review: hush, hush by becca fitzpatrick

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For the first ten chapters of Hush, Hush, I loved the story. The mysterious new boy gets forced into Nora’s life when their biology teacher forces everyone to change partners during the section on reproduction. Nora and Vee are quite upset that they aren’t partners anymore, but Vee is interested in getting to know the new boy and sees Nora’s partnership with Patch as a great opportunity. Vee proves to be fickle and boy crazy when another transfer student shows up. She decides Nora should be with Elliot so they can double when she dates his friend Jules. The set-up here is pretty good: who are the bad guys and how does the prologue come into play? Unfortunately, things don’t really come together as the story progresses. There are some plot holes as well as parts that just don’t make sense. For example, Nora has a few run-ins with the cops. Since she’s a minor, the cops should at least inform her mother of their interaction, but they don’t. Then there’s the fact that her mother is a peripheral character who doesn’t seem too concerned about her daughter even though Nora’s father was murdered not too long ago. By the time Hush, Hush was over I wanted to strangle most of the characters. Nora and Vee were too stupid for their own good a number of times, but especially during the trip to Portland. Who gets off a bus late at night in an unfamiliar city without a clue as to where she’s going? Apparently Nora does.

Final note: I received an advanced copy of this book with a different ending than the one that will be hitting the shelves in October. I enjoyed this ending which I thought had a really great pun. The ending that will be in the book drops this pun which is unfortunate as it was truly the best line in Hush, Hush. The published ending comes across as slapped together and a little cheeseball.
3/5
ARC Review
Review copy provided by Barnes and Noble First Look.