Review: Sketchy by Olivia Samms

Sketchy

Author: Olivia Samms
Series: The Bea Catcher Chronicles #1
Publisher: Amazon Childrens Publishing
Genre: YA Paranormal
Format: Hardcover, 238 pages
Release Date: April 30, 2013
Source: Mid-Columbia Libraries
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Synopsis from Goodreads:

The first book in a series about 17 year old Bea Washington, an edgy, charismatic outsider and recovering addict, who discovers that with her new-found sobriety, she has a disturbing new ?skill? ? an ability to see, and draw, people's thoughts. Alarmingly, these visions are only getting stronger and increasing in frequency. As another girl in school is raped and left for dead, Bea must come to terms with her talent, learn to face her own truth, and try to help identify and stop the killer before he strikes again.

My Review:

Bea has just gotten out of rehab. She is a recovering addict and alcoholic. She got kicked out of her old school so gets to start over at Packard High. She lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan, a town that has been recently rocked by two assaults on teenage girls. The first girl was murdered and the second girl, Willa, is much too terrified to talk. Since Bea got clean, she has gained the ability to see and draw people’s thoughts.

Bea was a good main character. Her mixed race of African and Italian make her unique and refreshing. She also has a really unique sense of style. Her outfits are described in detail and she is constantly going to the thrift store to find vintage items. I’m a fashion person so I enjoyed this aspect of the book. If you don’t care about clothes though, it could get annoying just how much detail the author goes into.

Bea is a really strong girl. She is determined to stay clean and determined to help solve the murder and assault case. She uses her newfound power to try and draw Willa’s thoughts, hoping to identify the rapist. Bea takes a lot of risks in this book. The author does give us a reason for her obsession with this case, but at times I felt like Bea’s actions weren’t something a teenage girl would do.

Bea makes a new/old friend at Packard High, Chris. She had met him at art camp a year ago, when she was still drugged out. It seemed like at camp, they just casually hung out, but now they’re like best friends. It happened kind of abruptly for me and didn’t feel very genuine. They act as if they’ve been friends forever and know everything about each other, but I don’t see how this could be possible. Even though the relationship felt kind of artificial, I did like Chris’s character. He was fun and unique. Chris was gay, but didn’t let anybody’s snide comments get to him. He brought even more diversity to the book.

Overall I think the book was good. It read like a contemporary or a thriller with just a tiny hint of paranormal. It’s not something I would normally read, but it reminded me of the Wake series by Lisa McMann. The rape aspect of this book was handled very well. It wasn’t pushed aside as if it wasn’t a big deal. We saw how traumatized Willa was and I loved that Bea fought so hard to bring Willa closure and justice. The plot line was good, but I thought the characterization could have used some more work. My biggest complaint is that it wasn’t long enough. I think that it could have greatly benefited from additional detail. Nonetheless, it was enjoyable and I will probably pick up the second one when it comes out. Happy reading all!