Review: Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff

5 December, 2012 Featured, Reviews 16 comments

A book that contains both eerie ghosts and a serial killer who places little toy trinkets and paper hearts around his victims? Sign me up. Seriously though, I had been in the mood to read something eerie, and definitely tense and thrilling. This book seemed exactly that.

However, when I actually started reading Paper Valentine, that feverish interest I had wanted to feel never really arrived. I pressed on, expecting that the author was biding her time, waiting to sneak up on me and dump all of the excitement that comes with reading a mystery novel down my back like it was a bucket of glow in the dark paint.

All I got for my waiting, really, was a mystery that solved itself without much exploration by the main character, and a final scene that had so much potential to be climactic, but for me, fell flat.

The Plot:

What I love about mystery novels is that it’s really easy to raise the stakes. When the protagonist is searching to find a killer, it can be very easy for them to get right up close and personal with the force they’re up against, not only at the end, but throughout the novel. It doesn’t even have to be the main character. It can be anyone who matters to the reader, really. Put anyone in any kind of danger and I’ll care.

The issue I had with Paper Valentine was that for 90% of the book it felt like Hannah was tucked away in a kind of safe zone far away from the violence, even though everything was happening so close to where she lived. Even when Hannah does confront an aspect of the mystery towards the middle of the book, emphasis was taken away from the dangers of *killer running loose* and instead placed on other issues.

For the last 10% of the book, it was like Yovanoff attempted to turn up the heat but backed out at the last minute. To me it felt like Hannah’s life was tucked away from the conflict separately and safely, so it was hard to get invested in the climax.

When all was finally revealed, I wasn’t satisfied. It felt like Yavanoff chose the identity of the killer out of convenience and a desire to surprise the reader, rather than because it was key to the story. While I’ll have to admit I didn’t see the ending coming, it wasn’t an exciting twist. I felt like I was looking through a hazy viewfinder and everything nudged into focus.

The Writing:

While there were certain moments where the dialogue seemed natural, nearly everything that Lillian and Hannah said sounded a bit off to me, like no real person would actually say what they did.

This was also true about Hannah’s internal dialogue. While the world around her was described well enough, Hannah spent a lot of time focused on rephrasing how she perceived the world. It got to the point where it felt like Hannah was forcing her ideals into my brain and like I was being spoon-fed the themes of the novel. Her message was so parallel to the story I didn’t understand why the narrative took a detour instead of integrating the gist in a more subtle way.

The Characters:

For me, this was definitely the strong point of Paper Valentine. Lillian’s personality was so vivid, it was immediately clear how much of a dominating presence she was in Hannah’s life.  Ariel, Hannah’s sister, was also very lifelike, even though at times I was a bit confused by her age. She was supposed to be twelve, but her and her friend Pinky seemed much younger to me. I adored Finny Boone. He was very interesting and well developed, and though I would like to have seen his past explored a bit more, the insight into his life was perfect for it’s use in the story.

 

This book certainly wasn’t a bad read, and I did find myself interested in the story’s outcome, even if that interest was just a general curiosity. I really did like reading about Hannah, but I can’t say the story lived up to my expectations.

16 Responses to “Review: Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff”

  1. cynicalsapphire

    So funny. I actually have my review of this going up in a couple of hours. I liked it a bit more than you did, but I wasn’t bothered by a couple of the things that annoyed you, so I suppose that makes sense.
     
    I can see what you mean about the dialog between Hannah and Lillian, but it wasn’t an issue for me, just because there was such a stress on how having ghost Lillian wasn’t the same at all. It was stilted because their relationship wasn’t at all the same but they expected it to be, or so I felt. *shrugs*
     
    Very good point about how young Ariel and Pinky seemed. I suppose I feel that way, though I really try to avoid spending time with children, so it’s really hard for me to know what’s normal for them. I suspect you’re right. She did act a bit like the only 8 year old I know.
     
    So, for anyone reading the comments, SPOILER in the rest of the comment:
    At first, I felt like you did when the murderer was revealed and I still think the fact that it was teamwork was bullshit, actually, BUT I thought about it and had a thought, which may not have been intended, but I like it as an explanation. Here goes.
     
    One thing that bothered me was why Lillian was still ghosting around, since she really doesn’t seem to have too much of a connection to the plot. Then when she disappears after Killer gets caught, I had this thought: maybe she was his first victim. But she wasn’t viciously bashed in the head, I know. I’m wondering if he was verbally abusive to her, making her think she was never hot enough, never skinny enough, and that sent her into her eating disorder and thus death. Maybe she’d never confronted that? I don’t really know about all of that, because you’d think there would be a firm textual nod to it, but that could be interesting. There’s more than one way to skin a cat or kill a girl, I guess is the idea. That would explain her sticking around and why she was able to move on when he was captured.

  2. HannahGrace

    This books sounds pretty good, not sure if I’ll pick it up, though. Nice review!
     
    (I love your icon, by the way. I don’t meet many Dreamer fans!)

  3. missbonnie13

    This one does sound super interesting. That’s too bad it didn’t live up to expectations though. Great review!

  4. heykelley

    Hmmm, interesting review. I’ve been curious about this book, and this author in general, so I’m glad you posted this review. Now I’m not so sure if I want to read it though. Unnatural dialogue (and inner monologue) seems like it would get old, fast.

  5. Anna

    Sorry it didn’t live up to your expectations, but I’m definitely excited to read this one anyway. It looks fantastic. At least you kind of liked it, right?!
     
    Anna
    <a href=”http://www.literaryexploration.com”>Literary Exploration</a>

  6. Realm of Fiction

    It’s a shame this fell flat for you overall, but I do still look forward to giving it a shot. I will be my first book by this author. Brilliant review!

  9. Renae M

    Sorry you didn’t like this one as much as you wanted to, Adrienne! I’ve not heard great things about Yovanoff as a whole, so I’ve always been iffy on picking up a book by hers. It’s really nice to hear that the characters were well done, though.

  11. VeganYANerds

    Great review, Adrienne. I didn’t know much about this book, I just wanted to read it because of the cover but the premise sounds excellent. It’s a shame it didn’t live up to expectations, but good characters can save a book so I might still give this a go!

  15. Abc Xyz

    I loved Brenna Yovanoff’s book “the replacement“. I liked the plot, and the world. I’ll try it out for that reason.