Thursday, May 16, 2013

Review: Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff

Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff Paper Valentine
By Brenna Yovanoff
Publisher:
Razorbill

To Sum It Up:

Since the death of her best friend Lillian, Hannah Wagner has been haunted by Lillian’s ghost. As Hannah struggles to cope with the daily reminder of how her friend died, a string of murders throws the community of Ludlow into a panic. The victims are all young girls, and the killer leaves a paper valentine at each crime scene. Hannah’s ability to see ghosts becomes key to stopping whoever’s responsible, but it’s not going to be easy to explain how she knows what she does.

Review:

Paper Valentine makes me think of a string quartet. Individually, each instrument produces a beautiful sound; put them together, though, and the music is even more powerful. That is this book. Each story thread draws you in, but taken as a whole, you have one knockout novel.

Hannah Wagner sees the ghost of her dead best friend, Lillian Wald. Never able to please her mother, Lillian essentially starved herself to death. Its impact has affected Hannah in several ways. Of course there’s the fact that Lillian is haunting her, and Lillian can be quite the disruptive ghost. Under her outward appearance of calm that is underscored by her cheery outfits, Hannah is wrestling with the guilt she feels over just looking on as Lillian wasted away. Lillian was also the leader of their circle of friends, and without her, Hannah begins to realize that she shares nothing in common with the remaining members of the group.

Watching Hannah deal with the loss of Lillian made for a compelling story on its own. While she seems to be carrying on with her life, she’s not okay. It’s subtle, but it’s there. This book is full of nuances that are slowly built up; it’s when you view the assembled picture that you feel the full weight of what’s happened throughout the novel. It takes Hannah some time to become aware of how much she’s holding in, and adding to that burden are her conflicted feelings toward Finnegan “Finny” Boone.

Hannah has known Finny since childhood, and he is most decidedly trouble. Yet there’s a gentleness to him that belies his sharp edges. Finny is the type of boy whom Lillian and the rest of their clique never would have allowed Hannah to be seen with. What they think isn’t really an issue anymore, though. The tension and uncertainty about what exists between these two are riveting, and again, here’s a fraction of the story that stands strongly by itself.

And now for where the title comes in. A serial killer is targeting young girls in Hannah’s community and leaving paper valentines at the crime scenes. The book takes its darkest turn yet with this part of the story. The paranormal plays a significant role in catching the killer, and it’s cleverly worked into the murder mystery aspect of the novel. I did, however, find the big reveal of the killer’s identity somewhat wanting. For all of the meticulous plotting that led up to this moment, I felt like it went by too quickly, as if there were fifteen minutes left in a movie and all the loose ends needed to be tied up.

Ending aside, Paper Valentine was a fantastic read. Brenna Yovanoff is a brilliant storyteller, and I’m just in awe of her literal and figurative uses of ghosts in this. It’s a paranormal read like this one that reminds me why I love the genre so much.

All in All:

Reading Paper Valentine late at night gave me the chills. The dark tone and build-up of suspense are so well done, as is its incorporation of the supernatural.

14 comments:

  1. Yay! I'm so happy you liked this, Lee! I've been eyeing this for a while now! It sounds so eerie and I love that! The cover is gorgeous! Great review!

    BTW, love that first line of yours! So powerful!

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    1. It is really haunting and just a fantastic read overall. I definitely recommend it!

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  2. I really want to read this one, glad you like it!

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    1. I've read two of Brenna Yovanoff's books and loved both of them. Hope you enjoy this when you read it!

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  3. Ooh this sounds like an exciting read! And the cover is definitely gorgeous as was mentioned before. Great review!

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    1. I love the cover for this and The Space Between. They both tie in perfectly to the stories, too.

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  4. Sounds really interesting and def. something I want to read one day! I love the cover and the plot is so...different! Glad you enjoyed it.

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    1. She really has a knack for writing stories that are a bit out there, yet you totally buy the world and the premise. I've been impressed with her books so far.

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  5. Love the string quartet comparison, will have to pick this up :) Great review, Lee.

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    1. I was absorbed in each plotline, and I still would have enjoyed this immensely even if the focus of the book had only been on one of them.

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  6. I agree that the ending was the weakest part, and it was pretty disappointing after all the awesomeness that preceeded it. Otherwise, though, this book was really wonderful, what with the ghost, the mystery, and the really great characters.

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    1. I felt like the book was aiming for maximum surprise with the killer's identity, but it waited so long for the unmasking that the wrap-up seemed hurried. It was rather a letdown; I'd been expecting something on a par with the excellence that was everything else about the book.

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  7. Reading your review just made me want to read this book. Since it sounded a little too scary for me, I wasn't planning on reading it despite still being curious enough to read reviews but now I really want to check it out!! I loved how you described every element and how they were amazing on their own, but even more so when considered as whole - it sounds like putting together puzzle pieces and I just LOVE books like that :) Thanks for the brilliant review!!!

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    1. I didn't find this on the scary side (believe me, I probably wouldn't have made it through to the end if it had been!), but it's definitely a dark, chilling read. I'm also a big fan of books where the different parts of the plot come together to deliver a huge impact, and that's a big reason why this book worked for me.

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