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This is W.A.R
This is W.A.R. begins with a victim who can no longer speak for herself, and whose murder blossoms into a call-to-arms. Enter four very different girls, four very different motives to avenge Willa Ames-Rowan, and only one rule to Destroy James Gregory and his family at any cost. Willa's initials spell the secret rallying cry that spurs the foursome to pool their considerable resources and deliver their particular brand of vigilante justice. Innocence is lost, battles are won—and the pursuit of the truth ultimately threatens to destroy them all.
From the Hardcover edition.
From the Hardcover edition.
288 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2013
8 people are currently reading
2000 people want to read
About the author
Lisa Roecker
5 books289 followersLisa and Laura Roecker are sisters-turned-writing-partners with a love of all things Young Adult. Some call it arrested development, but the sisters claim it keeps them young. Plus, its cheaper than Botox. Lisa and Laura live in Cleveland, Ohio in separate residences. Their husbands wouldn't agree to a duplex. THE LIAR SOCIETY is their first novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 134 reviews
June 24, 2013
There are so many things I disliked about this book that I decided to review via bullet point, make of it as you wish:
♦ The premise: Rich family gets away with anything - murder in this case - because you know.. they're rich! Duh! But then these friends of the dead girl and daughters of other rich neighbors (though not AS rich) decide to be vigilantes and bring the family down. *queue intense music* To do that, they first have to all give 25,000$ each (O_o) as their vigilante club fund (yes- a club! Like when I was 7! THIS IS SO EXCITING!) to use for buying information and other important vigilante tasks. Where can this plot go wrong? *snorts*
♦ If you like bad daytime soap operas, then maybe I would tell you to read this book (but probably not).
Saying "no" to the Gregorys meant her job would be mysteriously downsized; a gas leak or a termite infestation would leave the tiny apartment she'd rented for the summer uninhabitable. Type-written threats, sent via envelopes with no return address, would ensure that she left town quickly and quietly."
...*snorts*
♦ This one guy is offering date rape drugs to girls regularly, and they take them willingly! But they're not dumb, nope, I mean, why worry about taking an unidentified pill that "will only relax you"? How about this one girl who actually did know what it was, and, smart girl that she is, fakes taking it because… well because she wanted to get raped (duh!). Unfortunately, though, she got saved by one of the vigilantes (How dare she?).
"I never take his stupid pills. I never do anything I don't want to do. And I sure as hell don't need to be saved. I had him right where I wanted him the entire time."
“But, you were drugged; you were attacked.”
“I was acting. The Gregorys are so easy.”
Great self respect, there!
♦ Meet Sloane: Sloane knew she was dumb. She said dumb things all the time, did dumb things. She’d learned to compensate for being an idiot by shutting up and agreeing with whatever everyone else said or did.
It didn’t happen often and she could never be sure when it was coming, but she was sometimes struck out of the blue with an idea.
It was like playing rock, paper, scissors. Sloane hated that game because she could never remember what was supposed to beat what so she always ended up playing rock. Rocks were hard. Rocks could smash. Rocks should always win.
But really it's not her fault…
Sloane's parents: "When Sloane missed curfew because she passed out behind the boathouse at the Club’s Summer Swing, they were sure Sloane must have narcolepsy. She didn’t, but that hadn’t stopped her parents from putting her on some crazy drug."
At one of four POVs in this novel, Sloane is at least the most memorable. Stupid is harder to forget?
♦ Foolproof plans to bring the killers down:
Putting photoshopped scandalous pictures of the boys on t-shirts and selling them at the gift shop.
Selling the family's antique watches. “ON EBAY!” Lina shouted. “We sell them on eBay.” She laughed maniacally, and everyone couldn’t help but join in. Sloane laughed the loudest for once. Turned out being a dumbass had its moments.
And my personal favorite: slipping hormone pills in the boys' drinks until they grow manboobs.
These girls, like, OMG, like they have the bestestest ideas!
___
Do I really need to point out more? This is not W.A.R., this is B.A.D. (that was too easy!)!
I'm done here.
--
Quotes in this review were taken from the uncorrected proof.
An advance copy was provided by the publisher for review.
For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads
♦ The premise: Rich family gets away with anything - murder in this case - because you know.. they're rich! Duh! But then these friends of the dead girl and daughters of other rich neighbors (though not AS rich) decide to be vigilantes and bring the family down. *queue intense music* To do that, they first have to all give 25,000$ each (O_o) as their vigilante club fund (yes- a club! Like when I was 7! THIS IS SO EXCITING!) to use for buying information and other important vigilante tasks. Where can this plot go wrong? *snorts*
♦ If you like bad daytime soap operas, then maybe I would tell you to read this book (but probably not).
Saying "no" to the Gregorys meant her job would be mysteriously downsized; a gas leak or a termite infestation would leave the tiny apartment she'd rented for the summer uninhabitable. Type-written threats, sent via envelopes with no return address, would ensure that she left town quickly and quietly."
...*snorts*
♦ This one guy is offering date rape drugs to girls regularly, and they take them willingly! But they're not dumb, nope, I mean, why worry about taking an unidentified pill that "will only relax you"? How about this one girl who actually did know what it was, and, smart girl that she is, fakes taking it because… well because she wanted to get raped (duh!). Unfortunately, though, she got saved by one of the vigilantes (How dare she?).
"I never take his stupid pills. I never do anything I don't want to do. And I sure as hell don't need to be saved. I had him right where I wanted him the entire time."
“But, you were drugged; you were attacked.”
“I was acting. The Gregorys are so easy.”
Great self respect, there!
♦ Meet Sloane: Sloane knew she was dumb. She said dumb things all the time, did dumb things. She’d learned to compensate for being an idiot by shutting up and agreeing with whatever everyone else said or did.
It didn’t happen often and she could never be sure when it was coming, but she was sometimes struck out of the blue with an idea.
It was like playing rock, paper, scissors. Sloane hated that game because she could never remember what was supposed to beat what so she always ended up playing rock. Rocks were hard. Rocks could smash. Rocks should always win.
But really it's not her fault…
Sloane's parents: "When Sloane missed curfew because she passed out behind the boathouse at the Club’s Summer Swing, they were sure Sloane must have narcolepsy. She didn’t, but that hadn’t stopped her parents from putting her on some crazy drug."
At one of four POVs in this novel, Sloane is at least the most memorable. Stupid is harder to forget?
♦ Foolproof plans to bring the killers down:
Putting photoshopped scandalous pictures of the boys on t-shirts and selling them at the gift shop.
Selling the family's antique watches. “ON EBAY!” Lina shouted. “We sell them on eBay.” She laughed maniacally, and everyone couldn’t help but join in. Sloane laughed the loudest for once. Turned out being a dumbass had its moments.
And my personal favorite: slipping hormone pills in the boys' drinks until they grow manboobs.
These girls, like, OMG, like they have the bestestest ideas!
___
Do I really need to point out more? This is not W.A.R., this is B.A.D. (that was too easy!)!
I'm done here.
--
Quotes in this review were taken from the uncorrected proof.
An advance copy was provided by the publisher for review.
For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads
August 30, 2020
4.5 Stars
This is my first crime novel and I honestly doesn't have any idea what to expect nonetheless I'm surprised by how much I like This is W. A. R. Mini review to come.
This is my first crime novel and I honestly doesn't have any idea what to expect nonetheless I'm surprised by how much I like This is W. A. R. Mini review to come.
September 2, 2013
The main reason I wanted to read this book was because I really enjoyed the Roecker's first book, The Liar Society. (They also write really hilarious blog posts, just FYI). I knew very little about the story but thought I would enjoy anything the two wrote. Unfortunately, I was wrong.
The story begins with Willa's thoughts on death right before she drowns. The book is then divided into five parts, each told from the perspective of one of Willa's friends who have banned together to take down her killer.
The Setting- Hawthorne Lake Country Club, a place where the rich can basically do whatever they want to whomever they want, no questions asked, no consequences. This was the first thing that bothered me. Money is not everything. You can't just throw money at people to make things go away. Especially when that "thing" is murder. The fact that all the characters were so easily paid off to keep quiet was beyond frustrating. Does no one at this club have any morals? Apparently not.
The Characters- The story is broken up into five parts each focusing on a different one of Willa's friends, their secrets, and memories of the night she died. Neither Rose, Lina, Sloane or Madge were likable characters. They were all spoiled rich brats, disillusioned about the real world and very stereotypical. The worst was Sloane a.k.a. "the dumb one" whom often got annoyed with herself for being so dumb. Her part was definitely the hardest to tolerate. None of the girls had any self respect, which was hard to take.
There isn't even a strong enough word to describe my disgust of the Gregory brothers, who were basically club royalty. Alcoholic, drug dealer, rapist, murderer, all of these words apply to at least one of the Gregory boys. Trip Gregory treated girls like objects, drugging them to "relax" them (practically knock them unconscious) and have sex. I wanted to vomit!! The thing is, most of the girls were dumb enough that they took the pill no questions asked! Seriously?!?
I feel bad writing such a negative review, but I honestly didn't enjoy a single aspect of this story. If the points mentioned above don't make you want rip your hair out or throw up then go ahead and give it a try. I'm sure some people will like it. I'm also sure a lot of people won't.
August 18, 2016
I don't think I've ever read a book classified as a 'thriller for young adults.' Most of this genre gets classified as adult.
This book, was alright. It wasn't stunningly brilliant (in fact some of it was quite drab to be honest) but it was readable, I didn't even cross my mind to put it down before finishing. Aside from the prologue from Willa's point of view, it starts off incredibly boring. Yes, there's been a murder. Yes, people are lying. Yes, there have been bribes. But it tells us instead of shows, everything that you need to know is spoken out loud leaving no doubt about what's happening. The inner monologue is basically repetition of speech - especially Rose's.
•Rose was so much more interesting in other people's POVs. When you were actually in her head it was extremely dull. Other people made her seem more exciting.
•Sloane's chapter was my favourite. Some people here are saying that it was their least favourite or unrealistic, but I actually know some people like this, so it was a bit more relatable.
•Most other POVs focused on one problem, and it continued for the next few chapters without pause. Not very interesting.
•Throughout the book they complain about how the Gregory family get away with everything because they have money. Then a few hours later, they're getting revenge on the Gregory family, mainly because they have enough money to do so. Hypocrites.
January 28, 2015
Such a disappointment! I love the premise of this book - a group of girls decide to ruin the lives of the boys who murdered their friend - that's right up my alley.
But This is W.A.R. is a mess. The men in this book are terrible, but I still couldn't bring myself to care about the female main characters much. It's as though the authors think that being cruel is an inherent part of being a teenage girl.... instead of joining together to avenge their friend's death, these ladies spend most of the book calling each other "bitch" and making nasty, superficial comments. This could have been an empowering tale about women facing male violence. But there's way too much internalized misogyny going on here, it just doesn't work.
But This is W.A.R. is a mess. The men in this book are terrible, but I still couldn't bring myself to care about the female main characters much. It's as though the authors think that being cruel is an inherent part of being a teenage girl.... instead of joining together to avenge their friend's death, these ladies spend most of the book calling each other "bitch" and making nasty, superficial comments. This could have been an empowering tale about women facing male violence. But there's way too much internalized misogyny going on here, it just doesn't work.
