Double Feature Review
Sketchy (#1 Bea Catcher Chronicles) &
Snitch (#2 Bea Catcher Chronicles)
Snitch (#2 Bea Catcher Chronicles)
Buy on Amazon or the Book Depository
Title: Sketchy
Series: Bea Catcher Chronicles
Publisher: Amazon Children's Publishing/ Skyscape
Genre: Young Adult- Paranormal Fiction, Mystery/Thriller
Release Date: April 30, 2013
Source: Public Library – review policy here.
Synopsis via Goodreads:
The first book in a series about 17 year old Bea Washington, an edgy, charismatic outsider and recovering addict, who discovers that with her new-found sobriety, she has a disturbing new "skill" an ability to see and draw people's thoughts. Alarmingly, these visions are only getting stronger and increasing in frequency. As another girl in school is raped and left for dead, Bea must come to terms with her talent, learn to face her own truth, and try to help identify and stop the killer before he strikes again.
Yay a mystery/paranormal novel with a bi-racial lead! Bea is a strong protagonist even if she's misguided by her emotions from time-to-time. The things I did like included the overall plot, the concept of the drawing/vision power, diversity in characters, and the pacing. Finished it in one sitting and really enjoyed the whole "whodunnit" for the serial murderer/rapist. My first guess was wrong!
Overall, I had a lot of emotions while reading this book and mostly feelings of frustration. I really felt like Sketchy could be a four star or even five start book but there were things that kept distracting me from the storyline.
The writing style: I feel like some of the language is dated or not in with the age group being depicted. For example, the use of the phrase "the john" by Bea when referring to the restroom. This may be a regional thing and I need to get over it, not sure.
Depiction of LGBT and gender issues: Yay, we have a gay male supporting character! However I was quickly disappointed to see that Bea would often make remarks about Chris's ability to be feminine because he's gay leading almost into suggesting he's transgender. For example, calling him Christina instead of Chris. There are also several mentions of activities which should be either feminism or masculine furthering stereotypes about what is appropriate per gender.
Rape culture and working with rape victims: I won't go too much into this for spoiler purposes but there are opportunities here to use fiction as an educational tool about positively interacting with rape victims that is just missed. In fact Bea's behavior with the rape victim is What not to do 101.
Bea's paranormal power: Okay, so Bea can see visions while drawing and making eye contact with a subject. How she obtained this power we do not know and she doesn't really care. In almost every paranormal novel the reader receives some sort of background on the power, the rules of the power , how it came to be, and sometimes even a mentor on how to harness said power. We get a weak suggestion of how she developed the power, a side effect of using it, and some general rules however there's no one else with this power to coach her along, harness it or learn more. I can see Bea being an X-Men style detective but sadly we're left in the dark. There's also a few times when Bea is seeing visions but you can't tell if she's actually drawing while seeing them or if now she can have them when she's not sketching.
3 Stars- I enjoyed it and the series has lots of potential for growth.
Recommended for people who enjoy mysteries or thrillers.
Recommended for people who enjoy mysteries or thrillers.
Buy on Amazon or the Book Depository
Title: Snitch
Series: Bea Catcher Chronicles
Publisher: Amazon Children's Publishing/ Skyscape
Genre: Young Adult- Paranormal Fiction, Mystery/Thriller
Release Date: April 1, 2014
Source: eARC provided by the publisher – review policy here.
Synopsis via Goodreads:
As the days count down to her eighteenth birthday, Bea feels trapped. Trapped by her dark past, by her parents’ expectations, even by her own dreams for the future. The road ahead is unclear, blurred with secrets and lies.
The only constant, sure thing in her life is Sergeant Dan Daniels. He’s faced with a gang-related murder case and asks Bea to use her “skill” to see and then draw the truth out of the suspect...literally. But when she does, it leaves her with more unanswered questions. And then another teen is shot—clinging for his life.
Time is running out. Can Bea find the killer before someone else gets hurt?
The only constant, sure thing in her life is Sergeant Dan Daniels. He’s faced with a gang-related murder case and asks Bea to use her “skill” to see and then draw the truth out of the suspect...literally. But when she does, it leaves her with more unanswered questions. And then another teen is shot—clinging for his life.
Time is running out. Can Bea find the killer before someone else gets hurt?
Once again Bea is at it and is now being ask by Sgt. Daniels to consult on cases. I was so excited to go into this story because of the cool mystery story line that took place in the first book. Sadly, this all fell a part very quickly. I was so heartbroken that we lost the whole "whodunnit" aspect and pacing that was present in book one. I just didn't get into this case as much and I was trying to guess at who the culprit may be with little interest. Additionally, all the issues in book one just compounded into book two making them that more undesirable.
The writing style/language and LGBT/gender references are still off. There is a point where Chris tries to contradict the gay stereotype of being a girl's "male-girlfriend", but unfortunately Bea and other characters continue on with stereotypical attitudes and language regarding gender and the LGBT community.
"Yeah, I know. You got the LGBT goin' on..." What does this mean?
"Third time I've been outed today. Damn." Is this a joke?
Working in higher education I find that a lot of students 1) do not know what the acronym LGBT stands for, much less use it in their everyday vernacular. This phrase also indicates that there's a way or look which is used to identify the ENTIRE LGBT community. 2) They don't understand what it means to "out" someone. It is possible to "out" someone unknowingly or without the individual's consent. This is a very sensitive subject and I feel like the author used this as a tongue and cheek remark while Bea went undercover for the case.
The pacing from book one to two slowed down dramatically and include a couple of additional story lines that weren't necessary to solving the case or building the paranormal aspect. I would've rather used the word count towards building a better case to solve, flushing out leads and clues, introducing more suspects, more sketching paranormal power building, a healthy romance, and all that jazz.
2 Stars- This book was not for me. However, I would recommend it for those who
enjoyed book one and/or those who are looking for a modern Nancy Drew.
enjoyed book one and/or those who are looking for a modern Nancy Drew.
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