Hush, hush – Becca Fitzpatrick

Patch’s eyes were like two black orbs, taking in everything and giving away nothing.

Becca Fitzpatrick

Hello every body! as usual, long time no post! I hope everyone is having a lovely summer holiday and I also hope that you’re reading lots of good books to occupy your minds during these long, hot days. I’ve been reading a lot of different books lately and I’m excited to tell you all about them!

Now, I’ve seen Hush, hush around before, particularly when I was reading the Lux series on my google play account. Due to what I was reading, Google recommended Hush, hush to me quite early on. This was back in 2013 when I was a freshman in high school and had absolutely no source of income so I didn’t buy the book and therefore didn’t read it. However, last week when I was out thrift store shopping with my mom, I happened across the book while browsing their hardcover section. Now that I actually have a job and the book was only like 4 dollars, I decided to try it out. Now I didn’t just blindly buy the book either, I read the summary inside the cover to make sure that it was actually a book that I would be interested in reading. Now, when it comes to books, I;m fairly open to different genres and time periods, but I definitely have my favorites. If I had a book type, niche, whatever you want to call it, Hush would definitely fit within it. I was excited about reading a book hat had fallen angels, especially due to the fact that I hadn’t read many before- just the Fallen series when I was in junior high. So without further adieu, lets get into those characters!

Warning! Some of the below content may contain spoilers, so read at your own risk or skip to the opinion piece!

Characters:

Nora Grey: Nora is the main protagonist of the book, she’s a sophomore in high school of about sixteen years of age. Physically, Nora is quite slender and has long curly brown hair. About a year prior to the story, Nora’s dad is killed causing Nora and her mother to go through quite a traumatic grieving experience. Losing  loved one is hard enough, but having them cruelly ripped away from you in the most unexpected way is a whole new level of pain- like your own little slice of Hell, delivered right to your door. In light of this terrible tragedy, Nora’s mom has to support both herself and her daughter by herself, meaning she works longer hours, farther away from home. In addition to this, the school requires it of Nora to visit the school psychiatrist at least once a week. Now it’s not all doom and gloom for Miss Nora, she’s actually quite the accomplished scholar, earning A’s in her classes and keeping ivy league schools in mind for her post high school education. She’s a writer for her school’s online newspaper- the Ezine. Needless o say, Nora’s life takes an unexpected turn when she reluctantly meets Patch- her new partner in her Biology class.

Patch Cipriano: A man of decidedly few words, Patch isn’t really the type to volunteer information about himself. Though despite his best efforts, we still get to know Patch quite well through the experiences and awkward encounters of Nora. Patch, due to an abrupt seating chart change, ends up sitting next to Nora in her Bio class, much to his amusement and to the utter dismay of our protagonist. Though his looks scream “hot senior boy” Patch is enrolled into a sophomore biology, suspicious anyone? Anyway, Patch first comes off as a bit of a condescending jerk, a really attractive condescending jerk, but a jerk nonetheless. After the partnership from hell is brought into being, Patch has this almost hot and cold mentality towards Nora, at moments he almost seems to be obsessive while at other times brushes Nora off entirely.  Patch, as is revealed to the audience in chapter one, is actually a fallen angel, trapped in an eternity of limited feeling unless he goes through with a ritual that has only been whispered about, a ritual which would turn him into a human. Either that, or he needs to save a human being, allowing him to reach the status of a guardian angel- a concept which Patch laughed at. At first I couldn’t imagine why he would be against the idea of becoming a guardian angel, bu later i decided that Patch probably viewed it the same way I viewed McDonald’s when I was first looking for a job. In the end though, a job is a job.

Alrighty guys, for the plot this time around, I’m just going to give you the summary straight from the book. Yes I’m lazy.

Plot:

“Romance was not a part of Nora Grey’s plan. She’s never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how hard her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her. Not until Patch comes along. With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Patch draws Nora to him against her better judgement.

Bu after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora’s not sure whom to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is and seems to know more about her than her closest friends. She can’t decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is way more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel.

For she is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those who have fallen- and, when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost Nora her life.” (Becca Fitzpatrick, hush, hush).

END POSSIBLE SPOILERS

Opinion time!

Overall, I really enjoyed the book, I’ve actually purchased the final three in the series and am currently waiting for them too arrive in the mail! Now that being said, I definitely had some mixed emotions while reading hush, hush. Right off the back, I really enjoyed Nora as a character but I also thought that she was terribly pliant. It may have been Vee’s personality but it just seemed as though Nora just kinda took everything that was said to her, almost as if she didn’t really want to make a stand for herself. Now it may just be me but if my friend were forcing their objectives on me like Vee does to Nora sometimes, they would be shut down and given a reality check faster than they could bat an eyelash. But Vee and Nora have a very special friendship and they seem to balance each other out pretty well.

As for Patch, well. It seems that I have a type even for fictional characters and Patch most definitely fits that type. He’s a very mysterious kind of guy, focused on his goal and almost aggressive in his enthusiasm to achieve his greatest wish. Patch in many ways is like a cornered, wounded animal. He’s in pain, has few options, and isn’t entirely sure who to trust. Out of all the characters within this book, Patch shows the clearest progress in terms of character development. Though a lot of it happens behind the scenes, Patch goes from a selfish creature, ensnared by his own goals and desires, and evolves into something better. A person who cares about the fate of others rather than himself.

I know that I said this book was a bit predictable, but the same time, millions of things were introduced that could become significant later in the reading. It’s impossible to pick everything up in one go- for which reason I tend to re-read books many, many times- and I’m truly excited to see where Nora and Patch will go next, who they’ll face and what they’ll overcome.

Until then- and until my post man brings me my darn books,

Happy Reading everyone,

Maddison C. Jones

Keep in mind that people change, but the past doesn’t.

Becca Fitzpatrick