September 11, 2013
Loved Loved Loved. Review on the blog on 9/12
July 6, 2024
I didn't like this. At all, really.
I will say that I figured out that Trip was the ultimate bad guy not to far into the book. (Ha! point for me)
The ending mostly cleared things up but at the same time there were still things I had questions about.
I wasn't a fan of the writing style either.
I will say that I figured out that Trip was the ultimate bad guy not to far into the book. (Ha! point for me)
The ending mostly cleared things up but at the same time there were still things I had questions about.
I wasn't a fan of the writing style either.
August 3, 2017
audio book/Murder/college aged characters/ rich parents/too many characters/ characters not interesting /country club atmosphere / drug addiction / alcoholism /grandfather & old money/brothers/ parents uninvolved.
All in all, I did not care for the book.
All in all, I did not care for the book.
May 14, 2019
I read this four years ago, but I remember that I did not like it very much and this and the last book in the Liar Society trilogy are what made me not want to read anything else from these authors.
April 25, 2013
Everyone knows that James Gregory murdered Willa Ames-Rowan, but no one is willing to speak out against the most powerful family in town. Those who go against the Gregorys tend to disappear or have bad things happen to them. But Willa's best friends have had enough and are determined to exact justice for themselves, if the police won't take any real action. Rose wants to help because she regrets not letting herself really be Willa's friend and also, she is feeling guilty from lying to her police detective Father about what she happened to see. Rose joins forces with Lina, Sloane, and Madge to punish who they believe to be guilty - but when the truth is exposed what decision is truly the one to honor Willa's memory?
I feel like this one was a mixed bag for me personally as a reader. I actually had originally thought this book sounded like a modern interpretation of An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser. It seemed like more of a cross between that book, the Pretty Little Liars Series by Sara Shepard and with a hint of John Tucker Must Die. The beginning gives the last moments of Willa as she is being drowned and then cuts to Rose's narration of the aftermath (for some reason Rose's voice reminded me of the unnamed second wife in Rebecca - in the best way possible) scene at the exclusive Club they all frequent. Rose's point of view caught me the most because she was completely on the fringes, with only a slight connection to Willa. Her Mom is a club employee and her Dad is a cop. But her interactions with the other girls made her my favorite character by far. Lina is a complicated, tattooed girl with no one who cares about her, except for her friends. Madge, Willa's stepsister, is the most vengeful and zealous of all the girls when it comes to waging W.A.R. and avenging Willa's murder. Her intensity and overall bitchiness for a major portion of the novel kept me waffling as to whether or not I liked her character. Sloane is basically the stereotypical smart Asian girl, except she got there by faking it and cheating in school. Willa was the only person who believed in her enough to help her try to do things the right way.
Plot in this novel starts out intriguing and full of wonderful ambiguity, but quickly devolves into something more teen 'movie of the week-esque.' The girls' revenge ideas for James and his demented brother Trip are juvenile at best and completely ridiculous at worst. They have $75,000 at their disposal and the best they can come up with is hormone therapy, nude picture scandals, and stealing Cartier watches to auction on eBay. And they naively seem to think that these things are enough 'bad behavior' for the brothers to be disinherited based on a morality clause in their Grandfather's will. Yeah, whatever! I could barely suspend my disbelief on that part. Also, a lot of the girls' plotting sessions, interactions with each other and thought patterns were extremely shallow and didn't move too far past the clichéd 'killing for the money' trope. Some of the conversations between James, Trip and their Grandfather (any combo thereof) were pretty chilling though. It was entirely predictable, but had a very nice tone to most of the novel. My only real confusion was over the ending. I won't give any details, but suffice it to say that the prose was beautiful, but nonsensical in relation to the plot (at least in my opinion). The characters were decently developed, but my favorite was a tie between Lina (who was a truly good person) and Rose, who was completely loyal to the girls who became her friends. Sloane's emphasized stupidity really bothered me though. It's like the authors felt it necessary to emulate all the stereotypes in one fell swoop. Overall a decent read that keeps you guessing at the details of the ending, even if you know most of it already. This would be a good beach read for the summer, nice and relaxing with more fluff than anticipated.
VERDICT: 3.5/5 Stars
*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via Edelweiss. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book's expected publication date is July 2nd, 2013.*
I feel like this one was a mixed bag for me personally as a reader. I actually had originally thought this book sounded like a modern interpretation of An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser. It seemed like more of a cross between that book, the Pretty Little Liars Series by Sara Shepard and with a hint of John Tucker Must Die. The beginning gives the last moments of Willa as she is being drowned and then cuts to Rose's narration of the aftermath (for some reason Rose's voice reminded me of the unnamed second wife in Rebecca - in the best way possible) scene at the exclusive Club they all frequent. Rose's point of view caught me the most because she was completely on the fringes, with only a slight connection to Willa. Her Mom is a club employee and her Dad is a cop. But her interactions with the other girls made her my favorite character by far. Lina is a complicated, tattooed girl with no one who cares about her, except for her friends. Madge, Willa's stepsister, is the most vengeful and zealous of all the girls when it comes to waging W.A.R. and avenging Willa's murder. Her intensity and overall bitchiness for a major portion of the novel kept me waffling as to whether or not I liked her character. Sloane is basically the stereotypical smart Asian girl, except she got there by faking it and cheating in school. Willa was the only person who believed in her enough to help her try to do things the right way.
Plot in this novel starts out intriguing and full of wonderful ambiguity, but quickly devolves into something more teen 'movie of the week-esque.' The girls' revenge ideas for James and his demented brother Trip are juvenile at best and completely ridiculous at worst. They have $75,000 at their disposal and the best they can come up with is hormone therapy, nude picture scandals, and stealing Cartier watches to auction on eBay. And they naively seem to think that these things are enough 'bad behavior' for the brothers to be disinherited based on a morality clause in their Grandfather's will. Yeah, whatever! I could barely suspend my disbelief on that part. Also, a lot of the girls' plotting sessions, interactions with each other and thought patterns were extremely shallow and didn't move too far past the clichéd 'killing for the money' trope. Some of the conversations between James, Trip and their Grandfather (any combo thereof) were pretty chilling though. It was entirely predictable, but had a very nice tone to most of the novel. My only real confusion was over the ending. I won't give any details, but suffice it to say that the prose was beautiful, but nonsensical in relation to the plot (at least in my opinion). The characters were decently developed, but my favorite was a tie between Lina (who was a truly good person) and Rose, who was completely loyal to the girls who became her friends. Sloane's emphasized stupidity really bothered me though. It's like the authors felt it necessary to emulate all the stereotypes in one fell swoop. Overall a decent read that keeps you guessing at the details of the ending, even if you know most of it already. This would be a good beach read for the summer, nice and relaxing with more fluff than anticipated.
VERDICT: 3.5/5 Stars
*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via Edelweiss. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book's expected publication date is July 2nd, 2013.*
April 28, 2013
This book is not in a genre that I usually read, but I saw it on Edelweiss and the cover instantly drew me in. Seriously, it is just gorgeous. And then I read the blurb, and it felt like something ripped from the stories on Dateline or similar news show, and I was completely interested. In fact, in my head it was kind of narrated in a way like they do on Dateline. But that’s just my own weird personality.
The introduction starts with Willa Ames-Rowan, and she is drowning. She’s not just drowning, she is being murdered, and you are along for the ride in her point of view. It is dark and haunting, and even with that being said, it’s a bit beautiful. The writing will definitely grab you right from that first page.
And then as we move into the book we get sections told in the point of view of four girls, all friends with Willa. We hear from Rose, Lina, Sloane, and Madge (who is also her step-sister). Through them we get to piece together the puzzle of events that led up to this young beauty’s demise. See, Willa was well liked by everyone. At first I thought there must be something wrong; a skeleton of evil under the skin of a princess. But no, she was just one of those rare creatures who thinks of others and befriends them. She saw people’s weaknesses and made them feel like they were something to be proud of. And through the story, you get to know Willa more with every chapter. I know I was as enamored with her as everyone else was.
First we start with Rose. Her mother is an events planner at the country club where everyone basically lives, and her father is a police detective. She is shy and quiet, and not a part of the in crowd at all. But Willa was her friend, and she wants to do by right by her. I really felt her frustration and sadness. She began to evolve through the story, too. Like how they say pink is the new black, or whatever comparison you’d like, I often felt like Rose was the new Willa.
And then you have Lina, the frumpy girl who turned into a beauty. And now she rebels against everything she can, with her platinum hair and tattoo covered skin. She’s only got a few friends, and Willa was one of her very best.
Then you meet Sloane, the Asian girl trying to live up to her parents’ – and everyone else’s expectations. But she has some secrets, just like everyone else in their group. She was shy and quiet, and every once in a while she’d surprise you with something.
And lastly, Madge. She never really grew on me as a person. She’s Willa’s stepsister, and she is the one most hell bent on vengeance. I liked her well enough, but something just seemed a little off, and I just didn’t click with her on a personal level. Even though she wasn’t my favorite, her character practically screamed at you from the pages. She is definitely interesting.
What happens at Hawthorne stays at Hawthorne. It’s attended by the wealthy and privileged. And at the helm is The Captain, who calls the shots, and his heirs, James and Trip. James and Trip are seemingly as bad as they can be, without ever paying the price. They live life the way they want, accountable to no one. And so when one of them is secretly accused of killing Willa, it is swept under the rug. Much like everything else that these boys do. Honestly, I felt both of them were very enigmatic. I did like one more than other, but it’s a secret who!
This story quickly made me feel like I was invested in the story. There were secrets everywhere. The mystery of it all was fantastic. Over and over it’s repeated that Willa is dead. It didn’t feel repetitive, but rather, it felt like it was driving it home. It was a constant reminder of everyone’s grief, and their reason for revenge. There is more than one evil genius in this book, and it’s hard at times to know who is trustworthy and who is not. The characters were fabulous and diverse. The backdrop of the country club was terrific, with lots of skeletons in the closet. If you are a fan of murder mysteries, I think you will definitely enjoy this book.
The introduction starts with Willa Ames-Rowan, and she is drowning. She’s not just drowning, she is being murdered, and you are along for the ride in her point of view. It is dark and haunting, and even with that being said, it’s a bit beautiful. The writing will definitely grab you right from that first page.
And then as we move into the book we get sections told in the point of view of four girls, all friends with Willa. We hear from Rose, Lina, Sloane, and Madge (who is also her step-sister). Through them we get to piece together the puzzle of events that led up to this young beauty’s demise. See, Willa was well liked by everyone. At first I thought there must be something wrong; a skeleton of evil under the skin of a princess. But no, she was just one of those rare creatures who thinks of others and befriends them. She saw people’s weaknesses and made them feel like they were something to be proud of. And through the story, you get to know Willa more with every chapter. I know I was as enamored with her as everyone else was.
