Second Opinion: Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

It's no secret here at I'd So Rather Be Reading that I was not a fan of Hush, HushClick here to read a summary and to see my original review.  

Bearing that in mind, I decided to give Hush, Hush another try.  Everyone else seems to love it, plus I'm on an ARC tour for Crescendo, so I wanted to have the story fresh in my mind.  So, here's my second opinion (I know that this is a  really long post, but I have some strong feelings about this one and have a lot to say):


Things I like about Hush, Hush:

  1. I love the cover.
  2. I like the fallen angels premise.
  3. The book is compulsively readable, despite my manifold issues with it (both times, I read it in less than four hours).
  4. I like the twist at the end.


Things I don't like about Hush, Hush:
  1. I don't like Nora...she behaves with no common sense or sense of self-preservation.  She makes these crazy statements/thoughts, such as when Patch admits he's been trying to KILL her and Nora thinks, "I know Patch would never hurt me."
  2. I am not a fan of love based on fear, hatred, or revulsion, or attraction despite those barriers.  Not at all---it does absolutely nothing for me.
  3. I feel like this book sends a bad message to teens, perpetuating the "No means Yes" thinking.  For example, Nora keeps telling Patch to stay away from her and he laughs it off.  Then, she repeatedly asks Coach to switch her seats so she isn't partnered with Patch because she feels uncomfortable and Coach denies her.  This type of thing goes on and on throughout the book (see #1).
  4. There are too many villains, making the story seem jumpy. 
  5. There is an uncanny similarity to Twilight and even Evermore.  With regards to Evermore, Dabria is a reproduction of Drina (Damon's old flame).  Similarities to Twilight:
    1. Bookish girl and hot, mysterious guy being science class partners.
    2. One of the pair being new in town.
    3. Girl trying to figure out what the sexy, mysterious guy is.
    4. Girl's computer being really old and not connecting to the Internet well.
    5. The Portland trip---where she gets into trouble and is saved by the guy.
    6. The car wreck where the damage to the car is seen by the girl alone.
    7. The bubbly best friend.
    8. The injuries caused by the scary stalker guy and subsequent rescue by sexy, mysterious paranormal guy.
    9. Hot guy starting out wanting to kill the girl.
    10. Hot guy then falling in love and making sacrifices for the girl.
    11. The sappy ending with one partner undergoing a transformation.
    12. I might be able to overlook these similarities, which border on overt plagiarism, if the writing, romance, and overall feel of the book equaled Stephanie Meyer's.  Even if the characters were consistent and the writing didn't feel so jumpy, I may be able to overlook a lot.  But I just can't.
  6. There are parts of the book that don't make any sense at all or are completely invalid:
    1. Stopping at a yellow light, looking both ways, then going through the intersection.
    2. The police talking to Nora when legally, a parent would have to be present  or at least informed of the visit since she is a minor.
    3. Nora reading in the newspaper about Elliott being held and questioned for murder, when that record would be closed due to Elliott being a minor.
    4. The "Archangel" roller coaster.  A LAME stretch.  That's all I'm saying about that.
    5. The biology "reproduction" assignment.  Like that would ever happen.  And the teacher's statements?  I was laughing out loud at the ludicrousness.  
    6. Nora going undercover to investigate Patch.  Seriously?
    7. Nora going to investigate Elliott when she is aware of his possibly violent past.  Again, seriously?
    8. I could really go on and on, but the last thing I'll list is that I just don't understand how wings spanning from your kidneys to your shoulder blades form an upside-down "V".  Last time I checked, my shoulder blades were directly above my kidneys. Is that a physical abnormality that only I possess?
I'm sure you can tell by now that I could just keep going and going with this.  I'm going to stop my rant, knowing I've probably alienated legions of devoted Hush, Hush fans, and say that while I will read Crescendo, mostly just out of a morbid curiosity to  see if the fallacies persist, I won't be buying it.  

