Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I came to discover this book in a truly bizarre way - I won a pre-release proof copy in a gift basket of books at a raffle. I have no idea where it came from. I will also state up-front that I am over 40 years old, and not your typical demographic for this book. While I found this book to be a very easy read, it was also incredibly suspenseful and I enjoyed it tremendously. I read it over the course of a few days rather than my typical "few weeks". The characterizations are very well done; even though there is very little descriptive prose (and TONS of dialog) you get a very good internal image of these young people. I agree with most of what the previous reviewer wrote, with a couple of exceptions: 1) The dialog is a little too realistic - characters say "What?" at least a hundred times in this book, only to have the previous line of dialog re-stated. It feels realistic, and helps drive home some points, but it is overused and becomes agonizingly tedious (unless it was changed after the pre-release copy) and 2) while it is not glamorized, these kids get drunk, smoke dope, take drugs, have sex, lie, commit strong acts of violence, and get themselves in way over their head. The "F" word is used about 100 times. A mature reader might understand the lessons found between the lines, but I'm afraid other, less mature readers, might see all these recognizable characters doing unacceptable things and somehow legitimize their behavior. None of these characters have any redeeming values, other than the friedship and loyalty between two of them, nor should any of them serve as role models. Maybe I'm an overly protective parent, but I strongly disagree with rating of "12 and older" in my advance copy. A 12 year old will have nightmares for a week. Maybe a mature 15 or 16. This is Stephen King type stuff, toned down only a *little* bit.
Despite these warnings, Black Rabbit Summer really was a wonderful surprise, and a very good story. I'd give it 4.5 stars if I could.
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