First we start with Rose. Her mother is an events planner at the country club where everyone basically lives, and her father is a police detective. She is shy and quiet, and not a part of the in crowd at all. But Willa was her friend, and she wants to do by right by her. I really felt her frustration and sadness. She began to evolve through the story, too. Like how they say pink is the new black, or whatever comparison you’d like, I often felt like Rose was the new Willa.
And then you have Lina, the frumpy girl who turned into a beauty. And now she rebels against everything she can, with her platinum hair and tattoo covered skin. She’s only got a few friends, and Willa was one of her very best.
Then you meet Sloane, the Asian girl trying to live up to her parents’ – and everyone else’s expectations. But she has some secrets, just like everyone else in their group. She was shy and quiet, and every once in a while she’d surprise you with something.
And lastly, Madge. She never really grew on me as a person. She’s Willa’s stepsister, and she is the one most hell bent on vengeance. I liked her well enough, but something just seemed a little off, and I just didn’t click with her on a personal level. Even though she wasn’t my favorite, her character practically screamed at you from the pages. She is definitely interesting.
What happens at Hawthorne stays at Hawthorne. It’s attended by the wealthy and privileged. And at the helm is The Captain, who calls the shots, and his heirs, James and Trip. James and Trip are seemingly as bad as they can be, without ever paying the price. They live life the way they want, accountable to no one. And so when one of them is secretly accused of killing Willa, it is swept under the rug. Much like everything else that these boys do. Honestly, I felt both of them were very enigmatic. I did like one more than other, but it’s a secret who!
This story quickly made me feel like I was invested in the story. There were secrets everywhere. The mystery of it all was fantastic. Over and over it’s repeated that Willa is dead. It didn’t feel repetitive, but rather, it felt like it was driving it home. It was a constant reminder of everyone’s grief, and their reason for revenge. There is more than one evil genius in this book, and it’s hard at times to know who is trustworthy and who is not. The characters were fabulous and diverse. The backdrop of the country club was terrific, with lots of skeletons in the closet. If you are a fan of murder mysteries, I think you will definitely enjoy this book.
July 10, 2013
*Also posted at Oops! I Read A Book Again*
Thank you to Soho Teen and Edelweiss for the eARC and to Meredith of Soho Press for the chance to join the blog tour! Still, everything you'll read here are my honest opinions. So let's get to this revenge plot like no other!
After their friend Willa Ames-Rowan drowns and dies after she jetted off in a boat with James Gregory and after everyone at the club turns a blind eye, her friends Madge, Lina, Sloane and Rose form the W.A.R. The goal of the W.A.R. is to bring down the Gregory family, to finally stop how they're above the law and to prevent from all of these from happening again. Each of them loved the kind and fearless Willa and each of them has their own personal motives for wanting revenge. To ease off their guilt, to protect someone, for fear, each of them seeking justice and revenge for themselves and for Willa.
Who here watches the TV show Revenge? In Revenge, Amanda Clarke tries to exact revenge by bringing down everyone who took part in her father wrongly accused of being a terrorist and a mass murderer, eventual imprisonment and murder. She comes back to the Hamptons for the summer as Emily Thorne, a rich and privileged lady yet the kindest, on the surface. She trudges her way in the Grayson family, the largest players in her father's death and the one she's planning on bringing down the most.
This is W.A.R. is the young adult version of Revenge. From the haughty and snob rich people, to everyone being paid off to keep their mouth shut, to the Gregory empire. And Emily Thorne would be so proud of these girls for their passion to their cause. Sure, the W.A.R.'s plans and antics seemed more like pranks than reputation-wrecking and family-breaking (and nothing compared to how bloody Emily's hands are) but you gotta give it to the girls for their plotting and scheming.
This novel is told in multiple POVs, that of the four girls. First was Rose, the daughter of the social climber event planner of the Hawthorne Club, an outcast in the club. Next was Lina, the tattooed rebel who is forever alone in an empty house while her parents are off to somewhere, anywhere but with her. Followed by Sloane, the pretending-to-be-perfect Asian daughter her parents brandishes off. Lastly, we get to Madge, Willa's stepsister, and the one most hellbent on avenging her sister. As we weave through each girl's perspective, we slowly unravel what really happened on the 4th of July for the iridescent Willa to drown.
I can't remember how many times I said "oh shit" and cursed while reading This is W.A.R. I should have counted. It just kept unwinding all the clues and mysteries in a shocking manner. At first, with only Rose's POV guiding you, I still can't figure out what happened. After some time, I did had a hunch and it was correct. But even though I guessed it right, everything that happened and everything the girls did which imminently, indirectly linked and caused Willa's death, were so surprising my chair was metaphorically pulled out of me.
This is W.A.R. is a quick read, clocking in less than 300 pages. But honestly, I felt it was even shorter than that. I think it's one of my quickest reads ever because I was poring through page after page nonstop, just wanting to get to the bottom of this mystery, to get to know what went down that tragic 4th of July. Like how I marathon-ed Revenge, I can't stop not until I realized it was 4AM already and I had to sleep. But even though I stopped reading, my mind was still reeling and thinking through all of what shocker I'm gonna read next.
A gripping tale of revenge full of secrets, lies and scheming, This is W.A.R. is a novel you won't be able to put down until you, the reader yourself, has finally sought and attained that justice for Willa. I highly recommend this to everyone but especially to those seeking for a contemporary YA mystery thriller. Roecker sisters, you rock! Pun totally intended and I'm proud of it.
Thank you to Soho Teen and Edelweiss for the eARC and to Meredith of Soho Press for the chance to join the blog tour! Still, everything you'll read here are my honest opinions. So let's get to this revenge plot like no other!
After their friend Willa Ames-Rowan drowns and dies after she jetted off in a boat with James Gregory and after everyone at the club turns a blind eye, her friends Madge, Lina, Sloane and Rose form the W.A.R. The goal of the W.A.R. is to bring down the Gregory family, to finally stop how they're above the law and to prevent from all of these from happening again. Each of them loved the kind and fearless Willa and each of them has their own personal motives for wanting revenge. To ease off their guilt, to protect someone, for fear, each of them seeking justice and revenge for themselves and for Willa.
Who here watches the TV show Revenge? In Revenge, Amanda Clarke tries to exact revenge by bringing down everyone who took part in her father wrongly accused of being a terrorist and a mass murderer, eventual imprisonment and murder. She comes back to the Hamptons for the summer as Emily Thorne, a rich and privileged lady yet the kindest, on the surface. She trudges her way in the Grayson family, the largest players in her father's death and the one she's planning on bringing down the most.
This is W.A.R. is the young adult version of Revenge. From the haughty and snob rich people, to everyone being paid off to keep their mouth shut, to the Gregory empire. And Emily Thorne would be so proud of these girls for their passion to their cause. Sure, the W.A.R.'s plans and antics seemed more like pranks than reputation-wrecking and family-breaking (and nothing compared to how bloody Emily's hands are) but you gotta give it to the girls for their plotting and scheming.
This novel is told in multiple POVs, that of the four girls. First was Rose, the daughter of the social climber event planner of the Hawthorne Club, an outcast in the club. Next was Lina, the tattooed rebel who is forever alone in an empty house while her parents are off to somewhere, anywhere but with her. Followed by Sloane, the pretending-to-be-perfect Asian daughter her parents brandishes off. Lastly, we get to Madge, Willa's stepsister, and the one most hellbent on avenging her sister. As we weave through each girl's perspective, we slowly unravel what really happened on the 4th of July for the iridescent Willa to drown.
I can't remember how many times I said "oh shit" and cursed while reading This is W.A.R. I should have counted. It just kept unwinding all the clues and mysteries in a shocking manner. At first, with only Rose's POV guiding you, I still can't figure out what happened. After some time, I did had a hunch and it was correct. But even though I guessed it right, everything that happened and everything the girls did which imminently, indirectly linked and caused Willa's death, were so surprising my chair was metaphorically pulled out of me.
This is W.A.R. is a quick read, clocking in less than 300 pages. But honestly, I felt it was even shorter than that. I think it's one of my quickest reads ever because I was poring through page after page nonstop, just wanting to get to the bottom of this mystery, to get to know what went down that tragic 4th of July. Like how I marathon-ed Revenge, I can't stop not until I realized it was 4AM already and I had to sleep. But even though I stopped reading, my mind was still reeling and thinking through all of what shocker I'm gonna read next.
A gripping tale of revenge full of secrets, lies and scheming, This is W.A.R. is a novel you won't be able to put down until you, the reader yourself, has finally sought and attained that justice for Willa. I highly recommend this to everyone but especially to those seeking for a contemporary YA mystery thriller. Roecker sisters, you rock! Pun totally intended and I'm proud of it.
March 23, 2013
I received a copy of the book "This is W.A.R. " by Lisa & Laura Roecker for an honest review. This was the first book I read by the Roecker's but it won't be the last. I was drawn in from the start.
The first couple pages of the book are from a dieing "Willa Amos -Rowan" whose initials happen to be W.A.R. Through the short period of time I was allowed to die through her eyes I wanted to know why she was in the situation she found herself in.
I didn't have to wait long. In the following chapters of the book you find about about the lives of 4 privileged teens that spend their summers together at a country club full of mistreated employees , trophy wives, & the always existent "boys club" that seems to never completely catch up with the times.
In this novel the half -sister to Willa, "Madge" gets her & Willa's best friends & made it her (there for their) goal to get justice for Willa who was murdered but because it was the uber rich grandson of the "Hawthorne Country Clubs" Captain's grandson by throwing money around & not so discreetly hushing the staff who depended on their jobs for a myriad of reasons everyone was following the script.
Madge & company had had enough. Though as you read the book & it switches between all 4 girls points of view you get to see that the old adage is true... Money does not buy happiness . In this case neither does revenge.
Justice does prevail by the time this book wraps up & there is a sense of closure. It also reveals the cracks in the "picture perfect" image that many people try so hard to put in place.
I enjoyed the read, wasn't shocked at the things revealed about each of the girls involved in ruining/ exposing the murderer. The fact that they gave themselves a mission to fill the "denial/anger" part in the mourning process was interesting but more interesting was the long lasting affect that W.A.R. Had on women outside the initial group.
This book defiantly had an underlying message of the power of friendship & the message that everyone , no matter what financial slot they fit in struggles with insecurities & good friends & facing who you are, dealing with the positives & negatives that make you an individual is something to acknowledge & not hide. True friends will support you regardless & those that don't aren't worth the time of impressing.
This book will speak to women of all ages without being preachy about the ultimate message. The added bonus is the murder mystery that was pretty obvious to me from the start but gave the story a reason to watch each character evolve into better & seemingly happier girls at the end.
Though its sad when you focus on the fact that it took the death of a young, promising life to bring about these changes thee book left you with a feeling of justice for "Willa" & a chip in that annoying "boys will be boys" mentality that touches every woman's life at one point or another.
In my personal blogs "Mousehead&[email protected]" & "[email protected] I use a rating system of 1.$ through 5$'s. by that rating system this book receives $$$$!
I will defiantly check out other books by the authors of this book as well as recommend this book to friends in the Y.A. Catagory as well as the older crowd. The overall message of this tale doesn't just apply to one age bracket. In its own way I think it has a little something for all.
