Review: Crescendo

Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick (Hush, Hush, #2)
Release Date: October 19, 2010
Published by: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Pages:  Hardcover, 432 pages
Young Adult
Overall:

The sequel to the New York Times Best selling phenomenon, Hush, Hush! Nora should have known her life was far from perfect. Despite starting a relationship with her guardian angel, Patch (who, title aside, can be described as anything but angelic), and surviving an attempt on her life, things are not looking up. Patch is starting to pull away, and Nora can't figure out if it's for her best interest or if his interest has shifted to her arch-enemy Marcie Millar. Not to mention that Nora is haunted by images of her father and she becomes obsessed with finding out what really happened to him that night he left for Portland and never came home.
The farther Nora delves into the mystery of her father's death, the more she comes to question if her Nephilim blood line has something to do with it as well as why she seems to be in danger more than the average girl. Since Patch isn't answering her questions and seems to be standing in her way, she has to start finding the answers on her own. Relying too heavily on the fact that she has a guardian angel puts Nora at risk again and again. But can she really count on Patch, or is he hiding secrets darker than she can even imagine?
Synopsis via Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Becca Fitzpatrick brought the story of Nora, Patch, the Fallen Angels and Nephilim back to our attention in Crescendo. In this second installment of the Hush, Hush no stone is left unturned when upturning Nora's life - a life which already seemed a little unstable and which was an attractant for anything bad.  Nora gives new meaning to the saying, "If anything can go wrong, will go wrong."

Nora, our main character, comes across as a very needy and desperate personality during most of the duration of this book, I found it quite easy to get irritated with her, but something about her made me want to reach through the pages and grab her by her shoulders and spin her in the right direction and give her the reassurance she seems to fail to absorb from her quirky best friend Vee.  It isn't for lack of trying on Vee's part.  I found myself loving Vee this time around, in Hush, Hush her personality didn't seem to fit and I really didn't care for her.  This time, be it growth in the story or growth in the characters, Becca definitely got her right. 

Our main character is so naive about some things that you can't help but feel bad when her relationship with Patch starts to flounder.  That is where the story finds its basis though, as Nora's world begins to unravel bringing up questions about her mother, her father's killer and whereabouts, Patch's relationship with a certain, extremely annoying mean-girl, and the fate of Nora and Patch's relationship- if there is any. I'm not joking when I say that her life really seems to unravel and it is with no thanks to her mother that it ever gets back on track. 

Onto hotter matters, I didn't think it was possible to make a male character even more appealing, but again, Becca did it.  Even when Patch was playing a part which wasn't himself, pushing Nora to the edge, and playing head games (no matter who it was directed at) there was still something so deep and genuine about Patch that I couldn't help but let out a small *awh* when it finally came to its climax. Unfortunately, this emotion was one which probably had to be sought out and was dependent on from which side you read the story and how deep your faith ran in Patch's character.

With the introduction of new characters (and those we didn't know much about before), the subtle planting of semi-clues and the addition of many twists and turns makes this story especially hard to summarize and go through.  In the short time it took me to read this book the plot went from one-tracked to complex and mind boggling right at the end.  I did however feel that the thick of the plot wouldn't have been there if it weren't for Nora and Patch's break up as I mentioned once before.  The ball didn't get rolling until the last half of the book, revealing all of the clues, information, and emotions that I felt was missing from the beginning of the book and left the beginning feeling almost a little flat and repetitive with the lover-scorned drama. (Can Nora be considered a lover?)

I thought I knew a little something about cliffhanger endings, but after reading Crescendo I must say Becca Fitzpatrick has taken the cake for the most intense, nerve racking cliff hanger I have read in a while.  Just wow!

Fast paced, dramatic and a book with numerous "I-can't-believe-that-just-happened" moments, top it off with Becca's writing style (which I absolutely adore,) Crescendo has definitely left me wanting more of Nora and Patch's story.


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