Title: My Kind of Crazy
Author: Robin Reul
Published: 05/04/2016, Sourcebooks Fire
Pages: 256
Source: Netgalley
Format: Ebook
Rating: 2/5
"Despite the best of intentions, seventeen-year-old, wisecracking Hank Kirby can't quite seem to catch a break. It's not that he means to screw things up all the time, it just happens. A lot. Case in point: his attempt to ask out the girl he likes literally goes up in flames when he spells "Prom" in sparklers on her lawn...and nearly burns down her house.
As if that wasn't bad enough, Peyton Breedlove, a brooding loner and budding pyromaniac, witnesses the whole thing. Much to Hank's dismay, Peyton takes an interest in him - and his "work." The two are thrust into an unusual friendship, but their boundaries are tested when Hank learns that Peyton is hiding some dark secrets, secrets that may change everything he thought he knew about Peyton."
Author: Robin Reul
Published: 05/04/2016, Sourcebooks Fire
Pages: 256
Source: Netgalley
Format: Ebook
Rating: 2/5
"Despite the best of intentions, seventeen-year-old, wisecracking Hank Kirby can't quite seem to catch a break. It's not that he means to screw things up all the time, it just happens. A lot. Case in point: his attempt to ask out the girl he likes literally goes up in flames when he spells "Prom" in sparklers on her lawn...and nearly burns down her house.
As if that wasn't bad enough, Peyton Breedlove, a brooding loner and budding pyromaniac, witnesses the whole thing. Much to Hank's dismay, Peyton takes an interest in him - and his "work." The two are thrust into an unusual friendship, but their boundaries are tested when Hank learns that Peyton is hiding some dark secrets, secrets that may change everything he thought he knew about Peyton."
My Kind of Crazy is a fun and quick read about a teenage boy who really doesn't seem to have any luck at all. It's a nice story, but it didn't really shine for me as much as I hoped it would.
I can't really say much about the setting, other than its set around different areas of a small town - school, shop, hank's home etc. It's pretty average and could be anywhere. However, it suits the characters perfectly given their ages. And it's the only YA book I've heard of so far that has scenes set in a strip club, so that was very different.
The characters are just your average characters. To be honest, I felt quite detached from them, though they were fairly likeable. I just couldn't connect with them the way I'd have liked to. Hank's just your average, nerdy teenager who just wants to ask the pretty girl to Prom. He also has problems at home, which is fairly typical of YA contemporaries these days. Peyton is also from a broken home with underlying problems, leading to her pyromaniac tendencies.
My Kind of Crazy is told in the first-person from the perspective of Hank. We experience first-hand his worry about the fire, his crush and his home life. He really is a massive worrier.
I did find My Kind of Crazy to be a fairly quick read. It was also an easy read. I just felt that the whole story was just so damn predictable. Although it still managed to hold my attention. The ending wrapped up the story nicely, but I still felt kind of meh about the whole thing.
In short, My Kind of Crazy is an okay read and I just wish I could have connected with both the story and the characters more. I honestly feel a bit disappointed that I didn't like it more. If anyone's looking for a quick read, I'd say give it a go if you can find it at the library. Although it's nice, I didn't like it enough to say it's a book to spend money on.
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Oh, sadness! I have been hearing mostly mediocre things about this, and I was really hoping it'd be better. But if you are detached from the characters, that's definitely not going to work! Tbh, I don't care about the prom either hahah- and then if the plot is predictable? Bleh. I think I am going to pass on this one- I am picky about contemporary, so I think you just saved me! Great review, but sorry it didn't work for you!
ReplyDeleteProm isn't a big thing over here so I didn't particularly care about that aspect of the story at all. The premise did intrigue me, but it just fell flat for me.
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