I'm very appreciative that eidelweiss & soho teen gave me the opportunity to review this book. I read it in one enjoyable day & night.
Thanks for reading my review & I hope you'll check out the above mentioned blogs for more book reviews among other topics. If you're looking for a quick read give "This is W.A.R. a shot. I think you'll be happy you did.
The first couple pages of the book are from a dieing "Willa Amos -Rowan" whose initials happen to be W.A.R. Through the short period of time I was allowed to die through her eyes I wanted to know why she was in the situation she found herself in.
I didn't have to wait long. In the following chapters of the book you find about about the lives of 4 privileged teens that spend their summers together at a country club full of mistreated employees , trophy wives, & the always existent "boys club" that seems to never completely catch up with the times.
In this novel the half -sister to Willa, "Madge" gets her & Willa's best friends & made it her (there for their) goal to get justice for Willa who was murdered but because it was the uber rich grandson of the "Hawthorne Country Clubs" Captain's grandson by throwing money around & not so discreetly hushing the staff who depended on their jobs for a myriad of reasons everyone was following the script.
Madge & company had had enough. Though as you read the book & it switches between all 4 girls points of view you get to see that the old adage is true... Money does not buy happiness . In this case neither does revenge.
Justice does prevail by the time this book wraps up & there is a sense of closure. It also reveals the cracks in the "picture perfect" image that many people try so hard to put in place.
I enjoyed the read, wasn't shocked at the things revealed about each of the girls involved in ruining/ exposing the murderer. The fact that they gave themselves a mission to fill the "denial/anger" part in the mourning process was interesting but more interesting was the long lasting affect that W.A.R. Had on women outside the initial group.
This book defiantly had an underlying message of the power of friendship & the message that everyone , no matter what financial slot they fit in struggles with insecurities & good friends & facing who you are, dealing with the positives & negatives that make you an individual is something to acknowledge & not hide. True friends will support you regardless & those that don't aren't worth the time of impressing.
This book will speak to women of all ages without being preachy about the ultimate message. The added bonus is the murder mystery that was pretty obvious to me from the start but gave the story a reason to watch each character evolve into better & seemingly happier girls at the end.
Though its sad when you focus on the fact that it took the death of a young, promising life to bring about these changes thee book left you with a feeling of justice for "Willa" & a chip in that annoying "boys will be boys" mentality that touches every woman's life at one point or another.
In my personal blogs "Mousehead&[email protected]" & "[email protected] I use a rating system of 1.$ through 5$'s. by that rating system this book receives $$$$!
I will defiantly check out other books by the authors of this book as well as recommend this book to friends in the Y.A. Catagory as well as the older crowd. The overall message of this tale doesn't just apply to one age bracket. In its own way I think it has a little something for all.
I'm very appreciative that eidelweiss & soho teen gave me the opportunity to review this book. I read it in one enjoyable day & night.
Thanks for reading my review & I hope you'll check out the above mentioned blogs for more book reviews among other topics. If you're looking for a quick read give "This is W.A.R. a shot. I think you'll be happy you did.
July 1, 2013
3.5 Stars
I had my doubts about this book at the beginning. The whole rich club, invisible staff thing was getting on my nerves at first and I never really got over the whole setting exactly but I was able to enjoy the book nonetheless.
So yeah the setting and just the whole thing felt a bit ridiculous at times. I mean they all 'knew' what had happened and yet NO ONE spoke up. I'd like to believe that if they all had gotten together right there and then and actually told the truth it could have gone a different way, and idk I think that could have been handled way differently all the times everything was covered up. But then again if it hadn't been like that there would be no book. Then there is the whole $25,000 at the start of their little club. I'd like to know how they took out so much money and NOBODY said anything about it? They can't just withdraw that much without raising some red flags specially when they are all underage. So I didn't really buy that and just tried to ignore it and keep going with the story.
The book is told in the perspective of the 4 girls. Each one has their own section and at the end their memories of that night are told. I really liked how that was done. Each section would give you a piece of the puzzle while still telling the story of how they were going to ruin the boys lives. All 4 girls were very different and each had their own unique personalities. I think the only one I didn't like from start to finish was Madge. All the other girls I could understand and somewhat sympathize but Madge? What she was trying to do and how she basically knew the truth from the start and yet went ahead with the whole thing the way she did was seriously messed up. I just couldn't forgive that even knowing how much crap the boys got away with.
All the twists and turns that occurred kept it interesting and going at a steady pace. The suspense and thrill was definitely there but that's probably cause I just kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, and omg when it dropped it was a freaking bomb. Very well done. I loved seeing how the Captain was able to manipulate everything to make it how ever he wanted it to. It was creepy really the way the girls ended up feeling so completely powerless and hopeless after every failed attempt because of how good he was at it.
The ending was definitely something I hadn't seen coming. They started something without truly knowing the full consequences and the way it would affect everyone, not just their little community.
All in all, this was a very enjoyable read. If you are looking for a quick thrill and suspense story, this is the book for you.
I had my doubts about this book at the beginning. The whole rich club, invisible staff thing was getting on my nerves at first and I never really got over the whole setting exactly but I was able to enjoy the book nonetheless.
So yeah the setting and just the whole thing felt a bit ridiculous at times. I mean they all 'knew' what had happened and yet NO ONE spoke up. I'd like to believe that if they all had gotten together right there and then and actually told the truth it could have gone a different way, and idk I think that could have been handled way differently all the times everything was covered up. But then again if it hadn't been like that there would be no book. Then there is the whole $25,000 at the start of their little club. I'd like to know how they took out so much money and NOBODY said anything about it? They can't just withdraw that much without raising some red flags specially when they are all underage. So I didn't really buy that and just tried to ignore it and keep going with the story.
The book is told in the perspective of the 4 girls. Each one has their own section and at the end their memories of that night are told. I really liked how that was done. Each section would give you a piece of the puzzle while still telling the story of how they were going to ruin the boys lives. All 4 girls were very different and each had their own unique personalities. I think the only one I didn't like from start to finish was Madge. All the other girls I could understand and somewhat sympathize but Madge? What she was trying to do and how she basically knew the truth from the start and yet went ahead with the whole thing the way she did was seriously messed up. I just couldn't forgive that even knowing how much crap the boys got away with.
All the twists and turns that occurred kept it interesting and going at a steady pace. The suspense and thrill was definitely there but that's probably cause I just kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, and omg when it dropped it was a freaking bomb. Very well done. I loved seeing how the Captain was able to manipulate everything to make it how ever he wanted it to. It was creepy really the way the girls ended up feeling so completely powerless and hopeless after every failed attempt because of how good he was at it.
The ending was definitely something I hadn't seen coming. They started something without truly knowing the full consequences and the way it would affect everyone, not just their little community.
All in all, this was a very enjoyable read. If you are looking for a quick thrill and suspense story, this is the book for you.
June 11, 2013
This book was an impulse pick - Soho Teen have been putting out some awesome titles this year and I just knew that I wanted to read this one, even though I had not heard anything about it. It was definitely a good book and is worth picking up if you enjoy contemporary books with a mystery aspect. I would kind of compare it to The Lying Game.
What I liked about this book is that it starts with the mystery. From page one we want to know who Willa was, and who killed her which is why I was hooked from the start. However, as the novel progresses we learn that each of the characters is hiding their own secrets and it becomes more than just a mystery book. Some of the characters were likable - I loved the brash and honest Lina and Sloane, the 'genius' Asian trying to live up to her families expectations. Madge took a lot longer to warm to though and I'm still not sure whether I liked her and Rose was a little weedy and weak to start with, though she grows throughout the book to something more. I loved how this book dealt with the way people pretend to be somebody they are not, it was a well written moral that a lot of people will relate to.
Something was missing though, which stopped this book from being amazing. Maybe it's that the plot wasn't completely fleshed out - sure, the plot unravels at a good pace and it all makes sense, but these four teenage girls came up with the most childish revenge plots and it seemed pretty stupid to me. I would have liked some more action and some more creepiness, I love getting an uncomfortable suspicious feeling when reading mystery books and I just didn't really get that with This is W.A.R.
Overall, This is W.A.R. was a good read with fantastic character development and a great moral. The book gripped me straight away but some issues with juvenile plot points stop this book from being great.
Overall Rating: B-
What I liked about this book is that it starts with the mystery. From page one we want to know who Willa was, and who killed her which is why I was hooked from the start. However, as the novel progresses we learn that each of the characters is hiding their own secrets and it becomes more than just a mystery book. Some of the characters were likable - I loved the brash and honest Lina and Sloane, the 'genius' Asian trying to live up to her families expectations. Madge took a lot longer to warm to though and I'm still not sure whether I liked her and Rose was a little weedy and weak to start with, though she grows throughout the book to something more. I loved how this book dealt with the way people pretend to be somebody they are not, it was a well written moral that a lot of people will relate to.
Something was missing though, which stopped this book from being amazing. Maybe it's that the plot wasn't completely fleshed out - sure, the plot unravels at a good pace and it all makes sense, but these four teenage girls came up with the most childish revenge plots and it seemed pretty stupid to me. I would have liked some more action and some more creepiness, I love getting an uncomfortable suspicious feeling when reading mystery books and I just didn't really get that with This is W.A.R.
Overall, This is W.A.R. was a good read with fantastic character development and a great moral. The book gripped me straight away but some issues with juvenile plot points stop this book from being great.
Overall Rating: B-
October 3, 2013
Popular girl Willa is found dead, an innocent accident where she drown. Except she was an excellent swimmer and everyone knows it was not an accident. She was murdered. By the most wealthy influential family, who will go unpunished as they pay any witnesses off. But a group of 4 girls take matters into their own hands. They will get justice, or just revenge, for her death.
I liked that the dead girl, Willa, had the initials W.A.R., because that is what the girls are entering into. I also liked the ending, and how everything has spread out of the girls hands. Seemed like more books could be coming, or this could just stop and be a standalone. I liked the premise of a group of girls seeking justice for their friends death. And that was pretty much it about what I liked.
To me this book felt a little bit like pretty little liars, but not in a good way. It was about bad people doing bad things to each other. I really did not like any of the characters, could not relate to anyone. Just when you felt like you could like someone they would do something awful for no reason. I just didn't care. Some of the characters were so stereotypical it was like a cookie cutter for mean girl, or book nerd...They had no development past what the stereotype was.
I could not get into this book even though I started with such high expectations. It fell very flat. Also, very adult content with sex and sexual acts through out, so not for young teen. I will not be recommending this title any time soon.
I received this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.
I liked that the dead girl, Willa, had the initials W.A.R., because that is what the girls are entering into. I also liked the ending, and how everything has spread out of the girls hands. Seemed like more books could be coming, or this could just stop and be a standalone. I liked the premise of a group of girls seeking justice for their friends death. And that was pretty much it about what I liked.
