To be completely honest with you, I only bought this book because It was really cheap on Bookoutlet and I needed to get to $35 for free shipping… But I’m really glad that I read this book. But, before I jump into this review I would like to put a big TRIGGER WARNING for rape and sexual assault. Although there is nothing graphic in this book regarding those subjects, the entire novel surrounds them.
Synopsis:
“Vic Howard never wanted to go to the party. He’s the Invisible Guy at school, a special kind of hell for quiet, nice guys. But because his best friend is as popular as Vic is ignored, he went…
And wished he hadn’t.
Because something happened to a girl that night. Something terrible, unimaginable, and Callie Wheeler’s life will never be the same. Plus, now Callie has told the police that Vic is responsible. Suddenly, Invisible Vic is painfully visible, on trial both literally, with the police, and figuratively, with the angry kids at school. As the whispers and violence escalate, he becomes determined to clear his name, even if it means an uneasy alliance with Callie’s best friend, the beautiful but aloof Autumn Dixon.
But as Autumn and Vic slowly peel back the layers of what happened at the party, they realize that while the truth can set Vic free, it can also shatter everything he thought he knew about his life…”
This book really pulled on my heartstrings. It’s a pretty short book, but even from the beginning it had me in tears. Kelley York really knows how to write a sad story; and she does it beautifully. Every character was complex with a history to explore. The book was raw, human, and disturbing. And I don’t mean disturbing in a bad way… I mean it hurt to read because it was so real. I could fully believe that this story actually occurred. I was upset and crying through out most of the book because it just hit me so hard. I’ve never read a book about these subjects before and it was hard to get through it without feeling everything.
On the topic of the characters… I loved them. All of the characters in this story were very human. They were quirky, flawed, and unbearably human. Vic has a rough home life with a missing dad and a mom who doesn’t love him. He’s shy. He stutters. He memorizes words in a dictionary for fun. It was enjoyable to read from his point of view, not because his life is enjoyable but because despite the world dragging him down he still tried to enjoy it. Then there’s Brett; his perfect popular best friend. Who becomes more complex as the story goes on. I’m not going to explain what I mean now because spoilers… but he does become an entirely different person. Callie was fighting for her memories about that night and she was desperate to know who raped her. She was so strong and empowering. Then there was Autumn; who I still feel like I didn’t get the entire story of. I felt like there was more to her that Kelley York kept a secret.
The relationships in this book played a huge role in pushing the story forward. Callie and Vic had their awkward friendship. Brett and Vic had their best friendship that went sour. Vic and Autumn had their cute little romance (that was very well written). Vic and his mom had an sad unloving relationship. Every single relationship in this book was well written and realistic.
I mentioned how short this book is earlier, but it went by super quickly! I read the book in one sitting and it only took me a few hours. It’s short and gripping. The perfect kind of book to read during a readathon.
Last but not least Modern Monsters was very predictable. I mean, I thought it was. I guessed who the rapist was pretty early in the story. There’s also a big mystery in the story about Vic’s dad and who he is and why he isn’t around. I predicted the reasoning pretty early in the story too. Although it was predictable I don’t think it’s predictability took away from the story. I still enjoyed it despite having figured out the major plot twists.
This book is hauntingly human. Raw and emotional. It’s almost too real. I enjoyed reading this book, but be warned that it will defiantly make you think.
Pages: 352
Published: June 2nd 2015
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
Sam
This sounds really interesting; this is pretty much how I felt about Laurie Halse Anderson’s “Speak” when I read it in high school.
cinnamonsummers
I’ve never heard of that book before, I’ll have to check it out!
Kat of Not the Path to Narnia
Sounds like a powerful read! I recently received a book similar to this as an arc review and it was so graphic. I couldn’t stomach it at all. Thank you for the trigger warning!
cinnamonsummers
I think people need to put more trigger warnings on books! Thankfully Modern Monsters contained nothing graphic, I don’t think I could have read it if it had included that stuff. There’s just no need for graphic stuff like that in books like this.