Review: Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick

Title: Crescendo
Author: Becca Fitzpatrick
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Publish Date: October 19, 2010
Genre: YA, paranormal
Pages: 427
Series: Hush, Hush
1. Hush, Hush (review)
2. Crescendo
3. Untitled

Synopsis:
Nora should have know her life was far from perfect. Despite starting a relationship with her guardian angel, Patch (who, title aside, can be described anything but angelic), and surviving an attempt on her life, things are not looking up. Patch is starting to pull away and Nora can't figure out if it's for her best interest or if his interest has shifted to her arch-enemy Marcie Millar. Not to mention that Nora is haunted by images of her father and she becomes obsessed with finding out what really happened to him that night he left for Portland and never came home.

The farther Nora delves into the mystery of her father's death, the more she comes to question if her Nephilim blood line has something to do with it as well as why she seems to be in danger more than the average girl. Since Patch isn't answering her questions and seems to be standing in her way, she has to start finding the answers on her own. Relying too heavily on the fact that she has a guardian angel puts Nora at risk again and again. But can she really count on Patch or is he hiding secrets darker than she can even imagine?

From Simon & Schuster

I have to start out saying that I didn't enjoy Crescendo as much as I did Hush, Hush. Towards the ending I was more for it, but Nora and Patch both really got on my nerves. I was especially frustrated with Nora. She was never able to tell Patch what was on her mind. She constantly had all these questions and comments that she'd be pondering, but as soon as Patch showed up, it was like she'd totally forget what she was just thinking and ask a bunch of completely different questions. I just wished she could spit out exactly what she wanted to know and get some answers.

Another thing that bugged me about her was the way her trust in Patch totally dissolved from Hush, Hush to Crescendo. She was fine in the start, but as soon as one thing seemed off for her, she lost all trust in him. It was like she was selectively giving him the benefit of the doubt. Where Marcie was concerned, she did, but when she started wondering if he had anything to do with her dad's death, she never did. She didn't think to look anywhere else for answers, she only tried to deny his potential involvement. No matter which way she looked at it, she assumed he had something to do with it and didn't give him a chance.

Vee really irritated me in this book. She can be really funny and it's amusing how ready she is to go along with any of Nora's crazy plans, but as for her opinions on Patch, I wasn't too impressed. I understand she doesn't like the guy, and yes, he was being a jerk, but if I just broke up with my boyfriend who I was crazy in love with, I wouldn't want my best friend to be rubbing in my face how she was right that it wouldn't work out, and that I should go out and look for a new boyfriend. Nora loves Patch and her heart is breaking, but Vee seems totally oblivious to that and really insensitive. That's not what a best friend would do.

The new character, Scott, was definitely interesting. He was the mysterious one in this book and I kind of liked him. I was really interested in learning more about him, but he didn't really get unravelled until later in the book. I don't like him in the sense that I'm "Team Scott", but I think he was a really great character introduced in this book. Because of this, I kind of get the sense that Becca is better at introducing characters rather than really developing them in different situations from those she originally created (I really loved Nora and Patch in Hush, Hush, but clearly not as much in Crescendo).

All that being said, I loved the ending of this book. All the answers at the end had my heart beating like crazy and my fingers flying to flip the pages. The big twist at the end had my eyeballs practically popping out of my head, it was SO good. If you're reading Crescendo and getting frustrated or annoyed with Nora or Patch, just stick it out for the end. It's totally worth it. There is a disclaimer however: mega-super-huge cliffhanger at the end. It's like the season finale episode of your favourite primetime drama show. Seriously. It sucks so hard that the third doesn't come out until October 2011. But I can't wait.