To me this book felt a little bit like pretty little liars, but not in a good way. It was about bad people doing bad things to each other. I really did not like any of the characters, could not relate to anyone. Just when you felt like you could like someone they would do something awful for no reason. I just didn't care. Some of the characters were so stereotypical it was like a cookie cutter for mean girl, or book nerd...They had no development past what the stereotype was.
I could not get into this book even though I started with such high expectations. It fell very flat. Also, very adult content with sex and sexual acts through out, so not for young teen. I will not be recommending this title any time soon.
I received this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.
May 26, 2013
This mystery is carefully crafted, slowly revealing the truth of that horrible 4th of July through the distinctive voices of 5 girls. After Willa Ames-Rowan drowns everyone knows the truth - she and James left together, and James came back alone. But the Gregory family is powerful and wealthy and the "accident" is pushed aside as quickly as possible. But four girls with a strong connection to Willa and their own terrible secrets, find themselves drawn together to expose the lies and bring down the most powerful family at Hawthorne Lake Country Club. This isn't just revenge; it's W.A.R.
I loved this book. I devoured it in one day, breathless over the twists and turns as the truth slowly came to light. Lisa and Laura's skill has continued to improve and this novel is tight and cleverly executed. Don't start reading it if you don't have time to finish!
I loved this book. I devoured it in one day, breathless over the twists and turns as the truth slowly came to light. Lisa and Laura's skill has continued to improve and this novel is tight and cleverly executed. Don't start reading it if you don't have time to finish!
July 6, 2014
3.5 Review to come.
October 20, 2019
Everyone knows that James Gregory murdered Willa, but no one is willing to speak out against the most powerful family in town. Those who go against the Gregory's tend to disappear or have bad things happen to them. Willa's best friends have had enough and are determined to exact justice for themselves, if the police won't take any real action. Rose wants to help because she regrets not letting herself really be Willa's friend and also, she is feeling guilty from lying to her police detective Father about what she happened to see. Rose joins forces with Lina, Sloane, and Madge to punish who they believe to be guilty - but when the truth is exposed what decision is truly the one to honor Willa's memory? This story had a good premise to it but ended up be a bit confusing with so many characters. It was just ended up being a so so read for me.
March 5, 2024
I picked this book up for the first time when I was 11 or 12. I shouldn't have, I didn't understand one bit of it, it was beyond my reading level at the time. I picked it up again when I was 17 and read it all the way through, and I have to say it's a masterpiece. It's beautiful, the characters are beautiful, and the plot twists had me on the edge of my seat. My one complaint is that it was a bit slow at times, though I'm not sure that's a valid criticism.
August 3, 2024
I love this book. This was a book I picked up at a library book sale and it was my start of reading murder mystery books. I liked the way it had different points of view. I know that that is not everyone's cup of tea but I liked the different personalities and reasons for wanting to be apart of W.A.R.
July 11, 2013
Originally posted at http://smexybooks.com/2013/07/review-...
This Is W.A.R. by Lisa Roecker and Laura Roecker
Mature YA/Mystery
July 2, 2012
Soho Teen
Reviewed by Tori
I have always been fascinated by the Kennedys. America’s very own version of the royal family; this family’s legacy has beena study in sorrow and tragedy. This Is W.A.R. reminded me of the Kennedy’s. The Gregory’s are an uber rich family whose money and fame rules a tiny exclusive lakeside community with an iron fist and can magically buy away any of their indiscretions. The premise of the book brought to mind the Martha Moxley case, which incidentally, coincides with the Kennedy family. A young girl is found floating dead in the lake, having been last seen with James Gregory, the heir apparent. His grandfather covers up this alleged crime with hush money, just as he has done for years. Only this time, the young girl’s friends, led by her step sister, decide that this time the Gregory’s won’t get away with it. The family must be destroyed and James must pay for his crimes. The girls start a secret club, W.A.R, which is the dead girl’s initials. Each are required to front $25K into the war chest, to be used to fund their revenge. As they girls struggle to find evidence against James and the Gregory family as a whole, secrets are revealed and each girl must fully examine their true motivations for wanting revenge. The pursuit of justice becomes a living entity that can free them…or destroy them all.
As I was reading this book, all I could think about was what if Martha Moxley’s friends had decided to take on the the Kennedy clan and make them pay for the murder of a 15 year old girl? Revenge is a powerful motivator and this book is all about revenge. Four very different girls with four very different motives attempt to take down a powerful seemingly untouchable family. Color me intrigued. The writing itself is good; equal parts vulnerability and feelings of immortality that most teenagers are affected with is captured perfectly. The story flows with some road bumps and numerous subplots keep you on your toes. The authors keep the suspense and intrigue at a decent level as you attempt to figure out exactly what happened that night, right along with our protagonists. There are four narrators, each telling the story from their own POV, giving us clues to what happened that night. As with any retelling, each girl has their own secrets and version of what happened and the story soon takes on a life of it’s own. It is all essentially told in sections…once all put together, we know exactly what happened and why.
While I found the story interesting, I felt it didn’t reach its true potential. Relatively short, only 288 pages, it is told by four people in the first person which, though interesting, leads to some confusion. Too much is thrown at you in order to bring about the climatic ending. The world building is almost non existent and you are left with questions. Lots of internal dialogue, speculative musing, and flashbacks left this reader lost and having to backtrack to see if I missed a turn somewhere. The whole “rich country club” persona the characters are afflicted with takes away some of the seriousness I felt this story deserved. Four girls are essentially destroying lives in order to avenge a friend and I felt like I was reading an episode from the Pretty Little Liars Club. Maybe if this had been made a series rather than a standalone, the character’s personalities could have fleshed out better, the character’s background explored more, and things would have made more sense. The money aspect for one. Each girl can easily put their hands on a cool $25K with no problems? I was also unimpressed with some of their ideas for revenge. They were very juvenile and did not appeal to my sense of humor as I think the authors expected. Basically, these girls didn’t think of things through. I expected some ingenuity but instead got ridiculous. Nude pictures and hormone pills in drinks? It was only at the end when everything else failed, the lightbulb went off and they started thinking smart.
All the characters had a larger than life caricature feel to them. Real but beefed up with exaggeration. The grandfather is a manipulative bastard whose reasons were enlightening and horrifying. Both James and his brother Tripp are the essential bad boys for whom normal rules of society and human decency have no effect on them. The girls struggle between loving and hating these boys and their perceived identities are pronounced. For example, the so called stupid one is shown REALLY stupid. Before their friend’s murder, they did whatever they could to get those boys to pay attention to them. Absent parents, social climbers, and cops who look the other way are the norm in this town. It’s almost as if the authors were trying to teach a lesson in here.
Regardless of my issues, I do think this book will appeal to the crowd it was written for-teenagers. It is dramatic with over the top situations and emotions and reads fast from start to finish. It had a “crack” feel to it that kept me reading to the end. Unfortunately, it just didn’t work all that well for me.
Rating: C-
This Is W.A.R. by Lisa Roecker and Laura Roecker
Mature YA/Mystery
July 2, 2012
Soho Teen
Reviewed by Tori
I have always been fascinated by the Kennedys. America’s very own version of the royal family; this family’s legacy has beena study in sorrow and tragedy. This Is W.A.R. reminded me of the Kennedy’s. The Gregory’s are an uber rich family whose money and fame rules a tiny exclusive lakeside community with an iron fist and can magically buy away any of their indiscretions. The premise of the book brought to mind the Martha Moxley case, which incidentally, coincides with the Kennedy family. A young girl is found floating dead in the lake, having been last seen with James Gregory, the heir apparent. His grandfather covers up this alleged crime with hush money, just as he has done for years. Only this time, the young girl’s friends, led by her step sister, decide that this time the Gregory’s won’t get away with it. The family must be destroyed and James must pay for his crimes. The girls start a secret club, W.A.R, which is the dead girl’s initials. Each are required to front $25K into the war chest, to be used to fund their revenge. As they girls struggle to find evidence against James and the Gregory family as a whole, secrets are revealed and each girl must fully examine their true motivations for wanting revenge. The pursuit of justice becomes a living entity that can free them…or destroy them all.
As I was reading this book, all I could think about was what if Martha Moxley’s friends had decided to take on the the Kennedy clan and make them pay for the murder of a 15 year old girl? Revenge is a powerful motivator and this book is all about revenge. Four very different girls with four very different motives attempt to take down a powerful seemingly untouchable family. Color me intrigued. The writing itself is good; equal parts vulnerability and feelings of immortality that most teenagers are affected with is captured perfectly. The story flows with some road bumps and numerous subplots keep you on your toes. The authors keep the suspense and intrigue at a decent level as you attempt to figure out exactly what happened that night, right along with our protagonists. There are four narrators, each telling the story from their own POV, giving us clues to what happened that night. As with any retelling, each girl has their own secrets and version of what happened and the story soon takes on a life of it’s own. It is all essentially told in sections…once all put together, we know exactly what happened and why.
While I found the story interesting, I felt it didn’t reach its true potential. Relatively short, only 288 pages, it is told by four people in the first person which, though interesting, leads to some confusion. Too much is thrown at you in order to bring about the climatic ending. The world building is almost non existent and you are left with questions. Lots of internal dialogue, speculative musing, and flashbacks left this reader lost and having to backtrack to see if I missed a turn somewhere. The whole “rich country club” persona the characters are afflicted with takes away some of the seriousness I felt this story deserved. Four girls are essentially destroying lives in order to avenge a friend and I felt like I was reading an episode from the Pretty Little Liars Club. Maybe if this had been made a series rather than a standalone, the character’s personalities could have fleshed out better, the character’s background explored more, and things would have made more sense. The money aspect for one. Each girl can easily put their hands on a cool $25K with no problems? I was also unimpressed with some of their ideas for revenge. They were very juvenile and did not appeal to my sense of humor as I think the authors expected. Basically, these girls didn’t think of things through. I expected some ingenuity but instead got ridiculous. Nude pictures and hormone pills in drinks? It was only at the end when everything else failed, the lightbulb went off and they started thinking smart.
All the characters had a larger than life caricature feel to them. Real but beefed up with exaggeration. The grandfather is a manipulative bastard whose reasons were enlightening and horrifying. Both James and his brother Tripp are the essential bad boys for whom normal rules of society and human decency have no effect on them. The girls struggle between loving and hating these boys and their perceived identities are pronounced. For example, the so called stupid one is shown REALLY stupid. Before their friend’s murder, they did whatever they could to get those boys to pay attention to them. Absent parents, social climbers, and cops who look the other way are the norm in this town. It’s almost as if the authors were trying to teach a lesson in here.
Regardless of my issues, I do think this book will appeal to the crowd it was written for-teenagers. It is dramatic with over the top situations and emotions and reads fast from start to finish. It had a “crack” feel to it that kept me reading to the end. Unfortunately, it just didn’t work all that well for me.
Rating: C-
August 30, 2017
Actual rating - 2.75
I didn't really like the characters in this unfortunately.
This wasn't an awful read, but It really struggled to gain my interest. It dragged in areas for me because of it, and I was quite glad to finish it.
I didn't really like the characters in this unfortunately.
This wasn't an awful read, but It really struggled to gain my interest. It dragged in areas for me because of it, and I was quite glad to finish it.
