“This is definitely a Devine novel; there’s so much sweat, blood, and adrenaline that you almost need to wring out the pages… A tough, smart look at weight issues, self-respect, and our intrinsic desire to belong at all costs.” —Booklist

Title: PRESS PLAY

Author: Eric Devine

Publisher: Running Press

Pub. Date: October 18, 2014

Format: ARC provided by publisher

Rating: 10/10

Summary from Goodreads:

Greg Dunsmore, a.k.a. Dun the Ton, is focused on one thing: making a documentary that will guarantee his admission into the film school of his choice. Every day, Greg films his intense weight-loss focused workouts as well as the nonstop bullying that comes from his classmates. But when he captures footage of violent, extreme hazing by his high school’s championship-winning lacrosse team in the presence of his principal, Greg’s field of view is in for a readjustment. Greg knows there is a story to be told, but it is not clear exactly what. And his attempts to find out the truth only create more obstacles, not to mention physical harm upon himself. Yet if Greg wants to make his exposé his ticket out of town rather than a veritable death sentence, he will have to learn to play the game and find a team to help him. Combine the underbelly of Friday Night Lights with the unflinching honesty of Walter Dean Myers, and you will find yourself with Eric Devine’s novel of debatable truths, consequences, and realities.

Review:

If you PRESS PLAY is your first novel by Eric Devine you are in for a wonderful surprise. One of the first things that really stands out about PRESS PLAY is the voice. The raw honesty and sarcasm will without a doubt draw readers in as Greg Dunsmore begins his weight loss journey only to discover that losing the wright will be only a small obstacle compared to the choice he has to make when he captures on his phone the cruel hazing implemented by his school’s lacrosse team.

For me as a reader the biggest draw to this novel is the fact that Devine does not shy away from the though subjects and he does it a way that is both brutal and honest. I found myself unable to put this book down because each chapter was better than the previous. Just when I thought the worst of the hazing was over something new and horrible happened. There is no sugarcoating—Devine lays it all out.  

The next element of PRESS PLAY that drew me in is the protagonist. Greg Dunsmore is overweight, bullied, he has issues connecting with other people. All of those issues make his character development so much stronger. Devine is not afraid to throw some very tough obstacles in his protagonist’s way. Watching Greg surmount these obstacles and grow into his own adds a crucial layer to PRESS PLAY because in the end it all comes down to Greg making the decision of whether or not to expose what he has captured on tape.  

The Opal Crown: 5 Stars

It’s such a rare delight when the sequel to a beloved book is even more lovely than it’s predecessor.

Especially when it had TWINS AND INTRIGUE AND BETRAYAL OH MY!

I’m a sucker for dual-perspective novels as well as heroines that aren’t the typical warrior-princess so when I read Princess in the Opal Mask last year I was not surprised at how much I enjoyed it. My one qualm with the book was the rampant use of ‘okay’, which was jarring in a world that otherwise felt very Renaissance-y. Because of this I gave PitOM only 4 stars.

I am pleased to report that Opal Crown surpassed it’s predecessor and has earned a glowing 5 star review!

Not only did ‘okay’ make a several scant appearances the plot was much more exciting because, unlike in Opal Mask, I honestly didn’t know what was going to happen. (Er- well, I thought I did, then I didn’t, then I did again. It certainly kept me guessing.)

I spent most of the books alternately internally yelling WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING ELARA?!? and WHILA I WANT YOU TO TRUST YOUR SISTER BUT I ALSO REALLY DON’T.

Unlike most readers I always liked Whila better. I loved how she accurately portrayed someone who has lived under an ever-present thumb her whole life. I was annoyed at Elara for being so flippant about Whila’s perspective and impatient with her, she didn’t seem to understand that she’s not the only twin who was abused as a child.

That being said I love, love LOVED that it took so long for Elara and Whila to become friends. I felt like it was realistic for them to be wary of each other and it made the journey of the book much more intriguing.

The letter was a huge surprise for me. I think I even had to set down the book for a moment to recover before rereading. That and the sudden “those characters you liked are dead BTW” scene set the book apart from the first one for me. Jenny Lundquist made some moves that made me respect her more as an author. She showed that she’s not just writing a cute princess story. These are realistic conflicts and in conflict people die. In conflict things are not always black and white. The grey areas where their brother Andrei was concerned interested me especially; it made me wonder how I would react in a situation like that.

I liked the way both the girls’ romances were back-burner for most of the book and then emerged rather sweetly at the end. I’m especially a big fan of WhilaxPatric because I loved them from the first chapter of Opal Mask.

The Obamas stopped by Politics and Prose, a local bookstore, today to shop for Christmas gifts on Small Business Saturday.