Title: Hooked
Author: Liz Fichera
Release Date: 1st February 2013
My Rating: 3/5
Blurb:
When Native American
Fredericka ‘Fred’ Oday is invited to become the only girl on the
school’s golf team, she can’t say no. This is an opportunity to shine,
win a scholarship and go to university, something no one in her family
has done.
But Fred’s presence on the team isn’t exactly welcome —
especially not to rich golden boy Ryan Berenger, whose best friend was
kicked off the team to make a spot for Fred.
But there’s no denying that things are happening between the girl with the killer swing and the boy with the killer smile...
In A Nutshell:
Hooked is a nice story about overcoming adversity and
finding, and rediscovering, people who care about you and just want you to be
happy and get the most out of life.
My Review:
Set in Arizona and incorporating some Native American
culture, Hooked tells the story of Fred and Ryan, who are from opposite sides
of the cultural, social and financial fence, and what happens when they actually
take the time to get to know one another.
The story is told from each of their perspectives which
works really well because it allows people to see how easily things can be misinterpreted
when people don’t communicate. If the story had only been told from Fred’s
perspective, it wouldn’t have been quite as effective.
Ryan’s friends don’t like Fred, not only because she took
the place of their friend on the school golf team, but also because she is Native
American, and they do their best to make her feel uncomfortable and out of
place. It is incredibly frustrating to ‘see’ how close-minded and mean people
can be as well as how far they will go when they are blinded by hate or
jealousy.
After spending forced time together, and then a little bit
of their own time, Ryan and Fred realise they actually like each other. But
they both doubt how the other one feels, even after spending a perfect day
together, and at the tiniest hurdle, they let things disintegrate without
asking any questions. I hate that neither of them trusts what they experienced and
that they just give up so easily.
It takes a really long time for Ryan to stand up and do
something about the way Fred is treated, not just by his friends, but also the
way he treats her because he is too afraid to break away from his peers, even
when he knows what they are doing is wrong. Eventually things get completely out
of hand and Ryan finally stands-up and does what is right, garnering respect
from unlikely places.
There are life lessons to take away after finishing Hooked.
Communicate. No one is ever going to know what you think or want unless you
tell them, there are too many ways that things can be misconstrued, especially
if there is a third party involved that you don’t trust. Also, be the bigger person.
Don’t follow friends blindly just because they are your ‘friends’. Do the right
thing.
 |
| US Cover |
All in all, I really enjoyed Hooked. I liked the Native
American culture, the different themes addressed, and how Ryan and Fred’s lives
slowly became better. It’s just a nice story about overcoming adversity and
finding, and rediscovering, people who care about you and just want you to be
happy and get the most out of life.
As a side note, I’m not sure about the Australian/UK cover,
or the title. I don’t think either really has much to do with the story. The US
cover is slightly better, but, as they say we shouldn’t judge a book by its
cover.
Thankyou to Harlequin Teen and Netgalley for this review copy.
