Paper Valentine

Jan 23, 2013 Sam rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc-or-galley, other, fantasy-or-paranormal, mystery, paranormal, romance

3.5 stars

I enjoyed Paper Valentine – quite a bit, in fact – but I was also left somewhat unsatisfied. But let us start with the good points…

As my first taste of Brenna Yovanoff’s writing, this book impressed. Admittedly, her matter-of-fact prose took some adjustment (a few dozen pages, at least), but it was direct enough to ease in to after a while. Hannah’s personality was a quiet, discreet one because of it – almost difficult to describe – but appreciable, nonetheless. There is a subtle melanc...more 3.5 stars

I enjoyed Paper Valentine – quite a bit, in fact – but I was also left somewhat unsatisfied. But let us start with the good points…

As my first taste of Brenna Yovanoff’s writing, this book impressed. Admittedly, her matter-of-fact prose took some adjustment (a few dozen pages, at least), but it was direct enough to ease in to after a while. Hannah’s personality was a quiet, discreet one because of it – almost difficult to describe – but appreciable, nonetheless. There is a subtle melancholic tone to this story, spurred by Hannah’s approach to the unexplained murders in her town, and additionally driven by the ghost of her dead best-friend. Whilst not blaringly obvious, powerful and stifling emotion is layered beneath every unembroidered sentence, and every cold scene. I was not convinced at first sight, far from it, even, but I grew to genuinely value the unique tone of the storytelling here.

Without a doubt, the strengths of this book lie in the relationships between the characters. Hannah and Lillian’s friendship is a curious thing – especially with Lillian being little more than a shadow of her former living self. After starving herself to death, Lillian’s role is now limited to following Hannah around. Her presence is constricting and disturbing, if not for Hannah, then definitely for the reader. It is easy to feel her icy, pointed fingers grazing your neck, or imagine the chill emanating from her lifeless body. Despite all of that, despite her being a ghost, there is an undeniable connection between the two. Appreciating their friendship is not at all challenging after a while, even though it is not a conventional one. Another that affected is Hannah’s bond with her sister. Having a younger sibling myself, this was a relationship that I appreciated for its authenticity on a personal level.

The romance in this story is slight, but worthy of mention. As with several other aspects of this book, it took a while to warm to. Rather, I should say, Finny took a while to warm to. This bulky, lighter-stealing boy is not the typical choice for a love interest – which was refreshing to see, actually – and his bond with Hannah was a puzzling, but pleasing, one. I enjoyed the subtlety of the romance, as strange and unexpected as it was. As a character, Finny is a fascinating one. With his missing finger and concealed past, there is a lot of uncertainty surrounding him and his role in the book. He is incredibly distant and enigmatic at times, but open and sweet at others. I liked him, overall, and liked his relationship with Hannah even more.

As I stated at the beginning of my review, this book did not completely satisfy me (mild spoilers ahead). As much as I appreciated Finny and his hardened personality, I wanted a better insight into his past. I wanted to know more about his shop-lifting tendencies and the reasons for stealing that lighter at the start of the book. There were also many – too many – other aspects of the plot that were never addressed, such as Hannah’s ability to see the dead when others around her cannot. I struggled to appreciate the ease with which the ghosts pointed Hannah in the right direction. How exactly did the culprit know to put the rabbit charm in the right place? The explanation for the murders felt contrived, too convenient and flimsy. I was a little underwhelmed, if anything.

There is a lot of uncertainty surrounding this story, and several aspects left unaddressed. This, of course, may have been intentional, but it irritated me nonetheless. Ignoring that, I thoroughly enjoyed this better-than-average book and look forward to trying more from this author.

(This review also appears on my blog)
(less)

36 likes · like · see review

Jan 05, 2013 Giselle rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, own, mystery-thriller

Being my first Yovanoff book, let's just say that I now consider myself a fan. I was terribly impressed with the writing: Brenna has a wonderful way with words that makes you feel all the creepy. The story which could easily have been a clichéd murder mystery, becomes a work of great atmosphere inside Paper Valentine. There's murder, romance, ghosts, enlightening characters; this is a good one, folks!

This book has a lot going for it, as stated above, it's not just a murder mystery, it has substa...more Being my first Yovanoff book, let's just say that I now consider myself a fan. I was terribly impressed with the writing: Brenna has a wonderful way with words that makes you feel all the creepy. The story which could easily have been a clichéd murder mystery, becomes a work of great atmosphere inside Paper Valentine. There's murder, romance, ghosts, enlightening characters; this is a good one, folks!

This book has a lot going for it, as stated above, it's not just a murder mystery, it has substance and emotions. It even has a flair of contemporary when we learn of the way her ghost friend died from anorexia. Which, and for obvious reasons, affected Hannah a great deal as she's feeling both sorrow and guilt from her loss. We see this darker, depressed side surface regularly in the novel, giving a very realistic portrayal such a death leaves behind. Furthermore, we have a romance that is satisfyingly budding with the boy from the wrong side of the tracks, whom Hannah is drawn to even through her suspicions. Suspicions that put a wedge between them even though they didn't always know it was there.

