Thursday, March 1, 2012

Review - Chasing Brooklyn

Chasing Brooklyn
by Lisa Schroeder
Date: 2010
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Reading level: YA
Book type: verse novel
Pages: 412
Format: hardcover
Source: library

Brooklyn can't sleep. Her boyfriend, Lucca, died only a year ago, and now her friend Gabe has just died of an overdose. Every time she closes her eyes, Gabe's ghost is there waiting for her. She has no idea what he wants or why it isn't Lucca visiting her dreams.

Nico can't stop. He's always running, trying to escape the pain of losing his brother, Lucca. But when Lucca's ghost begins leaving messages, telling Nico to help Brooklyn, emotions come crashing to the surface.

As the nightmares escalate and the messages become relentless, Nico reaches out to Brooklyn. But neither of them can admit that they're being haunted. Until they learn to let each other in, not one soul will be able to rest.

(synopsis from Amazon)

This was the third of Lisa Schroeder's books I've read (the other two being The Day Before and I Heart You, You Haunt Me).  While they're all fairly good, I found that I Heart You, You Haunt Me and Chasing Brooklyn were too similar for my taste.  Yes, they're supposed to be companion novels (the main character of I Heart You, You Haunt Me even shows up in Chasing Brooklyn), but to me it almost felt as if the author was repeating herself.  Two girls lose their boyfriends, are subsequently haunted, and eventually move on with their lives.  I did enjoy the male viewpoint in Chasing Brooklyn (half of the book is told by Nico), but it wasn't enough to really wow me or make me feel like I hadn't just wasted my time by reading the same book twice!

I guess what I'm saying is that either of the two books is good... on its own.  I just felt like I had dead-boyfriend fatigue by the end of Chasing Brooklyn.  If I could go back and read just one, I'd probably choose this one, because I found the characters just a bit more interesting.

Plot: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
Pace: 4/5
Writing: 4/5
Editing: 4/5
Originality: 3/5
Enjoyment: 3/5

Overall: 3.71 out of 5

1 comment:

  1. I've yet to read any of her books. I have I Heart You, You Haunt Me but haven't got to you yet.

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