Joe by H.D. Gordon Review

Joe by H.D. Gordon
Published On: June 30, 2012
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Mystery/Thriller
Pages: 336
Format: eARC
Source: Xpresso Book Tours
Rating: 

From the author of the Alexa Montgomery Saga, comes a book that will take you into the mind of a genuine psychopath, the lives of six ordinary people, and the world of a very special girl named Joe. Joe is seemingly an ordinary college student. She works, studies and reads. But in between these activities Joe has a gift that promises to add a dose of color to her life at any given moment. Joe sees things before they happen. Bad things, and the worst thing she has ever faced is just around the corner. Someone is planning a massacre at the college university that Joe attends, and the only person with a hope of stopping the psychopath is her. Oh, the beauty of foresight. More like a curse. Joe has four days to figure out the mystery, make plans to take down the psycho, and save the lives of people. People like you and me. Ordinary people.

    *Review copy provided by Xpresso Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!*

     As I began reading Joe, I expected an indie thriller that I've heard millions of great things about. Isn't there always a book that you tend to not like as much as the rest of the general public and you always seem to wonder why? Is it a reading slump? Probably not. But it could be the general idea itself, or even its clichéness. (Too bad that's not a word either.)

"First, I should tell you I am no hero. At some point I feel you may come to the conclusion that I am, but this would be a misconception, and though I am not heroic, I am not a liar, either."

       Joe was your ordinary thriller story that could eventually end up being a low-paid movie that sadly wouldn't make it to the theatres because everyone's already seen something like it forty times. It's low-budget—it's a misconception read for me. I'm sitting here, simply thinking, "meh" since that's basically the only proper way to describe my enjoyment.

        The idea started off like something magical. It had the potential and the ability to captivate me and maybe, just maybe would I given it a 5 star rating. Maybe. Too bad we didn't get too much suspense and plot twists, because this book seemed like it needed to have those. Really, I'm sitting here wondering, "What was the main idea of the story?" although nothing really seemed to pop out at me.

         Joe is a girl, by the way. Haha, not to be sexist or anything, but I just expected this to be in some sort of killer's point of view who was named Joe, that's all. Nope—this was all about Joe and her life's craziness. You'll honestly end up feeling sorrow and guilty for the misconception you may have had on her character's personality in the beginning of the book. I know that I do, after all.

          As stories usually begin, we start off by meeting an ordinary character, who will soon grow up to be our main protagonist. Obviously, in this situation, this was Joe. But by the way, there were many points-of-views in this book, as I ended up finding out. And Joe was simply one of them—one of which took place in the life of an ordinary college schoolgirl who accidentally found out something she wasn't supposed to, which changed her life forever.

           How would you react if you came upon a mastermind plan of a psychopath? This is the junk that Joe got herself into by not minding her own business. Sucks for her, you may say. But as you add Joe's thoughts together with the psychopath's mind, this book did create an action-packed adventure, minus the real-captivation and realism.

          I guess that since everyone feels different things when reading, people tend to fall into two categories with minor thrillers: the bored-out-of-their-minds stage, or the omg-I-love-this stage, as things usually flow for most books. But this book only would have this, since there's the good and the negative reviews. Thankfully, I decided to stick with a 3 star rating, and I made it through, finishing the book quick and span.

           My honest-to-dear reaction was happiness with the ending. The characters did suck and I found that I didn't really feel anything with them whatsoever, but I did enjoy the plot and thankfully, I had better positive thoughts than bad.

 

     

      Joe can be your best friend or your enemy, that's all I'm going to say here. I, personally, enjoyed it less than most, but it's definitely recommendable when thinking about the aspect of indie, since those don't get much attention—but we all wish that they do. This didn't have a unique concept or set of characters, but I wasn't as bored I was planned on being, thankfully. Take the shot.