KOOK BY CHRIS VICKBOOK PAGE (PUBLISHER'S WEBSITE)
I got a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. HARPERCOLLINS CHILDREN'S BOOKS (KINDLE), 2016400 PAGES
Fifteen-year old Sam has moved from the big city to the coast - stuck there with his mum and sister on the edge of nowhere.
Then he meets beautiful but damaged surfer-girl Jade. Soon he's in love with her, and with surfing itself. But Jade is driven by an obsession: finding and riding a legendary huge wave no one has ever ridden.
As the weeks wear on, their relationship barrels forward with the force of a deep-water wave - into a storm, to danger ... and to heartbreak.
JADE GOT ME in trouble from day one.
Kook is probably the only proper YA novel I've read. My usual YA fare either involves vampire or werewolf boyfriends ( Twilight saga), the apocalypse or books that are genre-defying (aka Patrick Ness). I wasn't sure what to expect from Kook but I was in the mood for something different. I thought the book would be slushy and full of doe-eyed teenagers batting their eyelids at one another. I stand humbled and corrected. Kook is really good. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The romance stuff didn't make me squirm. I liked Jade. She's exactly the sort of girl I had crushes on when I was a teenager and still figuring out the whole gay thing. She's sort of bad but really beautiful and has a magnetic personality. Who can blame Sam for getting all in a tizz? Kook is a light easy read for the most part. I enjoyed reading about Sam and Jade's budding romance, Sam having his delinquent teenager moments, making friends and learning to surf. Things take unexpected turns and start to get a little dark. I never saw the darker moments coming and that's when I feel hard for this book. The ending stunned me, like a punch in the gut. A good punch if there can be such a thing. The author surprised and shocked the hell out of me. Nice one!
