Monday, December 17, 2012

Review: Tempestuous:A Twisted Lit Novel by Kim Askew and Amy Helmes

Author:  Kim Askew and Amy Helmes
Title:Tempestuous
Series: A Twisted Lit Novel
Publication: December 18, 2012
Publisher: Merit Press
Source: Netgalley
Working off her debt to society (not to mention her father), former prep princess Miranda Prospero now wears the crown of a spinning frankfurter at her job making Hot Dog Kabobs at a Minneapolis mall. When a city-stopping blizzard strands Miranda and the mall workers with the oddest of the die-hard shoppers, she decides to wreak vengeance on the social-climbing clique who froze her out. The townies and the preps line up for battle with whatever merchandise comes to hand, while a rent-a-cop searches for what may be an armed robber. Accidentally (and literally) stuck to Caleb, a rough-cut boy with a heart of gold who would have been beneath her notice just a month before, Miranda learns more about the human heart and human nature in one night than in all of the rest of her life.

ThoughtsWhat happens when several teenagers get snowed in at the local mall? Total chaos and a bit of magic. Loaded with witty sarcasm this is a must read that has everything from mystery to romance and lots of mischief. Even though, I don't remember reading the Tempest, this stands alone fine without noticing the nods to certain aspects of William Shakespeare's work. After some light research, I discovered that in the original work the characters were shipwrecked on an island and some of them were plotting to murder some other character they felt wronged them somehow. Whereas in this book, Miranda, her classmates and other mall workers get stuck in the mall and she plots to get back at her ex-boyfriend and ex-best friends therefore wreaking havoc and starting a mini war. Miranda has the power of influence and she uses the magic of her words to make things happen. Sometimes her plans work, other time she ends up in more of a pickle like getting handcuffed to one guy that ruffles her feathers. My favorite scenes consist of the verbal banter and sparks between Miranda and hottie Caleb. In all the mayhem of playing pranks on her classmates, Miranda and crew have a bigger problem, people keep going missing and someone's stealing from the stores. In a laugh out loud comical turn the crew must learn to work together and hunt down the sticky thief and who they discover is a surprise none of them expect. 
Miranda is an intriguing character, who though aware that she has the ability to get people to do what she wants, her intentions are good for the most part. She does come off as judgmental, though she isn’t the only culprit, Caleb, the male lead has his own preconceived notions about her as well and he thinks the spoiled princess needs to get over herself. Overall, the plot, writing and characters are fantastic. A great read about getting past assumptions about people that aren't necessarily accurate and learning not to be so quick to judge with your eyes but give more thought to who a person is inside. This book is full of humor and wit, which makes it a great read for teens looking for a more modern take on Shakespeare. 

1 comment:

  1. I know you really enjoyed this book. So I added it to my "to read" list.

    ReplyDelete

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