Hickey of the Beast by Isabel Kunkle

Book Summery (Via Goodreads): Connie thought freshman year might suck. She never thought it'd be literal.

Bad dreams? No big deal. After all, Connie Perez is starting her first year in the prep school her mom runs. Anyone would be a little stressed, right? When she starts dreaming about strange creatures and places that don't make sense, she doesn't think much about it: there's other stuff on her mind. Then she starts noticing that the people she dreams about get sick right afterwards.

Then everything gets weird.

There's something bad on the campus of Springden Academy. Something that feeds on students and warps their minds. And, as Connie and her friends try to figure out what's going on, it starts to look like she's the only one who can stop it.

Freshman year was hard enough without having to fight evil after class.

Book Review:
The premise of the book is really interesting. I was really looking forward to a fun, whimsical read with a touch of paranormal. However, the execution is lacking. What really got to me was the dialog. It's almost like the main character is trying too hard to talk like teen with overuse of slang and "typical" high school references (i.e. team sports, homework, crushes). That would honestly be acceptable, targeting a younger middle-school audience, if there wasn't as many curse words used. The mixture of the two was just odd. I tried to get used to it, but I just couldn't. Don't get me wrong, I'm not one for censorship, but for a more youthful tone, I would try paring down some of the profanity (which I'll admit is more on the lighter side, nothing too explicit). There are some interesting, captivating scenes. Other parts of the story lagged. Overall, I would recommend this for mature younger readers.

Favorite Quote:
"'Shakespear wasn't exactly G-rated in his day.'

'Yeah, I keep hearing that,' I said, 'but I don't think it counts if can't understand the dirty parts'."

Cover Art Commentary:
I really like this cover! Of course, I'm a sucker for a stack of books, I mean what book fiend isn't? The colors are eye-catching and contrast nicely.

Rating:

Thank you Candlemark & Gleam for providing me with a copy of Hickey of the Beast. This is my honest review.