Title: Crash
Author: Lisa McMann
ISBN: 9781442461680
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Released: January 8, 2013
Page #: 233
Series: Visions #1
Source: ARC from the publisher
Summary:
"Jules lives with her family above their restaurant, which means she smells like pizza most of the time and drives their double-meatball-shaped food truck to school. It's not a recipe for popularity, but she can handle that. What she can't handle is the vision.
Over and over, Jules sees a careening truck hit a building and explode... and nine body bags in the snow.
She has no idea why this is happening to her or if she's going crazy. It hardly matters, because the vision is everywhere - on billboards, television screens, windows - and she's the only one who can see it.
But it's not until the vision starts coming more frequently, and revealing more clues, that Jules knows what she has to do. Because now she can see the face in one of the body bags, and it's someone she knows.
Someone she's been in love with for as long as she can remember."
__________________________________________________
First Lines: (Quote from the ARC, subject to change)
"My sophomore psych teacher, Mr. Polselli, says knowledge is crucial to understanding the workings of the human brain, but I swear to dog, I don't want any more knowledge about this."
Page 1
__________________________________________________
Review:
It has been a while since I read the Wake trilogy by McMann, but I honestly think she is one of the best authors of YA out there today. Granted, I haven't read a couple of her books, but from what I've read, she's fantastic.
Jules works in the family pizza place. They have a huge rivalry with another family pizzeria across town. And her family isn't exactly normal - they have some pretty big secrets. But Jules has now got something she can't share with anyone. She is seeing a vision - just one... of the same huge crash over and over. It's easy to ignore at first, but finally she gets a chance to see some of the details. And what she sees changes everything - now she has to figure out how to stop it from happening.
I feel like the Wake trilogy had the same sort of premise, but with dreams. Or something close to it. Again, it's been a while, so I don't fully remember. BUT! The thing is, after reading this book, I don't even really care. McMann is just so good at crafting a story that it feels like a whole new idea. She truly doesn't pull any punches and will leave you breathless.
I really loved the whole Romeo and Juliet feel between the two teens and their family restaurants. But I loved even more the resolution in the end when you find out why that rivalry exists so much. There's something so appealing about that unrequited love that you just feel for Jules. She is fearless and loyal almost to a fault. But I loved getting to know her and I cannot wait for the next story.
One of my favorite characters was Trey, Jules' brother. He is always there to back her up and you can feel how much he loves her. Their sister Rowan is also pretty cool and I hope there is more about her in the future books. But Trey really shows what sibling love is all about. I'm not sure how many teen sibling relationships are that great (coming from experience), but it's refreshing to see.
If you haven't read any of McMann's books, I highly suggest you pick this one up. They aren't very long, and the story sucks you in till you finish it in one sitting. Just well crafted romance, thriller, mystery, drama.... and some humor thrown in to taste. Crash is a great book that I plan on recommending around to just about everyone who loves YA lit. Including you. Go find a copy while I weep over the fact that the next book doesn't come out for another three months.
__________________________________________________
Other Blog Reviews:
Kaylafultz's Blog
Dazzling Reads
Maji Bookshelf
Pure Imagination
Conversations of a Reading Addict
The Teen Book Guru
Booking It With Hayley G
The Sweet Bookshelf
The Starry-Eyed Revue
Chaotic Reader