August 31, 2018
Enjoyed this book. It was my first book that wasn’t a romance novel. It kept me intrigued and wanting more.
September 3, 2016
Read this review and more at my blog J Reads Ya!
| POC Chars - 4 | Queer Chars - 1 |
If you go into This is W.A.R. thinking it’s going to be a group of kickass girls getting their awesome revenge on a bunch of creeps, you will be very disappointed. If you go into it thinking it will be a story about very young girls dealing with a complicated situation, that these girls are powerless against a very powerful force and yet they do what they believe is right even when the odds are staggeringly against them, you will probably like this book. Being a huge fan of Gossip Girl, let me tell you - if Blair Waldorf had been in charge of the W.A.R. operation, this would have been awesome beyond comprehension. But this book turns out a bit more realistically, and shows real, complex girls dealing with a horrible situation.
This book is not as it’s advertised, but it is still a complicated, wonderful book that deals with patriarchy, gender and class roles by exaggerating them into a basically dystopian society of The Club. It is run by a family of rich men (the Gregory family) who (literally) get away with murder. But any man with any money in The Club has power over everyone else. Rose describes how when she was twelve, her mother took her aside and warned her to be wary of the men, saying that if she ever ended up alone with one of the men, there was nothing she or her father could do to protect Rose. The four protagonists are sick of this, and decide to do something about it. So they form their own Club, that functions similarly to the way The Club works (with dues and everything). Some other reviewers have said the idea of their own “club” was one of the dumber elements of the book, but I think they are missing the symbolic significance - these girls wanted to create their own Club, a place where they had power and were in control of their own lives.
The women in the Club deal with the men’s influence in different ways. Early in the book, one of the protagonists (Lina) is berating another character for being a whore, letting one of the creeps do whatever he wants to her for money and a good position. The girl responds, “The whores are the only ones winning in this town.” She then looks at Rose and asks “What are you Lina’s bitch now?” And she responds “I’d rather be Lina’s bitch than the Gregorys’ whore.” That quote perfectly captures the protagonists’ attitude towards the entire situation. While the rest of the women are trying to make the best out of a bad situation, these four refuse to have anything other than perfect freedom.
(Marked SPOILER for discussion of the ending.)
this book wasn’t trying to give us a simple, easy, perfect-world ending to this situation where all the enemies are vanquished and the heroes stand triumphant. In real life, we are not always victorious, but that does not mean that what we have done is not important or valuable. Just as Willa said, “Stare down tragedy and decide to survive. That’s where the real story starts.”
| POC Chars - 4 | Queer Chars - 1 |
If you go into This is W.A.R. thinking it’s going to be a group of kickass girls getting their awesome revenge on a bunch of creeps, you will be very disappointed. If you go into it thinking it will be a story about very young girls dealing with a complicated situation, that these girls are powerless against a very powerful force and yet they do what they believe is right even when the odds are staggeringly against them, you will probably like this book. Being a huge fan of Gossip Girl, let me tell you - if Blair Waldorf had been in charge of the W.A.R. operation, this would have been awesome beyond comprehension. But this book turns out a bit more realistically, and shows real, complex girls dealing with a horrible situation.
This book is not as it’s advertised, but it is still a complicated, wonderful book that deals with patriarchy, gender and class roles by exaggerating them into a basically dystopian society of The Club. It is run by a family of rich men (the Gregory family) who (literally) get away with murder. But any man with any money in The Club has power over everyone else. Rose describes how when she was twelve, her mother took her aside and warned her to be wary of the men, saying that if she ever ended up alone with one of the men, there was nothing she or her father could do to protect Rose. The four protagonists are sick of this, and decide to do something about it. So they form their own Club, that functions similarly to the way The Club works (with dues and everything). Some other reviewers have said the idea of their own “club” was one of the dumber elements of the book, but I think they are missing the symbolic significance - these girls wanted to create their own Club, a place where they had power and were in control of their own lives.
The women in the Club deal with the men’s influence in different ways. Early in the book, one of the protagonists (Lina) is berating another character for being a whore, letting one of the creeps do whatever he wants to her for money and a good position. The girl responds, “The whores are the only ones winning in this town.” She then looks at Rose and asks “What are you Lina’s bitch now?” And she responds “I’d rather be Lina’s bitch than the Gregorys’ whore.” That quote perfectly captures the protagonists’ attitude towards the entire situation. While the rest of the women are trying to make the best out of a bad situation, these four refuse to have anything other than perfect freedom.
(Marked SPOILER for discussion of the ending.)
this book wasn’t trying to give us a simple, easy, perfect-world ending to this situation where all the enemies are vanquished and the heroes stand triumphant. In real life, we are not always victorious, but that does not mean that what we have done is not important or valuable. Just as Willa said, “Stare down tragedy and decide to survive. That’s where the real story starts.”
August 8, 2014
***Review posted on The Eater of Books! blog***
This is W.A.R by Lisa Roecker and Laura Roecker
Publisher: Soho Teen
Publication Date: July 2, 2013
Rating: 3 stars
Source: eARC from Edelweiss
Summary (from Goodreads):
At Hawthorne Lake Country Club your trust fund can’t buy you happiness, but if it’s big enough, it almost always buys innocence. When Willa Ames-Rowan drowns in Hawthorne Lake everyone who’s anyone knows James Gregory is the one who killed her. But no one will ever say a word. Enter The W.A.R. Four girls, four motives to avenge Willa’s death, and only one rule: Destroy the Gregory brothers at any cost. The girls pool their trust funds and devise a series of elaborate pranks to deliver their own particular brand of vigilante justice. Innocence is lost, battles are won, but it’s the truth about what really happened that night that stands to destroy them all.
What I Liked:
This book was... interesting, to say the least. I like the whodunit feel of the book, even though we as readers DO know who commits the crime (or we THINK we do). Everybody thinks that they know who drowned Willa. It's no secret that everyone believe James Gregory did it.
There are many characters in this book, and all of the characters are very different. Rose is the first character introduced. It is clear that she harbors feelings for the one and only James Gregory, but she tries to avoid him, since he is the supposed criminal. She tries to avoid ALL of the Gregory men, especially after the weird scene she saw between her mother and James's grandfather, the Captain.
Madge is the other primary character that learn more about as the book goes on. Really, there are four girls that are given chapters in their points-of-view, but Rose and Madge are the two with the greatest importance. Eventually, Madge goes a little crazy for revenge, and her hatred for James goes overboard. I never really liked Madge, but her character was interesting to follow.
I did, however, like James.I felt bad for him, right from the beginning. To me, it was clear that he was not solely behind killing Willa. I promise you that is NOT a spoiler. I liked him and Rose together, though we don't really see them as a couple together throughout this book.
Overall, this book was interesting, but sort of flat for me. The plot was mildly intriguing, but at the same time, I was just dying to finish the book, so I could move on and read another book.
What I Did Not Like:
This book was boring. I was so bored sometimes, and other times, I wanted to shake some of the characters (most of the time, it was Madge). The whole rich-girl scheming crazies was not amusing. I found some of the girls' characters and morals insufferable. The only girl I really liked was Rose. And I liked James, but he's a boy.
The plot was so slow-moving and boring, and hardly anything happened. An when things did happen, it was usually flashbacks from the past, which confused me, because I had no idea they were flashbacks from the past, sometimes!
The plot structure in general was weird. When present events finally started to pick up, like the W.A.R. schemes actually happening, I was still not impressed.
There is NO romance in this book. We can see that Willa, when she was alive, wanted to be with James, but James wanted to be with Rose, and Rose wanted to be with James. But when Willa died, Rose ostracized James, and James turned to drinking and going insane. His brother, on the other hand, was a different, even weirder case.
I guess I just didn't like the feel of this book. It was weird, slow, and boring. I can't even pinpoint what I didn't like. I just didn't like it!
Would I Recommend It:
Not really. This book is probably on the low end of three stars. I was invested enough to finish the book, but overall, I was not impressed.
Rating:
3 stars. Maybe this rating is too high, but I'm glad I finished this book. I probably won't read it again, or any novels to follow.
This is W.A.R by Lisa Roecker and Laura Roecker
Publisher: Soho Teen
Publication Date: July 2, 2013
Rating: 3 stars
Source: eARC from Edelweiss
Summary (from Goodreads):
At Hawthorne Lake Country Club your trust fund can’t buy you happiness, but if it’s big enough, it almost always buys innocence. When Willa Ames-Rowan drowns in Hawthorne Lake everyone who’s anyone knows James Gregory is the one who killed her. But no one will ever say a word. Enter The W.A.R. Four girls, four motives to avenge Willa’s death, and only one rule: Destroy the Gregory brothers at any cost. The girls pool their trust funds and devise a series of elaborate pranks to deliver their own particular brand of vigilante justice. Innocence is lost, battles are won, but it’s the truth about what really happened that night that stands to destroy them all.
What I Liked:
This book was... interesting, to say the least. I like the whodunit feel of the book, even though we as readers DO know who commits the crime (or we THINK we do). Everybody thinks that they know who drowned Willa. It's no secret that everyone believe James Gregory did it.
There are many characters in this book, and all of the characters are very different. Rose is the first character introduced. It is clear that she harbors feelings for the one and only James Gregory, but she tries to avoid him, since he is the supposed criminal. She tries to avoid ALL of the Gregory men, especially after the weird scene she saw between her mother and James's grandfather, the Captain.
Madge is the other primary character that learn more about as the book goes on. Really, there are four girls that are given chapters in their points-of-view, but Rose and Madge are the two with the greatest importance. Eventually, Madge goes a little crazy for revenge, and her hatred for James goes overboard. I never really liked Madge, but her character was interesting to follow.
I did, however, like James.I felt bad for him, right from the beginning. To me, it was clear that he was not solely behind killing Willa. I promise you that is NOT a spoiler. I liked him and Rose together, though we don't really see them as a couple together throughout this book.
Overall, this book was interesting, but sort of flat for me. The plot was mildly intriguing, but at the same time, I was just dying to finish the book, so I could move on and read another book.
What I Did Not Like:
This book was boring. I was so bored sometimes, and other times, I wanted to shake some of the characters (most of the time, it was Madge). The whole rich-girl scheming crazies was not amusing. I found some of the girls' characters and morals insufferable. The only girl I really liked was Rose. And I liked James, but he's a boy.
The plot was so slow-moving and boring, and hardly anything happened. An when things did happen, it was usually flashbacks from the past, which confused me, because I had no idea they were flashbacks from the past, sometimes!
The plot structure in general was weird. When present events finally started to pick up, like the W.A.R. schemes actually happening, I was still not impressed.
There is NO romance in this book. We can see that Willa, when she was alive, wanted to be with James, but James wanted to be with Rose, and Rose wanted to be with James. But when Willa died, Rose ostracized James, and James turned to drinking and going insane. His brother, on the other hand, was a different, even weirder case.
I guess I just didn't like the feel of this book. It was weird, slow, and boring. I can't even pinpoint what I didn't like. I just didn't like it!
Would I Recommend It:
Not really. This book is probably on the low end of three stars. I was invested enough to finish the book, but overall, I was not impressed.
