Friday 3 December 2010

Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick


October 2010, Simon and Schuster
432 pages, Hardback
Review copy

Young Adult

Dark angels, ghostly apparitions, stalkers, murderers, cults, teen romantic angst, some teen romance, school life, a few tissues needed

Nora should know better than to think her life can return to normal after falling in love with a fallen angel. And Nora's life isn't normal - her dad was murdered, and the facts about his death just don't add up. Now Nora's own life is in imminent danger. Are she and Patch strong enough for the battle ahead?

Nayuleska's thoughts
I enjoyed Hush Hush, so I thought I'd enjoy Crescendo. I found it humours in a lot of places. For a good part of the book there was a lot of teen angst. I wanted to tell Nora to get over it and move on. Patch seemed so horrible some of the time (although some of it was miscommunication and Nora leaping to conclusions). I did consider putting the book down and not picking it up again - I was just so confused about what was happening. However, because I liked Hush Hush so much, and I knew everyone was raving about Crescendo, I persevered.

Oh boy am I glad I did that! It's only in the final few chapters that everything gets explained. I feel the story was like a snow globe. There's the truth snow globe, and the snow globe that is Crescendo. Right at the end it gets shaken so violently that the fixed objects in the snow globe move around the glass ball. Everything I thought I knew changed. I wanted to squeal in fear at several parts. I finally understood why I was confused about a lot, why Nora had so much teen angst. I do want to go and re-read because I know I'll understand it better now. It is as good as the hype. Especially the ending which is left me in serious suspsense. After all the revelations, I hadn't expected the story to end like that!

I found Vee much funnier in Crescendo, some of the lines she comes out with are hilarious. She's a crazy friend, but Nora loves her. There was one part of the story which summed up their friendship: they get in a situation and need help. Only the person who can help Nora is right next to her (Vee), and the person who can help Vee is right next to her (Nora). They are that close that they don't really share other friends. The mystery surrounding Marcie's greater role in the story is huge. I feel quite differently about her now. Patch was creepy in  some parts of the story, but I sensed he was always there for Nora, protecting her. There are a lot of dark moments that had me wishing I was reading it in daylight.

Final conclusion 
Crescendo is a book that will reveal more each time you read it :) You'll get dizzy with all the story twists, and will stare blankly at the last page with the truly cliffhanger ending. I'm looking forward to re-reading this and Hush Hush, armed with the stunning revelations of the story. And I want the third book NOW!

Be sure to read the first book, Hush Hush, and check out all the details about Becca on her website.

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