BOOK REVIEW: FTN reviews Schooled in Revenge by Jesse Lasky

Schooled in Revenge
Author: Jesse Lasky
Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: Hyperion (August 20, 2013)
Language: English

Revenge, the ultimate childhood and grown up dream of ‘’getting back’’ at all of those people who have wronged you over the years, this book delves into what happens when people try to make that dream a reality. I will start by saying that, of the few books I have reviewed, this has been the hardest so far! I’ve had mixed opinions about this book from the very first page. As with every book I read, I try and find my favourite aspects of it, for this book it has been a challenge!

I will also say that there is nothing exactly wrong with the book, but it just didn’t live up to my own personal expectations. This book is one of the rare cases where the TV show is in fact (in my opinion) better than the book.

The book is based on the channel four TV show Revenge but expands into the story of a few new characters. The story centres on Ava Winters, young beautiful and morally wronged, she is brought to Japan and introduced to four strangers who are in a similar plight. The group will set out to complete their quest before they have finished their training and seek revenge on those who have wronged them

My favourite aspect of the book is the basis for the story, the idea being that, if someone out there wrongs us, we can simply get revenge for their actions. In this day and age, where people get away with committing wrongs on a dailyy basis, the novel idea that we can change that is what drew me towards the book and what fascinated me with the story. The story of revenge is not something I have personally come across in any other book I have read which makes it a unique story for me. Unfortunately this is where my positive opinion of the book ends.

The story, without going into any spoilers, is rather predictable – none of the major plot twists were very exciting, they just happened and then the story would progress on without peaking my interest even a little.

The character development (if you could call it that) felt forced, some of the major characters had a complete personality flip half way through the book. SPOILERS  The main character Ava starts of like any stereotypical storybook heroine, she is gentle, kind and naive, the book describes her like a real rose of society, then halfway through the book she becomes tough independent and strong. I could have accepted it more if it was a gradual change but it was just a complete switch over. Even Reena who was your stereotypical love to hate character at the beginning turned out to be sweet and nice halfway through the book and these two characters become ‘’sisters in arms’’ as I say had these changes been gradual they may have worked better but sadly it just feels forced  SPOILERS END.

Another aspect of the book that I didn’t like (which will probably only ever bother me) was with the writing style – I was never quite sure of the time period at the beginning of the book, some of the chapters felt very much like they were from the Victorian Era.

My final complaint was the ending; it left a lot to be desired. I understand that some plot is needed for possible future books but it really feels like they accomplished very little by what the characters have done apart from have a character killed.

In Conclusion, I believe this book has a great premise; the idea of seeking revenge on those who have done wrong in our lives is enough to peek most people’s interest. It has unfortunately fallen short in delivering an interesting and exciting story; it had rather poor character development and was very predictable. So, If you are a fan of Revenge, the tv show, I recommend giving this book a miss but if you’re curious about a world were true justice is served then this book may be right for you.

2 out of 5 Nerds