters were done really well, they never really annoyed me which says a lot, really it does, and they were believable which is always good. I wanted more Nutley though, from like the first sentence he was mentioned in I knew I was going to love him but we didn't really get to see much of him which was a little disappointing!
So basically I loved this book, there were a few little things that I didn't like, like I wanted more Nutely and more about the Lady In Blue but...I still loved this book. Also I don't know if this is going to be a series or what, but I really really want it to be one!
tja055f6's review
3.0
Received from: Red Adept Publishing
Received Via: NetGalley.com
THE REVIEW
Why this book?
It seemed like a book for me
What I thought
I liked and hated this book. I liked The relationship between Lainey and Danny. And what's not to love about Danny. I liked how Lainey grew as character and how she stuck up for herself. I hated all the mean kids and why Lainey had to stick up for herself. I hated that she felt all alone when it seemed even her best friend turned on her. There were many times when I consider making this a DNF but like I said I liked The relationship between Lainey and Danny they were so cute together and it's so sad that he's dead. Plus the premise was interesting and I couldn't wait to find out how it all ended, Overall a good read
Received Via: NetGalley.com
THE REVIEW
Why this book?
It seemed like a book for me
What I thought
I liked and hated this book. I liked The relationship between Lainey and Danny. And what's not to love about Danny. I liked how Lainey grew as character and how she stuck up for herself. I hated all the mean kids and why Lainey had to stick up for herself. I hated that she felt all alone when it seemed even her best friend turned on her. There were many times when I consider making this a DNF but like I said I liked The relationship between Lainey and Danny they were so cute together and it's so sad that he's dead. Plus the premise was interesting and I couldn't wait to find out how it all ended, Overall a good read
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