Book Review: Hush, Hush

you can find the book at:
GoodReads | Author’s website | Amazon | Bookdepository
my review:
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

HUSH, HUSH is the story of Nora Grey and how her life becomes anything but average when she is seated next to the new kid, Patch Cipriano, in her Biology class.

This really isn’t much of a review. Just me complaining, really, of how extremely terrible this book was. I’m not going to even follow my usual review format because I don’t think this even deserves a well, written review. Even if I absolutely despise a book, there’s usually a couple of redeeming factors but with this, there was nothing. Absolutely nothing

• Ok, who lets a gym teacher teach Biology? I understand if he was a supply teacher but, no, this school let this poor excuse for a teacher teach Biology. (and half the stuff he was teaching I’m sure didn’t have anything to do with Bio)
• This is also the same coach who allowed a male student to openly harass a girl in class, in front of the entire class by telling everyone exactly how to tell when a girl is turned on
• Nora brings it up to the teacher that he’s ignoring her basic right as a student to not be harassed like that in school. His response? Just wait it out. And then proceeds to tell her that she should tutor the very boy who is making her uncomfortable.
  • No teacher should condone the abuse Patch does to Nora. 
• I’ve seen Patch very high on YA Book Boyfriend lists and now that I’ve read it… I’m so confused as to why? Even if he does he better in the next book, his behaviour now is frankly quite disgusting and it’s quite scary to see people crown him as an amazing love interest.
• For a girl aiming for the big Ivy league schools, Nora shows no sign of actually caring about her grades. The idea of Nora being smart is just told to us. We never actually see how smart Nora is. (Every chance she gets it’s ruined because she’s distracted by Patch the trash)
• Patch sends the majority of this novel just stalking and sexually harassing Nora. And it actually confounds me that we’re supposed to be swooning at this. Are we really supposed to be finding a boy who continues to make unwanted advances on a girl who has repeatedly told him that she doesn’t like him attractive? He is manipulative, abusive and just plain disgusting.
• “If rape, murder, or any other miscreant activities were on Patch’s mind, he’d cornered me in the perfect place. ” That is what the PROTAGONIST thinks of HER LOVE INTEREST.
• Very stereotypical female enemy. You know the drill. I think the words slut and bitch were chucked around.
• A pathetic excuse for a best friend. I liked Vee to start with. She was almost a redeeming factor but halfway through she stopped being a best friend. No best friend would make you go out with a guy you’ve told her is making you uncomfortable. Vee is the worst and their friendship is just so BAD.
• One example of Vee being the shittest friend I’ve ever seen:
• “He dragged me out the front door and shoved me against the house.”
  “But he was drunk, right?”
  “Does it matter?” I snapped.
  “Well, he has a lot going on. I mean, he was wrongly accused of being messed up in some girl’s suicide, and he was forced to switch schools. If he hurt you—and I’m not justifying what he did, by the way—maybe he just needs … counseling, you know?”
  “If he hurt me?”
  “He was wasted. Maybe—maybe he didn’t know what he was doing. Tomorrow he’s going to feel horrible.”
• I ALMOST DROPPED THIS UGLY BOOK. YOUR BEST FRIEND TELLS YOU THAT A BOY ATTACKED HER AND YOU BRUSH IT OFF BECAUSE HE WAS DRUNK? WHAT KIND OF A FRIEND ARE YOU?

I’m going to stop here because that’s all the sections that I bookmarked but I think you get the gist. I hated everything about this book and its attempt to justify harassment by covering it up as a so-called love story is actually quite worrying.

Paperback, 391 pages

Published October 13th 2010 by Simon & Schuster BFYR

ISBN: 1416989420