REVIEW for Hancock Park

A big thank you goes out to the wonderful Melissa at HarperCollins Canada!

TITLE:             Hancock Park

AUTHOR:       Isabel Kaplan

GENRE:          YA
RATING:         3 Stars

I admire anyone who can sit down and write a novel. I, myself, have read thousands and thousands of books and would never feel confident enough to do so. Author Kaplan deserves kudos for doing just this!


Having said that, I thought that the book's premise, while not wholly original, was interesting - especially since the main character is pretty much a young adult in about every way - including the fact that she basically seems to have all kinds of interesting quirks. Because of this, I found myself invested in knowing how the story would end.

I have always felt that many authors who write YA tend to overestimate their characters - giving them traits and characteristics that should only be found in blazed adults. This is not the case in Hancock Park.

So, why the 3 star rating? Frankly, this book is a little boring. I think it is all about the pacing. The author is too slow to get "to the point" of her story and while this may have worked in some instances, it made me feel as though I could skip entire pages and still not miss anything vital.

I liked the premise and the creation of the character, but I had some serious issues with the pace.