MY REVIEW:
Sam Hopkins is a preacher’s kid who is tired of not fitting in with his schoolmates. He has no outstanding attributes to help elevate his status – he’s average looking, a bit smaller than normal and has no strong athletic abilities – just an ordinary kid. Most of the other kids just ignore him or act like they don’t know how to behave around him. So when the opportunity arises to hang out with the school thugs, he jumps at the chance although he knows it is a bad decision. And that is just the beginning of his troubles.
Jennifer is a classmate of Sam’s who is even more of an outcast than he is. She can’t seem to speak without making strange rhymes that tend to make others keep their distance. Then there are the voices and visions that torment her at night – voices she believes are demons. When Sam comes to her rescue one afternoon, Jennifer latches onto him as her hero and Sam, being the kind of fellow he is, befriends her.
Told primarily in first person narrative in the voice of Sam, “Crazy Dangerous” chronicles events in the lives of Sam and Jennifer over a short period of time. Sam’s rash decisions take him from one crisis to another as he attempts to sort out the truth and to protect Jennifer and possibly his entire town. The plot moves at a rapid pace with a mixture of drama, suspense and humor which makes the book a quick read for its length. Characterization is excellent and it is easy to imagine each of the protagonists in the story. While entertaining, the book also presents a strong message about doing the right thing and how people can’t be judged by outward appearances.
“Crazy Dangerous” is the first book I’ve read by this author but I would highly recommend it. This is one book that most teens should enjoy.
This book was provided for review by LitFuse Publicity.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
“You probably want to hear about Jennifer and the demons and how I played chicken with a freight train and-oh yeah-the weird murder . . . you’re definitely going to want to hear about that.”
Sam Hopkins is a good kid who has fallen in with a bad crowd. Hanging around with car thieves and thugs, Sam knows it’s only a matter of time before he makes one bad decision too many and gets into real trouble.
But one day, Sam sees them harassing an eccentric schoolmate of his named Jennifer. When Sam finds the courage to face the bullies down, he loses a bad set of friends and acquires a very strange new one.
Because Jennifer is not just eccentric. To Sam, she seems downright crazy. She has terrifying hallucinations involving demons and the devil and death. And here’s the really crazy part: Sam is beginning to suspect that these visions may actually be prophecies–prophecies of something terrible that’s going to happen very soon. Unless he can stop it.
With no one to believe him, with no one to help him, Sam is now all alone in a race against time. Finding the truth before disaster strikes is going to be both crazy and very, very dangerous.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Andrew Klavan was hailed by Stephen King as “the most original novelist of crime and suspense since Cornell Woolrich.” He is the recipient of two Edgar Awards and the author of such bestsellers as True Crime and Don’t Say a Word.
His books and screenplays have been turned into films directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Michael Douglas, Ed Burns, Michael Caine among others.
Hometown: Santa Barbara, California
Books Sold to Date: over 1.5 million.
Read what other bloggers are saying about Crazy Dangerous HERE.
Celebrate with Andrew by entering his Crazy Dangerous giveaway and connecting with him during the Author Chat Party on 5/29!
One fortunate winner will receive:
- A $100 Visa Cash Card
- A copy of Crazy Dangerous by Andrew Klavan for YOU and 5 of your Friends!
Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends at noon on May 28th. Winner will be announced at the “Crazy Dangerous” Author Chat Facebook Party on 5/29. Andrew will be hosting an Author Chat, testing your survival trivia skills, giving away books and gift certificates to iTunes and Amazon.com! Don’t miss a second of the “danger”!
Grab your copy of Crazy Dangerous and connect with Andrew on the evening of 5/29/12 for an author chat and lots of giveaways.
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I have read 5 books by Andrew Klavan and have loved them all! He is a great suspense writer – I always compare him to Ted Dekker (if you have never read Dekker – you should).
Nice review!