Charisma - Book Review

Charisma
by Jeanne Ryan

What is it about:
A chance at the ultimate makeover means deadly consequences in this Sarah Dessen-meets-Robin Cook thriller

Aislyn suffers from crippling shyness—that is, until she’s offered a dose of Charisma, an underground gene therapy drug guaranteed to make her shine. The effects are instant. She’s charming, vivacious, and popular. But strangely, so are some other kids she knows. The media goes into a frenzy when the disease turns contagious, and then deadly, and the doctor who gave it to them disappears. Aislyn must find a way to stop it, before it's too late.

What did I think of it:
I very much enjoyed Nerve by Ryan, so decided to give Charisma a try as well.

And this is a nice read.

I didn't like it as much as Nerve, but it was entertaining. I did think the teens in this book were all very stupid, but that seems to be the case with more teens in YA.

There's teen angsting, love triangly troubles, risk taking, and more.

I will confess I didn't like Aislyn and the boys she surrounds herself with. It's probably the reason why I thought this story was just nice, and why I wasn't really invested in what was going on.

Still enjoyable enough to finish it, but if this was the first book by Ryan i read, I probably wouldn't have read more.

Why should you read it:
It's a nice YA read.


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Nerve - Book Review

Nerve
by Jeanne Ryan

What is it about:
ARE YOU PLAYING THE GAME OR IS THE GAME PLAYING YOU?

Vee doesn't know if she has the guts to play NERVE, an anonymous online game of dares. But whoever's behind the game knows exactly what she wants, enticing her with lustworthy prizes and a sizzling-hot partner. With Ian on her team, it's easy to agree to another dare. And another. And another. At first it's thrilling as the Watchers cheer them on to more dangerous challenges. But suddenly the game turns deadly. Will Vee and Ian risk their lives for the Grand Prize dare, or will they lose NERVE?

What did I think of it:
This was a fun read.

There were quite a few stereotypical characters, but as this story is more about Vee and the game she gets involved in than character development I didn't mind too much.

Vee and Ian are asked to do dares that get more dubious the further they get into the game. Ryan does make it believable why they keep playing instead of dropping out. I will confess I could understand Ian better than Vee, but Vee is a little bit contradictory in her behavior at times.

As the story draws to its conclusion events got a little bit out there for me, but maybe I underestimate what people will do for money and/or fame. Even so I very much enjoyed this read from start to finish and I already ordered Ryan's other book Charisma.

Why should you read it:
It's a fun and action-packed YA read.


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