Quote of The Day

Monday, October 20, 2008

Gotcha, teen novel by Shelley Hrdlitschka


Attention Hollywood, Oops.....
I mean Attention Canadian Indie scene.

This novel should be a Movie!!!
I loved it!


Rich with the complexities of teen behavior, a great concept full of substance and peppered with intrigue makes for an exciting teen novel called "Gotcha" I couldn't put it down. Shelley Hrdlitschka, an award winning teen novelist does an excellent job of entertaining while educating the reader on how teen choices can quickly and inadvertently go awry. Even for students with the best intentions. Gotcha, is a great piece of fiction based on a true graduation ritual, played at high schools in the vicinity of authors home. Shelley obviously has an excellent understanding of current language amongst teens and doesn’t hesitate to reference, hotmail, and msn terms as forms of communication.

Having a niece in high school and young adults at home I am pretty savvy to what goes on in high schools. Still I'd never heard a story even close to this, neither had they. With an adult advantage I found only one predictable character in the novel. For the most part it was an intense read, piquing my curiosity throughout. Wondering what would happen to the high achieving protagonist Katie!

This novel would make an excellent movie, with the meaty story line far surpassing the academy award winning screenplay “Juno”! I would recommend this novel to even the most reluctant reader, and plan to get a signed copy for my niece. Parents and teachers wishing to understand high school dynamics, pressures of being a teen, possible consequences of being enmeshed in a scary underground grad ritual such as this, would be well advised to give this interesting piece of fiction a read.

For a few moments while reading this book I was taken back to the city I was raised in, where Shelley now resides. I could imagine all the places she described in the book, as places I'd frequented as a teen.So of course it made the book even more visual and personal for me! I won't delude myself, because really the settings could be based anywhere!


Thank you Shelley, your novel was informative, very engaging, with a profound ending that made me cry! Now on to “Sister Wife”, Shelley’s latest triumph!


You can read Shelley's recent interview with Stephen Patrick Clare here!






8 comments:

Gary's third pottery blog said...

dang, I dreamt I was back in high school last night ::shudder::

DMG said...

Thank you so much for sharing this book recommendation. I'm going to try to find the novel as soon as possible, read it, and pass it on to my nieces (who turn 15 today, BTW)and to my students. It sounds absolutely engrossing!

Queen-Size funny bone said...

thanks for the great review. i am going to get my daughter one for her birthday.

Lucy said...

sherrie, this sounds great. I will DEFINITELY read it, but I am going to TRY to get my son to read it. I constantly try to get him to read for pleasure and Not just his required h.s. reading. Maybe this one will grab his attention. thanks buddy! xox

Tanya Gwen Minnick said...

Thanks for coming to my blog, and your comment....your blog ROCKS!! I love the concept, the colour and what you "stand for" - super fantasic!! Way to be awesome!
be well
t

Anonymous said...

Your amazing!!! Love this post! Thanks for sharing with us!!!
*HUGS*
Angela

Shelley Hrdlitschka said...

Sherrie! I am blushing! I simply went to check your blog and look what I found.

Thank you so much! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. I hope you enjoy Sister Wife as much.

Your friend Chris left a comment on my blog, and I don't know how to reach her to thank her for reading. Does she have a blog I could visit?

Sherrie, thank you again for all you do and your wonderful zest for life. You are the sweetest!!
Much love,
Shelley

Anonymous said...

I'm doing a project for school. But I need to know Katie's last name... It's soooo hard. Or am I just stupid for not knowing? Oh, well. I agree that the book should, indeed, be made into a movie. I'd like to see that. ^_^

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...