Book Review: Choker

HeyhiHello

Today I shall be reviewing a book titled Choker by Elizabeth Woods. It is my first review for the 2011 debut author challenge. Yeay or …. Nay!

The description of the book:

Sixteen-year-old Cara Lange has been a loner ever since she moved away from her best and only friend, Zoe, years ago. She eats lunch with the other girls from the track team, but they're not really her friends. Mostly she spends her time watching Ethan Gray from a distance, wishing he would finally notice her, and avoiding the popular girls who call her "Choker" after a humiliating incident in the cafeteria. 

Then one day Cara comes home to find Zoe waiting for her. Zoe's on the run from problems at home, and Cara agrees to help her hide. With her best friend back, Cara's life changes overnight. Zoe gives her a new look and new confidence, and next thing she knows, she's getting invited to parties and flirting with Ethan. Best of all, she has her BFF there to confide in. 

But just as quickly as Cara's life came together, it starts to unravel. A girl goes missing in her town, and everyone is a suspect—including Ethan. Worse still, Zoe starts behaving strangely, and Cara begins to wonder what exactly her friend does all day when she's at school. You're supposed to trust your best friend no matter what, but what if she turns into a total stranger?

My review:

I was really excited when I got this book in the mail and by excited I mean I jumped up and down for 5 mintues. It was my first read for 2011 debut author challenge hosted by Story Siren. I was part of the 2010 challenge and it was so much fun. 2010 debut authors gave me the confidence to look forward for 2011 debut authors.

Lets put it out there. I didn’t like this book, except for the ending.

There was no depth in the characters or the plot. I felt Cara was very flat throughout the book. The dialogues weren’t really realistic. Teenagers don’t speak they way it was pictured in this book. Ethan, Cara's crush, was flattest character in the novel.  He didn’t speak nor acted like a boy his age. I felt he was very childish. And how he is almost going out with Cara when his girlfriend was missing. How could someone crush on someone like him? I didn’t feel attached to any of the characters at all. Again because they were all flat and not normal teenagers.  

The setting of the novel was boring. You are either in the school or home. Pretty boring. I know it’s a way to reflect Cara's life but even loners are friends with other loners and they go somewhere to hangout. I don’t know but I wish there were places I explored reading this book.

But I did like the cover. It was awesome. But it didn’t really reflect the novel's plot at all. I don’t see a connection between this beautiful pink and crazy, flat characters -I am not insulting the characters… there are in fact a crazy character. Here is a hint: her name is Zoe. She is not just crazy but also creepy.

The ending was the best part in the book. I was shocked. It wasn’t what I expected at all. All the time reading this book, I thought I knew how it will end. But Elizabeth Woods tricked me. Loved the twist. That’s why my book rating moved from 2.5 stars to 3 stars.

Right now, you are probably wondering: should I be reading this book or not.  ok I will make it a little bit easier for you. If you read Low Red Moon by Ivy Devlin, then you might like this book. These 2 books has nothing in common, plot wise. But they both have the same style of writing.  

Tata for now