‘HIT,’ BY LORIE ANN GROVER
Being unfamiliar with this author’s works leaves me at a disadvantage. I didn’t know what her work would hold or if it’d be the kind of story worth reading, though the one thing I did know was that the Hit blub intrigued me more than any novel of its peer group has in a long while. It promised to be both “dangerous” yet not without poignancy that eludes said peers.
BOOK REVIEW |
STORY: This tells the story of promising 17-year-old Sarah McCormick whose life is all ahead of her. She has a scholarship to the prestigious Mills College and is nearing completion of her high school academics. All that is about to be stripped from her, and it begins when she meets grad student, Jake Haddings. Four years older than Sarah, she becomes infatuated with the visiting poetry teacher, who inspires more than just her romantic fantasies. Then one rainy morning, Haddings hits Sarah leaving her damaged more than just emotionally.
Hit, by Lorie Ann Grover | Book Review
Reviewing and ranking this novel is daunting. I’m not sure where to begin because there is a kind of beautiful delicacy in the storytelling to admire. The book tackles a subject (primarily “off-screen”) that isn’t without merit and sadly, splashes across one too many of our headlines nowadays. However, much as I wanted it to, if you’re looking for a solid “sucker punch” kind of read (emotionally), Hit is lacking.
To begin, I didn’t realize until paging through my copy, that a true story inspires this. The main pivot of the novel happens almost immediately giving the reader little to no sense of who the characters are. This makes it hard to understand them or to get behind their motivations. Also the “main crux” of the story is mostly about, if not more, Haddings’ story than Sarah’s. As time passes, there is more of her point-of-view, but certainly the beginning organically feels more attune to Haddings reactions. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing it’s just not what I was expecting.
While all of the above might suggest this novel could benefit from a longer length, the (ARC) 250 page text works well for me as did the sometimes one-paragraph chapters. The book “read” very easily because of this, and it was so nice to be able to breeze through a book for once. For me, this book isn’t an emotional payout as its setup suggests. There’s unique plot (more the aftereffect end rather than what brings us to this, which flirts with danger), and good writing, but I’m not sure where to go beyond here. I like it and respect aspect, yet between the things I’ve already mentioned and the confining timeframe (it all happens in a mere three days) I don’t count this as a favorite.
Am I glad to have read it? Absolutely. Hit is definitely fascinating, it just didn’t manage to strike any real emotional chords in me and that is something I regret.
About the Book:
Author: Lorie Ann Grover
Publisher: Blink, a division of HarperCollins
Source: Publisher Provided ARC
Publication Date: 2014
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Genre: Fiction; Young Adult Contemporary
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Sincere thanks to the publisher for providing a complimentary ARC copy of this book for reviewing purposes.
I read this too and found myself disappointed. While parts of the story had its merits, I thought the writing was juvenile and the characters weren't well-developed. However, I'm interested in checking out some of the author's other books. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Rissi! (And I have a few reviews to write including this one, but I'll probably have this review up later in the week, if you were interested!)
I know what you mean, Jillian. I've read a lot of thoughts about the writing from other reviews, I guess I didn't pick up on that so much (or maybe it didn't affect my reading) as I did the overall story. The emotional impact didn't make much of a mark, and YES! The characters just weren't "all there" for me in terms of development.
Absolutely! I'll be by to read yours whenever it goes live. :)
Beautiful review! I've been very curious about "Hit" for a while and am really happy that you've read it so I could read your thoughts. Now I know when I do get to it, I will probably not be expecting as much as I have been. :) Thanks, Rissi!
I sure hope you like it, Bekah! Every reader is different, for me, this one wasn't as I expected so it didn't "hit" the mark. That being said, it was a clever story in the respect that it's new, so I hope it finds the readers its meant to.
Thank YOU for reading.
I met the author on the Blink tour earlier this year. There was definitely some history to this story for her in a couple of ways and I think that definitely carried over in the writing. I don't know that I'll be reading it because I have to be in the mood for these types of stories if I know about them ahead of time and I don't necessarily enjoy reading them. They mostly just make me mad and/or sad and there is already so much of that in the world. On the other hand, I don't think people talk enough about similar issues or do enough about them. Great review, Rissi!
Oh, and I LOVE the cover though! I loved it when she showed it to us on the tour!
How fun! It must be pretty cool to get some insight from the author about any book. :)
Oh, I believe there is some great history with this story and I didn't realize (at first) it was based on a true story. For me, it just didn't work like I so desperately wanted it too. Were there things I liked about it? Sure, but overall, it wasn't the book for me. I hope it does find its right audience though.
Well said – there IS enough sad in the world, which is why I always lean towards the happy end of fiction.
Same for me – that cover is gorgeous. Thank YOU for reading, Tressa. :)
I still have to write my Launch Team review, but I have the exact same feelings as you Rissi. I was so disappointed. I was expecting this to be a crying book. alas it wasn't. I also felt the writing was a bit juvenile and lackluster.
I'm glad to know I'm not alone. I wanted to like this book so much and I feel like I went in "unhindered" by others thoughts since I don't believe I'd read any reviews prior to reading it or if I did they weren't negative, but yeah, it just wasn't the right fit for me. Hope it finds the right audience. :)
Will look for your review, Alyssa.