ARC Review: S.T.A.G.S. by M.A. Bennett

S.T.A.G.S.
By M.A. Bennett
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Format: Print ARC
Source: YALLFest
Publication Date: January 30, 2018

To Sum It Up: Greer MacDonald has become the new scholarship student at a highly prestigious boarding school. However, the excitement of her new school quickly wears off as Greer is treated like an outsider by most of her wealthy classmates. When Greer is invited to Henry de Warlencourt’s estate for the weekend, she eagerly accepts, excited by the prospect of forming connections with her peers. But the weekend takes a turn for the sinister, and Greer must face some shocking truths.

Melissa's Review: The premise of this story was fascinating to me. I mean, who doesn’t love stories about elite boarding schools with a dark twist?! M.A. Bennett does an excellent job of immersing the reader in the setting of her story by providing interesting, but not an excessive amount of detail. I thought the most intriguing part of the book was Bennett’s ability to set such a gripping and continuous pace. I read this book in only two sittings!

I felt as though the characters were not fully developed, and they seemed somewhat one-dimensional. Additionally, the relationships between characters were weak and not quite believable. This lack of development made the characters unrelatable and the reader unsympathetic to their plights. While there certainly was an interesting ideology behind the motives of the antagonists, there was a serious lack of relatability, making it hard for the reader to suspend their disbelief.

The ending was, unfortunately, very dissatisfying. There seemed to be a forced sense of the story coming full circle. It was boring in its predictability. I think if the book had ended a chapter or two sooner, the ending would have been more fitting for the rest of the story.

All in All: S.T.A.G.S. was certainly a quick read, and Bennett has a talent for pace within her writing. The downfall of this book was ultimately a lack of character development. It was enjoyable all the same.

Lee's Review: Given my ongoing struggle with reading for any extended length of time, it’s pretty amazing that I finished S.T.A.G.S. in a single weekend. That is entirely due to the book’s absolutely brilliant pacing; once I began reading, I could. Not. Stop. S.T.A.G.S. actually brought me back to my Twilight days, when I spent every available minute buried in the book because I needed to know what happened next.

It quickly becomes clear that there’s a “The Most Dangerous Game” type element going on here, but it’s not the “what” that spurs you on reading. It’s the “how” and the “why.” While both are eventually revealed, the motivation behind the actions of the Medievals, a clique of students at St. Aidan the Great School (the titular S.T.A.G.S.), fell short for me. I expected something more complex than what the book offers, and this was quite disappointing considering how solid the build-up was.

I still would have given S.T.A.G.S. at least three stars if the ending hadn’t also fallen flat. It seemed both rushed and anti-climactic, and it even annoyed me a bit because the previous three-quarters of the book had been so compulsively readable. Although the insight into the mindset of the Medievals’ leader, Henry de Warlencourt, wasn’t wholly satisfying, I would’ve been fine with the story ending there instead of trying to set up a possible sequel.

I also wasn’t really impressed with the main character, Greer. She’s named after actress Greer Garson and is a film buff, and she drops a lot of film references, so much so that it feels heavy-handed sometimes. What bothered me most about Greer, though, was how oblivious she could be to what was really going on around her. Overall, Greer’s character development never quite took off, and none of the secondary characters, particularly all of the Medievals except Henry, was especially memorable.

S.T.A.G.S. was an odd read of sorts for me because I tore through it despite having a few big issues with it. If the book had ended as strongly as it started, this would have been a fantastic read.

All in All: S.T.A.G.S. boasts some impressive pacing, but unfortunately, the book loses the momentum it builds up so brilliantly in the beginning and ends without fully delivering on what drives some of the characters to act as they do.

Review: Ripper by Stefan Petrucha

Ripper
By Stefan Petrucha
Publisher: Philomel

To Sum It Up: All his life, Carver Young has dreamed of becoming a detective and finding his biological father. Carver studiously reads crime novels, perfects his lock-picking, and even finds stolen items for the fellow children at his orphanage. When Carver comes across a supposed letter from his father while snooping around, he goes out on a limb, writing to the present Police Commissioner, asking to be taken on as an apprentice. The orphanage is moving to a different location anyway, and any children over the set age are required to be turned out. Carver is over the restricted age and has nothing left to lose; he needs the Police Commissioner to adopt him. Instead, Detective Albert Hawking of the famous Pinkerton Agency takes up Carver's offer. Carver's first case as Hawking's apprentice is to find his biological father. Carver is more than ecstatic with his first assignment, but when his first case starts to intertwine with the investigation of New York City's most recent serial killer, things become much trickier.

Review: I've always been oddly fascinated by Jack the Ripper; he is a weirdly interesting historical figure. I guess like everyone else, I want to know what made him tick. I also admire detectives and the way they have to think like the psychopaths they're up against. So when I saw this book tucked away on the shelf, I knew I had to have it!

Ripper takes place in New York City during the 1890's, so the setting was right up my alley. Petrucha did a great job of setting the scene. Everything was quite believable, so imagine my surprise when I caught of whiff of steampunk. There were secret underground agencies, a highly tech-savvy library, and gadgets galore! It was a surprising delight. It made the detectives seem all that more kick-arse. The action was non-stop. Whether Carver was sneaking into upscale parties, running around the city looking for dear ol’ dad, or fighting off the psycho serial killer, I was on the edge of my seat. It was even interesting when Carver was in the New Pinkerton library doing book work. I feel as though I've learned a lot about being a detective; it's kind of like I took a course on it or something.

Carver was a great protagonist. He was admirable while also being believable; there were enough flaws to make him seem real. Carver was pretty smart and brave, but he also got terribly jealous and frustrated when things did not go his way. I also enjoyed reading about Carver's friends, Delia and Finn. They always had Carver's back. Detective Hawking was pretty cool, too. As for Jack, I think that Ripper portrayed him quite differently from the average Jack the Ripper story.

A couple of things did bother me about this book, one being the chapter lengths. The chapters were so short; there were around one hundred in the whole book. I have nothing against short chapters; that kind of thing is totally up to the author. But I felt that sometimes the abrupt ends of the chapters disturbed the flow of the story, and at other times I felt like I was reading a middle grade book. Another thing that bothered me was the inconsistency throughout the book, for example, Carver 's detective skills. Sometimes Carver would be a pure genius and figure things out that I hadn't even begun to imagine, and at other times I was screaming at the poor lad to pull this or that lever. The ending killed me! It was so confusing and random that no amount of detective skills would have given you even the slightest chance of seeing it coming. It was like getting hit by a bus. Some elements of this book could have used more thought and work, but despite these flaws, I still really enjoyed reading Ripper and would recommend it.

All in All: Ripper is an amazing book. I was on the edge of my seat during the whole ride. I'm so glad that I gave this book a chance, and I hope more people will give it a chance, too!