ARC Book Review: Circle of Silence by Carol M. Tanzman

Circle of Silence (WiHi #2)

Carol M. Tanzman

No Prequel Review, can stand on own
ARC Disclaimer: I was not paid in any way by the publishers to review this book favourably. The review is my own honest opinion (Whether or not it is agreed with). 

Publication Date: July 24th 2012

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Pages: 302

Genre:  Contemporary, Mystery, Thriller, Young Adult

THE BIGGEST STORY OF MY LIFE COULD BE HOW IT ENDS It's my turn to run a "Campus News" crew, and I've put together a team that can break stories wide open. And Washington Irving High has a truly great one to cover, if only we can find a lead.

A secret society has formed in our school. It announced its presence with pranks: underwear on the flagpole, a toilet in the hallway, cryptic notes. A circle of silence keeps the society a mystery. No one knows its members, agenda or initiation secrets-until a student lands in the hospital under "strange" circumstances.

I "will" blow this story wide open and stop others from being hurt...or worse. And while my ex, Jagger, might want to help, I don't trust him yet. (And, no, not because of our past together. That is "not" important to this story.)

But whether you find me, Valerie Gaines, reporting in front of the camera, or a victim in the top story of the newscast...be sure to watch "Campus News" at 9:00 a.m. this Friday.

What I didn't realize until about halfway through the book, is that Circle of Silence is actually a sequel… So… What I can tell you is that you don't have to read the first book, dancergirl, before reading this one at all to understand it. Circle of Silence is an excellent standalone book.

So, for me, I'm not much of a Contemporary YA reader, in fact I've never been much of a Contemporary book reader, preferring things out of the ordinary, but what books like Circle of Silence have is a horror and mystery element that pulls me in and holds me prisoner. The book is fast paced, with thoughts from the mysterious pranking group's leader scattered here and there. Those parts actually amps up the feeling of horror as you see into a mind of a kid who might just be a sociopath. You also see some of the plans before they happen and you start to worry about others more and more.

As for the characters, I really liked them, especially the main character. There's something about high school hardcore journalists that really intrigue me. They have a stubbornness to them that gets them into all sorts of trouble and love it.

The love story is done all right, though personally I don't think the book needed it. I guess it did place the heroine off her game when Jagger was around, but even if he had just been a friend I think it would have worked fine. At the same time, people expect YA to have romance, and the publisher is a part of Harlequin, it's also just a personal preference.

I knew her sister was one of the group! I knew it, knew it! Considering how the group was so obviously a group of loners who felt ignored by the world, Val's sister fit that bill. I didn't think she was the one who was sending the e-mails though, until the point where it was learned they were being sent from the same location.

On the other hand, I adored the fact that the Skeletor was a kid no one ever noticed. It fit so perfectly, yet he was a complete sociopath, what had started out as a fun bunch of pranks had turned into life and death, initiations leaving kids in the hospital.

I also really like the fact that Val did not win the prize, yet at the same time didn't mind. It really showed how much she grew up as a person throughout the book.

I recommend this book to people who love the author Laurie Faria Stolarz, or any other YA Contemporary author that tends to dab a little bit in horror. If you love mystery, that's also a huge driving point for the novel. Overall I did enjoy it quite a lot.

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