IBBMP Review: Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves

Title: Bleeding Violet

Author: Dia Reeves

Rating:

Who Should Read It? This is a great YA read for adults and young adults as well. I would recommend it for ages 13+, and I think as long as you don't mind a bit of paranormal, you will love this book! If you love paranormal, you will ADORE this book!

What I Have to Say:
Bleeding Violet is an amazing, unique work of YA fiction. Maybe it's just that I haven't read a lot of YA about crazy people, but it seems to me there was something strangely special about this book. And I absolutely do NOT use the word strange with a grain of salt. This book was excitingly fresh and totally, creatively out there. And it's all because of Hanna, the protagonist. She is the reason this book lived up to every expectation that I had of it. She is funny, outgoing, witty, sarcastic, slightly annoying, and best of all, completely crazy.

Reeve's gracefully flawless way of presenting things from Hanna's point of view allowed the reader to really feel what it was like to be in the head of a crazy person put into an even crazier situation. Without Hanna's calm yet absurd responses to her new town and the events that take place there, the town and said events would have probably felt too cheesy. But seeing them from Hanna's point of view, while reading, everything just flowed and felt almost normal. She felt normal, and her reactions seemed reasonable. It wasn't until after, in retrospect, that I realized just how crazy everything was.

The most amazing thing was Reeve's ability to hide, through Hanna's thoughts, the sheer ridiculousness of it all from me. That takes talent, and it seems to me that is exactly what Dia Reeves has. Talent. It's not normal to ONLY where frilly, homemade purple dresses. And to talk to fake swans and a dead dad. It's not normal to not know if the monsters you are seeing are real or just a part of your crazy, overactive imagination.

And yet, in Dia Reeve's world, it is. In Hanna's world, it is just par for the course. Because of this, I actually didn't know how the book was going to end, and that is a very rare occurrence for me. I tend to predict even the most non-predictable of books, much to my dismay. This book's lack of stability did not allow that for me.

Overall, I though Bleeding Violet was an utterly imaginative, well-written work of fiction, and there's a little something in it for all YA fans. I think those that will get the most out of it, though, and that will enjoy it as it is to be enjoyed, are those that can, in some way, relate to the craziness of Hanna. Everyone's a little bit crazy, and if you're open to an acknowledge that part of yourself, then you'll see a little bit of yourself in Hanna, and you'll love this book. I greatly look forward to what Dia Reeves will come up with next, once she has more refined her writing skills.

Summary:Love can be a dangerous thing....

Hanna simply wants to be loved. With a head plagued by hallucinations, a medicine cabinet full of pills, and a closet stuffed with frilly, violet dresses, Hanna's tired of being the outcast, the weird girl, the freak. So she runs away to Portero, Texas in search of a new home.

But Portero is a stranger town than Hanna expects. As she tries to make a place for herself, she discovers dark secrets that would terrify any normal soul. Good thing for Hanna, she's far from normal. As this crazy girl meets an even crazier town, only two things are certain: Anything can happen and no one is safe.

Cover Story: I think this cover is extraordinarily sexy! It's got just the right amount of suspense and paranormal and purple, and it's wonderful!

Disclosure: This book was sent to me by review from Lenore as part of her International Book Bloggers Mentoring Program.