01 August 2012

Book Review: Such a Rush

by Jennifer Echols

Book Description
A sexy and poignant romantic tale of a young daredevil pilot caught between two brothers.

High school senior Leah Jones loves nothing more than flying. While she’s in the air, it’s easy to forget life with her absentee mother at the low-rent end of a South Carolina beach town. When her flight instructor, Mr. Hall, hires her to fly for his banner advertising business, she sees it as her ticket out of the trailer park. And when he dies suddenly, she’s afraid her flying career is gone forever.

But Mr. Hall’s teenage sons, golden boy Alec and adrenaline junkie Grayson, are determined to keep the banner planes flying. Though Leah has crushed on Grayson for years, she’s leery of getting involved in what now seems like a doomed business--until Grayson betrays her by digging up her most damning secret. Holding it over her head, he forces her to fly for secret reasons of his own, reasons involving Alec. Now Leah finds herself drawn into a battle between brothers--and the consequences could be deadly.

Book Review
Review Grade: 5/5

“I remembered what Mr. Hall had told me when I first asked him for a lesson: the kids who watch planes are destined to be pilots.” 

Jennifer Echols never fails to give me such a rush.

I love this book because of...

1. The Cover - Who wouldn't fall in love with the girl with her straight hairbeing blown by the wind in a nice cute white dress? Only that we were alldeceived by it - Leah doesn't have a straight hair unless it was run over by an iron. She possesses curly hair that Grayson adores.

2. The Characters 
At first, I was ambivalent on my feelings with Leah . I wanted to hate her, at the same time love her for everything that she is. She can be annoying at times, then adorable the next - it confuses me. She's very pragmatic and acts like she doesn't care about anything at all or what anyone says about her. She's a complex character whose perseverance and determination to become a pilot - and to change her life in general I greatly admire. She quit smoking at 15 in lieu of flying lessons. I was glad that she was persuaded to quit an unhealthy vice in exchange of a brighter future. Her fears, insecurities are palpably real and I can easily spot one in the crowd (although I doubt if the one I will spot has planes in her mind)



Molly and Leah's friendship is very unconventional. It started when Leah'stole' Molly's boyfriend. Then I stop and thought: Is this another case of make your friends close and your enemies closer? . Leah always thought that she was Molly's charity case - they were the exact opposite. Molly was rich and lives in a mansion - while Leah was poor and lives in a trailer. The former was popular and the latter was hated. Yet, they formed a close, tight bond where apology doesn't have a room. In the near end, their unusual friendship is once again tested - can it survive?

Mr. Hall . I love him! And I think he's one of the most amazing character in this novel for believing in Leah and giving her a chance ( although he has his doubts ) to fulfill her dreams and changing the course of her life. He was a like a father she never had.
                                  

Alec and Grayson Just like Leah, both brothers received their license at 18. These two brothers are way to different - nevertheless, ILOOOOOVVVVVVVEEEEEEEE how their character develop all throughout the story - how they grow up at a certain point in their life when they were needed to, how they try to remain steadfast against the odds. Alec, I like his character. His obviously calmer than his brother and worries less. I liked how he handled the situation, although he didn't like the consequences that affected him and his happiness as well. Grayson I love bad boys! Among the twins, he was the adrenaline junkie. But this one needs professional help! At 18, he can already blackmail and manipulate. Sheeesh! He blackmailed Leah with a secret she had kept for a long time, in exchange for doing him a favor which was really outrageous or she can kiss her dreams goodbye. Of course, Leah had no choice but to agree. Yet, I fell in love with this adrenaline junkie when he grew up and faced responsibility head on. I may not like his ways, but I'm glad everything went well in the end.




3. The Plot . The girl in the trailer park who wanted to change her life by flying and would do anything to achieve it. I love Such a Rush in every freaking way. I have always loved Jennifer Echols' novel - she writes in a fashion that can inspire and tickle your brain cells. Her characters are excellent and almost real. I am just so sure that you can't put this novel down because I haven't - I wanted to finish this as soon as I started it. I wanted to know what will happen to the characters - and how the whole charade will end. Well, it ended with a big CRASH and an amazing prom night that was sweet but not cheesy. 

Would I recommend this one?
OF COURSE! It will give you such a rush that you will not have the time to put this book down. 

I sure couldn't wait for the next Jennifer Echols book. 

Favorite Quotes

  • “If I were stepping down from the bus at the rich end of town instead of the trailer park, I wouldn’t have to watch every word I said to make sure it wasn’t slang for an orgasm.” 
  • “The TV said you should ignore bullies and they would stop harassing you. In practice this worked about half the time. The other half, you ended up with two tall boys shadowing you through a trailer park, their fingers taking little nips at your clothes, like dogs.” 
  • “I guess’ will get you killed.” 
  • “You’re not a whore. You’re a chick who hasn’t exactly grown up with every advantage, and you’ve learned to use what you’ve got. You don’t do it on purpose. It’s second nature. You act girly and helpless and make men think you’re harmless.” 
  • “It was better that we never apologized to each other. Then we’d be admitting that we were wrong and we owed each other something. That’s where people got into trouble.” 
  • “I remembered what Mr. Hall had told me when I first asked him for a lesson: the kids who watch planes are destined to be pilots.” 
  • “When something awful happens, sometimes people get stuck.” 
  • “Sarcasm was a weapon for children.” 
  • “Men always do that to women when they feel threatened. They tell everybody the woman must be giving out blow jobs because there’s no way she could be successful otherwise.” 
  • “Love isn’t something you have to deserve.” 
  • “It’s easier to remember your lies if they’re close to the truth,” 
  • “Most people hear an airplane in the sky and think, ‘There’s an airplane,’ and go back to what they were doing. A few folks look around for the airplane, try to figure out what kind of plane it is, and watch it from the time they spot it to the time it disappears on the horizon, maybe after that. Those kids are the ones who will be pilots." He pointed at me. "I knew that about you. I’ve just been waiting for you to show up.” 
  • “I had wanted something from him. Even expected a confrontation. To be ignored was a sentence without a period.” 
  • “We wanted to enjoy the afterglow and we were trying our best to bond, but it was difficult with so many people between us, even though most of them were ghosts.” 


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