Review: Demon Hunting Highschool. Emphasis on High School
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 07 11, 2014
What I would have liked to know before I bought this book. (no spoilers)1. What type of book is it: action, drama, etc? This book is a supernatural highschool drama with some action.2. What is the story about, in general? The story is about Jade Hall, a teenager bent on avenging the death of her family at the hands of a demon, her self-discovery as she begins training to be a demon hunter, and her fumbling grasps at maturity.3. What/Who is the target audience? Young adult girls and perhaps those who enjoy supernatural academy type books.4. Is there character development? Hmm. Since the story uses a first person point of view style that focuses exclusively on Jade, this point revolves around her character development. She is said to evolve, but the reader never really gets an example of when she -did not- evolve. Jade talks about having changed, but I didn't see any difference. She acts the same at the beginning of the book as she does at its end. Talks exactly the same way too. The difference is her ability to trust and rely on people. That's it.The rest of the characters have particular roles and stick to those roles without change or evolution.5. Are the characters likable? This is a dubious point for me. Jade is likable. I find her immaturity and lack of experience properly woven with her bravery, smarts and dedication. I wish the supporting characters had more duality to them. I wished they would be more than scene props for Jade's adventure. The language is sassy, so that's a good point. I enjoyed the banter as well, it felt real. Thus, even though the supporting characters have rote roles, they feel like people that you`d want to get to know.6. Does the story keep its pacing? I couldn't quite get immersed in the story. I'm simply not the target audience. Regardless of that fact, I was able to appreciate the pace of the story until about 90 percent of the book. The ending of the book is quite believable, honest and realistic. It was also dull as lead. This is the very first book, in all my years reading, where I browsed the last ten percent of the book with disinterest.This young adult book provides sensible drama that isn't over-the-top or hokey.  The book, sadly, has very little action.Understand that this book is pretty straightforward and standard with cliché characters: the bully/rival, the mentor, the romantic interest, the friend. The format is not rocket science or original. The story is mostly predictable.At around 70 percent of the book, I began seeing more spelling errors than average: words missing letters, duplicate words and erroneous syntax. That didn't make me happy at all.7. Do you have to suspend disbelief? Well, I found a few things that don't quite mesh, but to go into too many details would be spoilers, so bear with me.Her initial domicile circumstances felt one dimensional and forced.  There was no ambiguity of hostility towards Jade from multiple sources. That is simply not logical for someone that hasn't gone out of their way to court such hostility. SOMEONE could have been, at least, neutral.I felt that Jade `left her hermit shell' much too quickly. Within 24 hours of arriving at the training facility she had a significant emotional moment that I don't think was in accordance to the degree of emotional growth she could have achieved at the time.There is a very important event that strained my disbelief in the lack reaction that it promoted in Jade and those around her. The gravity of the event demanded deeper responses. Instead the event is mentioned, but the severity of it is muted. I know, vague as heck, but I am keeping to the no spoiler notice.8. Is the book worth the asking price?  It is a $1 dollar book. Yes it's a good price. At the very least it does inspire a try.In conclusion: A pretty standard young adult supernatural highschool story. It has the obvious cliché roles for the mix and isn't too original in its structure. The main character is generally likable and responsive. Many secondary characters, though scene props following rote rolls, engage in human like conversations that don't feel forced, strained or staged. Huge `kudos' here.  The world building is attractive and peculiar enough to build interest. The evolution of the plot follows general standard steps that shouldn't be a surprise to any veteran reader. The steps should be entertaining enough to most young adults and new readers.  The price is cheap and somehow fitting since this is the 1st book in a series. In short, this is an average, structurally predictable yet solid book.3.1 stars