Rating:
3 stars. Maybe this rating is too high, but I'm glad I finished this book. I probably won't read it again, or any novels to follow.
October 3, 2015
So this is one of those guilty pleasure books that you can read in a couple of hours, maybe on the beach or maybe curled up in your favorite reading spot during a thunderstorm. And I had the added pleasure of actually reading one of the books I purchased!! Nobody fall off their chairs or anything. I did it twice this week. Don't choke on your morning coffee. I didn't feel the world stop turning but I'm sure a few stars shot across the sky in glee. So back to the book. I was ridiculously happy reading this book about revenge against two rich boys that get away with treating girls badly and now killing Willa Ames-Rowan. I love guys! I really do. I married one and I have two boys. But really, I love nothing better than when a girl or girls get even with a guy or guys who really deserve it! I don't know why. Maybe because I'm reliving my teenage years when I was always the dumped instead of the dumper?? I don't know I just know I love it when a girl gets her justified revenge! So sit back and enjoy this one on the beach or after a messy break up or just because!
The characters in this one are numerous, but we get to know each one really well because each one narrates for several chapters. It isn't confusing at all because each girl has a chance to tell her story and her connection to Willa and what she knows about the night she died. After her narration is done, someone else picks up the story and that character is seen through the eyes of the next narrator. It works very well for this story.
-The characters are Rose, who isn't exactly a member of the country club. Her mother runs it but won't let her fraternize with the help. She wants Rose to make connections with the rich kids her age so she can climb the social ladder. That isn't what Rose wants.
-Then there's Willa's crowd- Lina, Sloane and Willa's step sister, Madge. They are used to summers spent at the country club together with Willa and it just isn't the same without her. Madge is especially upset, everywhere reminds her of Willa. And she more than any of the others is determined to make the Gregorys pay!
-There are also the two Gregory boys that we only get to see through little scenes that aren't very flattering.
Trip, the outgoing, social playboy, life of the party and worst of the two, but not the one seen leaving with Willa in his boat and coming back without her. He is supposedly hated by his grandfather, the Captain who owns the club and Hawthorne Lake, but that's just rumor. And then there is James Gregory, he left the yacht that night with Willa in his boat. An hour later, he came back alone. But both boys are going down!
The setting is a lake community that is run by the richest man around, the Captain. He is THE Gregory and he has enough money to buy his grandsons out of trouble. Their parents died in a car accident that Trip is supposed to have caused. There isn't a lot of information on that. Basically the lake and the country club is where everything takes place.
The story is pretty straightforward. Four girls bond together over their common desire to get even and then to get revenge. But each of them has a crucial bit of information about that night that they don't realize they have. It takes awhile for them to get everything together to understand what happened. The most eerie parts of the story are the parts where we hear (read) Willa's last thoughts and just how close she was to living.
I've already said what I thought. This is a decadent pleasure read. It's about four girls scheming and carrying out scenarios to bring down two playboys who seem to be untouchable. And they do prove to be untouchable for awhile. Some things are left unresolved, but not Willa's murder and that was what the book was about. So the ending completely satisfied me. Anyone that loves scheming teen girls sticking it to boys or rich untouchable boys that deserve it will enjoy this one. It's a contemporary. No paranormal to it. Just lots of fun!
The characters in this one are numerous, but we get to know each one really well because each one narrates for several chapters. It isn't confusing at all because each girl has a chance to tell her story and her connection to Willa and what she knows about the night she died. After her narration is done, someone else picks up the story and that character is seen through the eyes of the next narrator. It works very well for this story.
-The characters are Rose, who isn't exactly a member of the country club. Her mother runs it but won't let her fraternize with the help. She wants Rose to make connections with the rich kids her age so she can climb the social ladder. That isn't what Rose wants.
-Then there's Willa's crowd- Lina, Sloane and Willa's step sister, Madge. They are used to summers spent at the country club together with Willa and it just isn't the same without her. Madge is especially upset, everywhere reminds her of Willa. And she more than any of the others is determined to make the Gregorys pay!
-There are also the two Gregory boys that we only get to see through little scenes that aren't very flattering.
Trip, the outgoing, social playboy, life of the party and worst of the two, but not the one seen leaving with Willa in his boat and coming back without her. He is supposedly hated by his grandfather, the Captain who owns the club and Hawthorne Lake, but that's just rumor. And then there is James Gregory, he left the yacht that night with Willa in his boat. An hour later, he came back alone. But both boys are going down!
The setting is a lake community that is run by the richest man around, the Captain. He is THE Gregory and he has enough money to buy his grandsons out of trouble. Their parents died in a car accident that Trip is supposed to have caused. There isn't a lot of information on that. Basically the lake and the country club is where everything takes place.
The story is pretty straightforward. Four girls bond together over their common desire to get even and then to get revenge. But each of them has a crucial bit of information about that night that they don't realize they have. It takes awhile for them to get everything together to understand what happened. The most eerie parts of the story are the parts where we hear (read) Willa's last thoughts and just how close she was to living.
I've already said what I thought. This is a decadent pleasure read. It's about four girls scheming and carrying out scenarios to bring down two playboys who seem to be untouchable. And they do prove to be untouchable for awhile. Some things are left unresolved, but not Willa's murder and that was what the book was about. So the ending completely satisfied me. Anyone that loves scheming teen girls sticking it to boys or rich untouchable boys that deserve it will enjoy this one. It's a contemporary. No paranormal to it. Just lots of fun!
Read
August 17, 2014A girl dead, a boy responsible. A terrible, silent, life-changing crime, but one that a person wealthy and powerful enough can erase with a few strategically placed millions. With sufficient influence, someone can have anything he wants-and throw away anything he doesn't-in this appearance-obsessed country club in which people will do anything to slip by incognito and return to the trivial tanning and chatting of the time before a tragic murder. And one group of girls is going to do something about it.
Yes, yes, and yes. This sounded like the perfect premise to me, what with the omnipotent man almost guaranteed to make my blood boil and a daring group of teens determined to make me cheer for them as they seek justice. I love reading about crimes covered up for publicity's sake because they rarely fail to make me viciously angry and therefore one hundred percent invested in the story, and I hoped This is W.A.R. would provide some of this same emotion in the vein of Daisy Whitney's The Mockingbirds duology. The reason it does not, though, lies in its characters and they way they make it impossible for readers to care about them at all.
I frequently complain about clichéd characters, but the revenge-seeking girls in this book are not even worthy of this accusation's honor. They have no personalities. None. Never before have I met a cast so utterly devoid of backstories, quirks, and more than two characteristics, and readers will find it easy to forget that Madge, the most nondescript of the bland characters, even exists. Worse still, the mystery occasionally becomes confusing because the two Gregory boys are essentially the same person, impossible not to accidentally flip-flop from time to time and blurred together as villains into one vile creature who must be stamped out. These people do not make readers hate them because there is nothing to hate or even remember after finishing the story; they instead leave readers with no emotions toward them whatsoever, which is the worst reaction to have to a character.
Grasping the War members' plans for recompense is an even more disorienting task, since, for the majority of the book, they exclusively involve embarrassing the Gregorys until their grandfather disinherits them in disgust. I am not promoting an "eye-for-an-eye" mentality, saying that they should have sought equally deadly retribution, or proclaiming that, if they had, it would have made up for their friend's death, but I do not buy that plotting to slip the boys steroids causing "manboobs" to shoot up will solve anything. And when this mentality is proved correct and the mere pranks do not seem to faze the boys, the club members dawdle in thinking of more effective plans, leaving readers with an edge of boredom, wishing for more high-stakes creativity.
However, saying this is an entirely bad book would be unfair and incorrect because, despite the aforementioned impatience for a more intriguing plot, it is a readable novel with a decent amount of suspense and fun rich-girl drama. This is W.A.R. provides exactly the kind of backstabbing danger and mystery some readers will love, and the part of me that could ignore its weak character development enjoyed indulging in its secrets and insane ideas.
The problem, though, is that This is W.A.R. is not the kind of book that grabs a person, makes him or her invested in what happens and worried about the people to whom it happens, which almost invalidates any escape gained from it. Many will enjoy this book but it likely will not show up on an abundance of favorites lists or receive raving praise across the blogosphere simply because remembering it after reading is an arduous task more trouble than it is worth. After its brief flash of entertainment, this story flits from the mind, leaving nothing but a dissatisfied disappointment and images of everything it could have done differently.
This review originally appeared at www.foreverliterary.blogspot.com.
Yes, yes, and yes. This sounded like the perfect premise to me, what with the omnipotent man almost guaranteed to make my blood boil and a daring group of teens determined to make me cheer for them as they seek justice. I love reading about crimes covered up for publicity's sake because they rarely fail to make me viciously angry and therefore one hundred percent invested in the story, and I hoped This is W.A.R. would provide some of this same emotion in the vein of Daisy Whitney's The Mockingbirds duology. The reason it does not, though, lies in its characters and they way they make it impossible for readers to care about them at all.
I frequently complain about clichéd characters, but the revenge-seeking girls in this book are not even worthy of this accusation's honor. They have no personalities. None. Never before have I met a cast so utterly devoid of backstories, quirks, and more than two characteristics, and readers will find it easy to forget that Madge, the most nondescript of the bland characters, even exists. Worse still, the mystery occasionally becomes confusing because the two Gregory boys are essentially the same person, impossible not to accidentally flip-flop from time to time and blurred together as villains into one vile creature who must be stamped out. These people do not make readers hate them because there is nothing to hate or even remember after finishing the story; they instead leave readers with no emotions toward them whatsoever, which is the worst reaction to have to a character.
Grasping the War members' plans for recompense is an even more disorienting task, since, for the majority of the book, they exclusively involve embarrassing the Gregorys until their grandfather disinherits them in disgust. I am not promoting an "eye-for-an-eye" mentality, saying that they should have sought equally deadly retribution, or proclaiming that, if they had, it would have made up for their friend's death, but I do not buy that plotting to slip the boys steroids causing "manboobs" to shoot up will solve anything. And when this mentality is proved correct and the mere pranks do not seem to faze the boys, the club members dawdle in thinking of more effective plans, leaving readers with an edge of boredom, wishing for more high-stakes creativity.
However, saying this is an entirely bad book would be unfair and incorrect because, despite the aforementioned impatience for a more intriguing plot, it is a readable novel with a decent amount of suspense and fun rich-girl drama. This is W.A.R. provides exactly the kind of backstabbing danger and mystery some readers will love, and the part of me that could ignore its weak character development enjoyed indulging in its secrets and insane ideas.
The problem, though, is that This is W.A.R. is not the kind of book that grabs a person, makes him or her invested in what happens and worried about the people to whom it happens, which almost invalidates any escape gained from it. Many will enjoy this book but it likely will not show up on an abundance of favorites lists or receive raving praise across the blogosphere simply because remembering it after reading is an arduous task more trouble than it is worth. After its brief flash of entertainment, this story flits from the mind, leaving nothing but a dissatisfied disappointment and images of everything it could have done differently.
This review originally appeared at www.foreverliterary.blogspot.com.