There are just too many problems with Hush, Hush for me to go up on stars.  The ending  and pacing left me close to going up to two stars, but reading over my list of "don't likes" I just can't, especially considering the message that this book sends to teens.

Original Score/Second Opinion Score:





Finished But Did Not Like It.  







Am I on target?  Am I way off base?  What do you think about Hush, Hush?  Let me know!  Natalie hasn't read this one (since she's heard me grouse about it for months) so we don't have a minority report to share.

10 comments:

  1. I actually liked Hush Hush but I still know what you mean. I felt a lot like this when I read Shiver and I really want to read it again and try to give a second chance. I feel like I must be missing something since it's popularity has really gone off the charts. But I think it's great that you did try to give it a 2nd change...I guess sometimes our first instincts are right.

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  2. I haven't read Hush Hush and I probably won't because I have had my quota of annoying YA girls this year...but I felt this way about Fallen and I gave Torment a chance because I had the ARC. I just got even more irritated with the MC ...lol I know most people love these books but they just aren't for me. I'm still waiting for a really awesome fallen angel series!

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  3. I'm glad I'm note the only one who disliked it. Not that big a fan of glorfied abusive relationships, personally. I did really like the author's writing style, though. I think she just needs to focus more on the plot and less on romance.

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  4. I've heard similar complaints from those that dien't like it. Like Karen, I've had my fill of Twilight and it's many derivitives and wet blankes passing as heronies. I think I'm going to skip this one.

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  5. God... it just annoys me these new YA books. It's like... if I wanted to re-read Twilight, I WOULD read it! And they stray away from vampire books (the authors) because then they'll all of a sudden be compared to Twilight. Sorry, but vampire element or not, your book is a rip-off! In fact I would rather them still keep vampires and make something a little different instead of covering up with a different paranormal element. These girls in these books (excuse my language) are dumb as HELL. Oh my god. It makes me actually put the book down and say "Seriously? Wowwwww." Last time I checked the fantasy guys want nothing to do with dumb girls but special ones. Saying stuff like "Like, I don't, like, get it. Does this mean you can, like, fly, and stuff?" will not get you ANYWHERE closer to a mysterious guy. He'll roll his eyes, feel sorry for you, and move on. Jeeze. I haven't read Hush Hush but I haven't been able to get through Fallen and I've been trying to read it for 5 months now. It's HORRIBLE!!!! Leafing through Hush Hush it seems like your review is going to mirror mine to a T. =(

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  6. I really enjoyed this book a lot although I agree and understand your points especially the ones about the relationship between Nora and Patch. I find that I read books like these more for the plot and the keeps you on the edge of your seat appeal. That's what I loved best about Hush,Hush.

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  7. I'm with you, Kelli. I picked up "Hush, Hush" because of all the buzz I've been hearing about it before it was published. I thought it had an interesting fallen angel premise, but then it fell apart very quickly. I hated Nora; she irritated me to no end. It took me a while to read because I had to put it down, especially the end. I have absolutely no interest in picking up the second book. I did like "Fallen" much more. Even though that started off really slow, but picked up in the second half.

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  8. This is kind of ironic...I was JUST thinking about doing this! I read Hush Hush in one sitting, but I couldn't decide if I loved it or hated it. At first, I thought it was love, so I gave it a 3.5. But the more I thought about the book, I was like...I didn't like that, or that, or that...I've got an ARC of Crescendo, so maybe I'll try re-reading Hush, Hush before and writing a second review too...Good idea! :)

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  9. All I can say is WOW... I knew it would be worse once you thought more about it...lol... Now I will admit I like a good "Twilight" rip-off but really it is getting a little old.

    Kelli I think you should only give second opinions on 3 Star and up books :) anything below that DOESN'T STAND A CHANCE

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  10. I found this book to be completely average, not dreadful and not particularly wonderful. I had to read Crescendo quickly after this one but I didn't like that very much at all. The reasons you gave bugged me a lot more in Crescendo. I was just glad when I'd finished it.

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