hush, hush

Author: Becca Fitzpatrick

ISBN:978-1416989417

Publication Information: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing

Plot Summary:Nora is a smart, straight laced student. Her main goal is to do well in school, and to ultimately go to a great college. Boys are definitely not part of the plan, that is, until new transfer student Patch becomes Nora's lab partner. Despite her efforts to ignore him, Nora is immediately attracted and intrigued by scruffy Patch, who is different from the other boys at Nora's high school, and seems to have a slightly dangerous edge. But soon after Nora starts interacting with Patch, strange and scary things begin to happen, and Nora begins to wonder if Patch is putting her in danger, or is keeping her safe. Even stranger, Patch seems to be able to read Nora's mind, and has some strange sense of control over Nora. Should Nora follow her head, which is telling her to stay far away from Patch, or her heart, which feels an inexplicable pull towards this strange, mysterious boy. Who, or what, is Patch, and why does trouble seem to always be following him?

Critical Evaluation: Those that love the Twilight series should also really enjoy this book. There is the same element of a romance between a fantastical figure and a regular human. The difference between this book and other well known fantasy titles is that this book has a thriller feel to the plot. Fitzpatrick is very good at creating chilling, high tension plot points that will be sure to entice readers that enjoy the thriller genre as well as fantasy. Characters are not as developed as they could be, but the plot is fast paced and well written, which is more than enough to create an intriguing novel. Nora as a female protagonist is smart and driven, but also falls into the "damsel in distress" role a few too many times to consider her a true feminist role model. Still, she is a realistic character that many teens should relate to and empathize with, making this a novel that should show up on library book lists, particularly lists that are either thriller or fantasy based.

Reader's Annotation:New student Patch is shaking up Nora's life. Patch understands Nora in a way that no one else does, almost like he can read her mind and see her thoughts. Can he?

Author Information: Becca Fitzpatrick is a hot new writer in the young adult literature scene. Hush, Hush is her first novel. She graduated college with a degree in health, but gave up a career in the health industry to become a writer. In her spare time, she enjoys watching crime dramas, shoe shopping and running. (Information taken from the author's website http://beccafitzpatrick.com/bio.html)

Curricular Ties:n/a

Genre:Fantasy, Thriller

Book talking ideas:

• Would you feel comfortable staying at home along in Nora's farmhouse, like Nora had to do on a regular basis throughout the novel?
• If you were in Nora's position, would you continue a relationship with Patch after you found out that he was controlling some of your feelings and thoughts?
• Is Vee a good friend to Nora? Why or why not?
  

Challenge issues: violence

• Familiarize yourself with the book and its contents.
• Check the library for specific policies on challenged books.
• Check the ALA website for advice on how to respond and react when a book has been challenged. (http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/challengeslibrarymaterials/index.cfm)
  
• Find positive reviews from reputable websites.
• Ask the challenger for their specific objections and try to address them using information from the above research.

Interest Age: Grades 9 and up

Why I selected this piece: Shortly after this book was released, I read a short interview with Becca Fitzpatrick about the process of writing the book. I thought the plot sounded interesting, so I put it on my to do list.