The Queen of Bright and Shiny Things by Ann AguirreMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
The new hotness in the YA set is this book, which I feel like I've been hearing about forever but only got to read now. Whether it was pre-pub hype or just how awesome this cover was, though, this book really fell flat.
The story follows Sage, who is maybe a little under the radar but sometimes reaches out to people and it sometimes works out. Then there's Shane, the bad boy guitarist who comes from a broken home and a bad situation and... well, you know where this is going.
And that's ultimately the problem. The book takes some weird chances that only feel like chances due to how out of step it is with the standard in YA right now. The result is a fairly strange, often negative, somewhat puzzling book that kept me guessing for a lot of the wrong reasons. And it's got a violent streak to it and it's just overall a strange read that left me unsettled in the not great way.
I think there's appeal here, to be sure. It's not a book I'd recommend except to very specific people with very specific situations, though - there are so many other YA books that handle tougher topics in a better way.
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