July 29, 2013
View the full review here:
http://www.iswimforoceans.com/2013/07...
Willa can't speak up for herself anymore. The time has come and gone for her to fight against the hands that held her underwater until she succumbed to the dark water and her untimely death. Now, stuck in a town run by wealth and fear, four girls will stop at nothing to avenge Willa's death. Each girl has their own reason to avenge Willa's death, and each girl has their own part to play in the Gregory family's destruction. Just how far are the willing to go to do so though?
This is not my first read from author/sister duo, Lisa and Laura Roecker. This is W.A.R. promises the same whirlwind story, teen cult mystery story and engaging characters that their previous novels have. With an engaging premise and a dynamic cast of characters, readers are promised a not so much a guessing game, but rather a telltale story of no-holds-barred revenge. From page one, This is W.A.R. pulls you in to the murky waters with the central character of the story with Willa, and we watch helplessly as she draws her last breath - giving us as much a reason as the characters to hope for righteous justice to be served.
I was immediately pulled in by the premise of this story, and the promise of another great title from the Roecker sisters who seriously delivered with The Liar Society. The book offers us a solid plot, fast-paced writing, dynamic and unique characters and a world that is so chock-full of lies, it might just make your head spin. Our first look into the world of This is W.A.R. is through Willa's eyes, though we know her death is imminent. It's just enough, however, to capture our attention and ensure our investment in the plot to avenge her death. We're then introduced to four equally unique characters; Madge is Willa's stepsister, Rose is the daughter of one of the top-ranked employees of the Club, Lina is the rich rebel, desperately seeking her parents affection and Sloane is, quite simply, dumb as a rock. Normally, I would hate these cut-and-dried stereotypes of characters, but it works because we see the story from each of their points of view. The transitions are well done, the thoughts are unique, and I felt it was a good way to access the story from different angles. However, I did find that some of the characters' POVs were weaker than others. Sloane, for example, was pretty forgettable in the end. She just seemed to almost fill the void for another character. I also had a bit of an issue with the way these girls sought revenge. Trust me, I believe they were invested in the cause for retribution, but their actions spoke differently. I expected true, raw vengeance, but instead saw the girls resort to near-petty pranks to bring down the powerful Gregory family. I guess, perhaps, I was expecting more along the lines of Amanda Clarke's win-at-all-costs type of plot from the show, Revenge. Instead, however, we see hormones slipped into drinks, "damning" pictures coming to light and payoffs left, right and center. While, yes, they're teens and it might not seem really all that plausible, but I really wanted to see them go the darker route that showed a true investment in their cause. This is W.A.R. does manage to redeem itself with the speed of the plot, the fluid prose and the dynamic premise that will, nevertheless, keep you interested.
All in all, despite being a bit let down by certain elements of the story, This is W.A.R. was a pretty solid book with great writing. I'm sure it will please a lot of readers looking for a light revenge tale. I give it a 3 out of 5, and I recommend it to all fans of YA, especially those who enjoy contemporary fiction and mysteries.
http://www.iswimforoceans.com/2013/07...
Willa can't speak up for herself anymore. The time has come and gone for her to fight against the hands that held her underwater until she succumbed to the dark water and her untimely death. Now, stuck in a town run by wealth and fear, four girls will stop at nothing to avenge Willa's death. Each girl has their own reason to avenge Willa's death, and each girl has their own part to play in the Gregory family's destruction. Just how far are the willing to go to do so though?
This is not my first read from author/sister duo, Lisa and Laura Roecker. This is W.A.R. promises the same whirlwind story, teen cult mystery story and engaging characters that their previous novels have. With an engaging premise and a dynamic cast of characters, readers are promised a not so much a guessing game, but rather a telltale story of no-holds-barred revenge. From page one, This is W.A.R. pulls you in to the murky waters with the central character of the story with Willa, and we watch helplessly as she draws her last breath - giving us as much a reason as the characters to hope for righteous justice to be served.
I was immediately pulled in by the premise of this story, and the promise of another great title from the Roecker sisters who seriously delivered with The Liar Society. The book offers us a solid plot, fast-paced writing, dynamic and unique characters and a world that is so chock-full of lies, it might just make your head spin. Our first look into the world of This is W.A.R. is through Willa's eyes, though we know her death is imminent. It's just enough, however, to capture our attention and ensure our investment in the plot to avenge her death. We're then introduced to four equally unique characters; Madge is Willa's stepsister, Rose is the daughter of one of the top-ranked employees of the Club, Lina is the rich rebel, desperately seeking her parents affection and Sloane is, quite simply, dumb as a rock. Normally, I would hate these cut-and-dried stereotypes of characters, but it works because we see the story from each of their points of view. The transitions are well done, the thoughts are unique, and I felt it was a good way to access the story from different angles. However, I did find that some of the characters' POVs were weaker than others. Sloane, for example, was pretty forgettable in the end. She just seemed to almost fill the void for another character. I also had a bit of an issue with the way these girls sought revenge. Trust me, I believe they were invested in the cause for retribution, but their actions spoke differently. I expected true, raw vengeance, but instead saw the girls resort to near-petty pranks to bring down the powerful Gregory family. I guess, perhaps, I was expecting more along the lines of Amanda Clarke's win-at-all-costs type of plot from the show, Revenge. Instead, however, we see hormones slipped into drinks, "damning" pictures coming to light and payoffs left, right and center. While, yes, they're teens and it might not seem really all that plausible, but I really wanted to see them go the darker route that showed a true investment in their cause. This is W.A.R. does manage to redeem itself with the speed of the plot, the fluid prose and the dynamic premise that will, nevertheless, keep you interested.
All in all, despite being a bit let down by certain elements of the story, This is W.A.R. was a pretty solid book with great writing. I'm sure it will please a lot of readers looking for a light revenge tale. I give it a 3 out of 5, and I recommend it to all fans of YA, especially those who enjoy contemporary fiction and mysteries.
July 1, 2013
A suspenseful thriller that, at times bordered on being ridiculous, This is W.A.R. was an engaging and fast-paced read reminiscent of Pretty Little Liars. While the girls' ideas for seeking revenge were often juvenile, I barely noticed as I was kept glued to the pages. As secrets were uncovered and Willa's last night on Earth was pieced together to form the ugly truth, I couldn't help but stay up late into the night in order to see This is W.A.R. through until its bittersweet end!
Told in four distinct voices, This is W.A.R. expertly handled each protagonist, giving each girl enough personality and growth to distinguish her grief and reasons for revenge from the other three. Rose, the first narrator and black sheep of the group, was easily the most shy of the four girls. While she remained quite meek during her PoV, watching her gain confidence in herself and her newfound friendships through the eyes of the other girls, was a pleasant surprise. While her connection to Willa might not have been as easily identifiable as the other girls', I felt it just as strongly through Rose's desire to ease her guilty conscience for failing the girl who had always shown her kindness.
Lina was the narrator I probably least enjoyed in This is W.A.R., as she was the the epitome of the poor-little-rich-girl, albeit with some twists. I did like watching her work through her grief, and her reluctant friendship with Rose made for some laugh-out-loud moments, but I could have done without her family drama. I absolutely loved Sloane's PoV. Describing herself as a scratched record that gets stuck, Sloane worked very hard at presenting herself as a well-educated and intelligent person so that people wouldn't notice that the simplest questions could stump her, as her brain worked to get past whatever it was currently fixated on. She had a certain childlike quality about her that I found endearing, and while she might have been the slowest in the group, she was the first to recognize their crusade might be in vain.
Madge was the narrator I struggled with the most. Angry and resentful, Madge was always on edge and ready to strike. Her guilt was all-consuming, blinding her to the futility of the war. While I sympathized the most with her grief, having lost both her sister and her best friend, I also found myself a little put-off by how juvenile most of her ideas for revenge were - photoshopping naked photos, selling family heirlooms on eBay and giving the boys growth hormones were just some of them. Considering these girls were trying to bring down the wealthiest and most powerful family in their town, and they had a decent chunk of change at their disposal, their schemes seemed mostly like child's play. Surprisingly, the voice I most longed to hear, and the character I found most fascinating, was Willa. Seeing her through her friends' eyes, Willa came alive again. The glue that held their group together, Willa was the first to call one of the girls on their self-deception, but the last to break their trust. She sounded exactly like the type of girl you would want for your friend, so I was a bit sad to only meet her through memories.
Fortunately, while I was reading This is W.A.R. I was so caught up in the mystery of it all, the suspense behind learning new details with each PoV, and the thrill of seeing the girls risking getting caught, that I barely noticed the issues I've commented on. At the time, I was quite disappointed with the direction the ending took, but if I'm completely honest, it was the most authentic ending This is W.A.R. could have had.
Told in four distinct voices, This is W.A.R. expertly handled each protagonist, giving each girl enough personality and growth to distinguish her grief and reasons for revenge from the other three. Rose, the first narrator and black sheep of the group, was easily the most shy of the four girls. While she remained quite meek during her PoV, watching her gain confidence in herself and her newfound friendships through the eyes of the other girls, was a pleasant surprise. While her connection to Willa might not have been as easily identifiable as the other girls', I felt it just as strongly through Rose's desire to ease her guilty conscience for failing the girl who had always shown her kindness.
Lina was the narrator I probably least enjoyed in This is W.A.R., as she was the the epitome of the poor-little-rich-girl, albeit with some twists. I did like watching her work through her grief, and her reluctant friendship with Rose made for some laugh-out-loud moments, but I could have done without her family drama. I absolutely loved Sloane's PoV. Describing herself as a scratched record that gets stuck, Sloane worked very hard at presenting herself as a well-educated and intelligent person so that people wouldn't notice that the simplest questions could stump her, as her brain worked to get past whatever it was currently fixated on. She had a certain childlike quality about her that I found endearing, and while she might have been the slowest in the group, she was the first to recognize their crusade might be in vain.
Madge was the narrator I struggled with the most. Angry and resentful, Madge was always on edge and ready to strike. Her guilt was all-consuming, blinding her to the futility of the war. While I sympathized the most with her grief, having lost both her sister and her best friend, I also found myself a little put-off by how juvenile most of her ideas for revenge were - photoshopping naked photos, selling family heirlooms on eBay and giving the boys growth hormones were just some of them. Considering these girls were trying to bring down the wealthiest and most powerful family in their town, and they had a decent chunk of change at their disposal, their schemes seemed mostly like child's play. Surprisingly, the voice I most longed to hear, and the character I found most fascinating, was Willa. Seeing her through her friends' eyes, Willa came alive again. The glue that held their group together, Willa was the first to call one of the girls on their self-deception, but the last to break their trust. She sounded exactly like the type of girl you would want for your friend, so I was a bit sad to only meet her through memories.
Fortunately, while I was reading This is W.A.R. I was so caught up in the mystery of it all, the suspense behind learning new details with each PoV, and the thrill of seeing the girls risking getting caught, that I barely noticed the issues I've commented on. At the time, I was quite disappointed with the direction the ending took, but if I'm completely honest, it was the most authentic ending This is W.A.R. could have had.
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