Friday, 21 August 2015 / 7 Comments
Night Owls
Author: Jenn Bennett
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Aus
Published: August 13th 2015
Source: Review copy via the publisher and NetGalley
Synopsis
Meeting Jack on the Owl - San Francisco's night bus - turns Beatrix's world upside down. Jack is charming, wildly attractive . . . and possibly one of San Francisco's most notorious graffiti artists.
On midnight rides and city rooftops, Beatrix begins to see who this enigmatic boy really is. But Jack is hiding much more - and can she uncover the truth that leaves him so wounded?
A unique and profoundly moving novel, Night Owls will linger in your memory long after the final page.
Review
I loved this and read it in a day.Bex and Jack meet on the night bus, a place neither of them should be, and there's an instant spark.
Bex is an artist, interested in anatomical drawing. Jack is also an artist, although some would call him a vandal. He's responsible for the golden words appearing in random places across the city.
The two circle around each other for a while, before giving into their mutual attraction, but there's always the chance that Jack will be caught and jailed for felony destruction of property, and Bex is keeping her own secrets.
The romance develops at a realistic pace, and it's sweet and lovely and much healthier than many relationships depicted in YA novels. There's one particularly frank discussion about sex which I thought was absolutely wonderful. Jack makes a comment along the lines of "If we can't talk about it, how can we do it?" Sexuality in general is depicted in such a positive and natural way in the story. I was really impressed.
The book also portrays mental illness in an accurate and responsible way without resorting to stereotypes.
Likable characters, a lovely romance and healthy relationships aren't always staples in YA contemporaries, so this makes Night Owls stand out all the more.
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YESSS I LOVED IT TOO!! And I loved how the mental illness was handled. So...just refreshing, I guess?! I'm used to books playing off the stereotypes and the problem with them is they're so often wrong. :( I read it one day too and ship Jack and Bex SO SO HARD THEY WERE ADORABLE.
ReplyDeleteAs a psychology teacher, I loved that they detailed the specific type of mental illness, not just the general disorder, and it really fought against the tendency for people to be seen as their illness.
DeleteThis story reminds me of Graffiti Moon, which I loved a lot! I really want to try this book now, I've always been fascinated with books that talk about art and mental illness.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the rec Nicole! I'll be adding this to my TBR.
Sounds like I need to look up Graffiti Moon and add it to my TBR! Thanks for commenting :)
DeleteIt reminded me so much of Graffiti Moon as well, but I enjoyed this one so much more. Not only for the very real way that mental illness wasn't seen as a big John Green production, and the romance was absolutely lovely. I loved their banter. Fabulous review Nic, so glad you enjoyed this one too <3
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by and commenting :)
DeleteI haven't heard about this one, but I like the mental illness aspect. I hope it does go into depth of it, wonderful review overall <3 Benish | Feminist Reflections
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