Bleed - Laurie Faria Solarz

Bleed by Laurie Faria Solarz
Book: Bleed
Author: Laurie Faria Solarz
Publisher: Hyperion
Date Released: September 1st 2006
Pages: 240 pages
Format: Paperback
Source: Borders

Summary

Over the course of a single summer day, ten teenagers in Salem, Massachusetts, will discover important truths about themselves and each other.

There is Nicole, whose decision to betray her best friend will shock everyone, most of all herself; Kelly, who meets the convicted felon she has been writing to for years; Maria, whose definition of a true friend is someone who will cut her. Then there is Sadie, a chubby eleven-year-old whose mother forces her to wear a “please don’t feed me” sign stapled to her shirt; while Joy, a fifteen-year-old waitress hoping for true intimacy narrowly escapes a very dark fate. Derik discovers that his usual good looks and charm won’t help him hold onto the girl he wants, while nineteen-year-old drifter, Mearl, is desperately looking for a place to call home. Sean is torn between his loyalty to his girlfriend and the possibility of finding something more with her friend, while Ginger’s single-minded pursuit to bring down her nemesis only proves that they may be more alike than she thought.

Seamlessly woven together, this incredibly powerful and compelling collection of stories chronicles the very real trials of today’s teen experience.

My Review:

The name Laurie Faria Solarz has become known in the writing world, she is the author of the popular series of Blue Is For Nightmares – which is in my to-red pile – and the Touch Series – which I LOVE! – so when I saw this book the other day, I just thought It called to me. The cover seemed so enigmatic, and once I saw whom It was from, I knew I was in for a treat! Allow me to say this once more. How wrong I was.

The plot is very interesting, and mysterious. I almost thought I was in for a CSI thing or something. A Zomigod thing. Narrating a story from different points of view is difficult and not easy to pull off correctly, knowing this story was narrated not from 2 or 3 but form 10 points of view made it that more attractive. Multiple narrators work sometimes you know? But for this book it was a total failure. It jumped from one story to the next and never quite finished one, leaving way too much questions unanswered. And the stories weren’t that connected at all, just small bits and pieces in common here and there.

The novel does end with a sort of happy ending but, there were just so many questions left unanswered that I found it difficult to enjoy the novel and ended with a sort of bittersweet taste in my mouth. Actually, the only stories I really liked was the first one and the last one – which are sort of the same.

I’m giving this book 2 Hoots, which means OK. But it is not an OK-glass-of-water-half-full, It’s an OK-glass-of-water-half-empty. You get the idea.

All in all, I wouldn’t recommend it. Not because I hated it, but If you picked it from my shelf I’d shrug and say, borrow it if you want. Not wowed. Not nothing really… u_u