Author: Olivia Samms
Date of Publication: April 30th 2013
Publisher: Amazon Childrens Publishing
Pages: 238
Source: Review Copy- Thank you!
A popular cheerleader—raped, beaten, and left for dead. An edgy outsider with a gift. Can they team up to catch a killer?
Bea’s life has been a mess ever since she got kicked out of private school and sent to rehab. Now clean, Bea is starting over at Packard High School, in a city shaken from two assaults on young women. The latest victim, Willa Pressman—the one who survived—doesn’t remember a thing. But Bea has a disturbing new “skill”: she can see—and then draw—images from other people’s minds. And when she looks at Willa, Bea is shocked by what she sketches. Bea might be the only one who knows Willa’s secrets—and who can take down the killer before he strikes again.
Review:
I finished Sketchy and I feel a little sad that I read the ending in such a crappy mood. However, it does say something that when I wasn't very pleased I thought this book would be able to help. It did because Sketchy is entertaining with a really cool main character. Bea has personality and she has some very identifiable traits. She's sarcastic and energetic, but also persistently caring. She feels like she needs to do something to help the poor murdered and assaulted girls and so she puts herself out there and tries to do so, even if she could get hurt in the process. She's so impulsive and has this adorable enthusiasm for her hobby, clothes, which I can relate to. Everyone gushes about something, right? There's also a bit of background demonstrating that all is not good in Bea's life. She's a recovering drug addict and one of the most fascinating aspects of Sketchy was seeing how different people, mainly her understandably overprotective parents deal with that. It's interesting seeing the trust be rebuilt and it was interesting to explore Bea's dynamic with her mom.
The plot was also pretty interesting and fast. There was a mystery and it was solved by the end. There was one issue I had with the story that affected everything else, and for me that was the writing. I loved the personality and voice in the writing. It felt like Bea was talking to me as I read, so that part was well done. Believe it or not, I would have liked more description. Scenes felt a little too abrupt and the transition from setting to setting wasn't very smooth. It's not like it'll ruin your reading experience, but I would read a paragraph and the next paragraph would kind of zoom forward and it would make me wonder how Bea got from A to B. If you enjoy action, this is great, and I do so I still liked the book. It was just a little jarring at times for me. Maybe I'm just not used to this writing style? Nonetheless, I would have liked more description and thought to balance out the dialogue.
Now let's talk about something really awesome about Sketchy: the design! It's genuinely well made and pretty with even my friend commenting on how they like the cover. What I adored were the journal entries, the texts, and the sketches. Little visual details in a book always excite me because that means someone cared about doing that little bit of extra and it's beneficial to the reader. For once, texts felt like real texts and I could see Bea's mental image too which made her all the more real to me. It seems like such small features but I do enjoy them.
Overall, I think Sketchy is a nice way to start the series. Definitely entertaining and easy to read so I liked it. It wasn't without its issues and I'm sure with more experience for the author and maybe practice for me, the writing will feel more comfortable. I also hope to see some more depth in the sequel, particularly when it comes to Chris. He's a great BFF but I wonder if there's more to him. Either way, my curiosity is definitely piqued and I am looking forward to reading more of the Bea Catcher chronicles. 3 hearts,
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