Becca Fitzpatrick's Hush Hush

Hush Hush is riddled with teenage angst, conspiracy theories, and a weaving plot that that feels similar to the rest of today’s YA paranormal reads. I found myself surprised at the conclusions Nora, the main character jumps to and felt myself getting annoyed at her naïve and crazy biased thoughts. I do not remember, in High School, even having thoughts, let alone jumping to the conclusion, that someone might literally be stalking them, may have a felony, went to prison, beat up someone, etc ., and Nora appears to come from a regular middle class family.  However, in this book that’s the first thing the main Nora and her friend Vee do. Her friend Vee also bothered me. She seemed selfish and the way she was written all I could think of was that she will be a betrayer for a few books. All that said, it was hard to focus on Patch and Nora’s story… you know they will be get together and/or are fated to be together, however, at this point I feel like asking why? Why would Nora, with all her paranoid thoughts, and Patch with all his secrets and mysterious ways, even want to try to be together? What is the pull? Patch was continuously getting harassed or the worst case scenario thrown at him from Nora and every encounter they had, it was frustrating to think she has earned his time and patience. She has not earned mine. The novel is also slow to develop. The draw necessary to carry over the reader to book two in the series is not there for me, but I might have been expecting too much or just not believing in the characters. I need more information or puzzle pieces or better chemistry.

Hush Hush is a recommendation I would give to the YA aged readers. I think they will enjoy it, keep them reading (it is a series) and they can identify with it far better than my grumpy old self (apparently). I would also recommend it for YA aged parents to help them stay in touch with today’s readers.