Clever with a fantastic creepy flair, the mystery part of the book is great with a fairly unpredictable ending. I say "fairly" because it's not that it's impossible to guess, it's how so many people are made suspects that even if you do figure it out, it's hard to be convinced your guess is right, and it will most likely change back and forth while the story progresses. I find these types of mysteries the most engaging; being suspicious of everyone, and trusting no one. There are some details of the mystery, as well as the motive, I wish had been given deeper meanings or explanations, though, seeing this is a stand-alone. I was also disappointed about the non-mystery regarding the dead birds. I expected more than "just because of the heat". I guess this is what I get for not reading the synopsis. Unexplainable bird death is just so awesome! I mean in a creepy way, of course. Not at all because I hate birds. ~~Even if I do.~~ There is just something spine-chilling about flocks of bird found dead. It's something I have heard in the news a time or two and I always think the world must be coming to an end. Birds will be the death of us, people! I can feel it! They are vile, evil creatures!

Hannah herself is a great protagonist for this type of story. She keeps her head in the game and doesn't trust people at the drop of a hat. She also has a side to her, a hidden depression, that only her dead friend and the reader gets to glance at. It makes her a very interesting character study, giving it several layers. The same can be said for the love interest which is filled with intrigue as we get his story throughout the book, little by little.

It may be my first, but it won't be my last novel by Yovanoff. Her style of writing is so unique. Lyrical, yet dark and morbid, it really clicked with me. Even though the ending could have been more fleshed out to give complete closure to the several storylines introduced in this book, it remains a small complaint in the bigger picture where I enjoyed everything else so much. This book does contain a mix of genres, but it was written for readers of dark thrillers; It gets bloody, and it gets eerie. If you see yourself in this description I would hand this one to you in a heartbeat!

--
An advance copy was provided by the publisher for review.

For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads

(less)

26 likes · like · see review

Jan 30, 2013 Maja rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: amazing-writing, best-of-2013, contemporary-fiction, cover-lust, favorites, i-see-dead-people, murder-mystery, own-a-dtb, ya, reviewed-in-2013

It’s no secret that I am an obsessive person. I like my world in neat little drawers, where everything has its own place and its own name and there’s no clutter, confusion, or a single unnecessary item. Hi, my name is Maja and I’m a control freak. Can we still be friends? Therefore, my huge love for Brenna Yovanoff’s books is a bit of a surprise, even to me. She’s an author whose books can’t be properly placed or categorized. Not only is Paper Valentine cross-genre, it combines so many different...more It’s no secret that I am an obsessive person. I like my world in neat little drawers, where everything has its own place and its own name and there’s no clutter, confusion, or a single unnecessary item. Hi, my name is Maja and I’m a control freak. Can we still be friends? Therefore, my huge love for Brenna Yovanoff’s books is a bit of a surprise, even to me. She’s an author whose books can’t be properly placed or categorized. Not only is Paper Valentine cross-genre, it combines so many different elements that it’s almost impossible to assign a label to it. It’s infuriating and beautiful at the same time. Oh, and also… it’s kind of magical.

Paper Valentine is a book about a serial killer. It is a book about the loss of a best friend to a long and horrifying illness. It’s about a girl trying to understand herself a bit better. It is about ghosts, hauntings and very strange Ouija boards. It’s about a strange romance between two even stranger kids. But most of all, it’s about things said, and those left unsaid.

The quiet, subtle romance was exactly what I expected from one of my favorite authors. There was this lovely, undeniable, magical understanding between Hannah and Finny that wasn’t flashy or instantaneous at all. And really, who wouldn’t like a guy named Finny Boone? Only Brenna Yovanoff can come up with a name like that and really pull it off – she is the reigning queen of weird and unforgettable character names. Finny himself is just as memorable, though. The only other character who spoke so little but left such an impression also came from Yovanoff’s magical factory. She has a talent for writing silent types and I love her for it.

Hannah takes quiet to a whole new level. Her mind is always racing, but her mouth stays firmly shut. I liked that about her, her ability to keep her thoughts to herself even when other people would probably explode, even when the silence would become awkward and stiff. For his part, Finny isn’t exactly talkative either. His silences are eloquent, but they’re silences nevertheless. To anyone other than Hannah, he’s just a weird, problematic guy, not someone a mother would want to see her precious daughter date, but to Hannah, he is exactly the kind of person she can relate to, talk to, even through a long stretch of silence. When so few words are spoken, a lot of things get communicated differently and the reader ends up with much more useful things.

”It’s not okay,” I whisper, and I don’t just mean his cigarette burns or his hand, but all the catastrophes and the tragedies and the bad, brutal things that happen all the time and everything that makes Finny so quiet. Every awful thing that’s ever happened in the world.

I love that Yovanoff wrote about a real issue without turning Paper Valentine into an Issue Book. I dread issue books, they make me feel claustrophobic and depressed, but Yovanoff wrote about anorexia without making me feel suffocated or overwhelmed. She even went so far as to try and explain the hows and whys of it, but she never stepped onto a podium and started preaching. It was just a natural part of the story. Yes, Hannah had a best friend and yes, that best friend died of anorexia six months prior to the beginning of the story, but the illness itself never took center stage, and neither was it taken lightly or disrespectfully.

Then I cross to the bed and sink down onto the rug, pulling the sheet with me. On the floor, with the sheet over me, I sit with my knees pulled up and my head on my arms. My heart is beating in huge spasms, but under the sheet is safe, like I’m the ghost and Lillian is the real live girl.

Even though I’m pretty good at guessing these things, I remained clueless about the serial killer until the very last minute. Looking back, there were quite a few little warning signs, but I got so caught up in Yovanoff’s gorgeous writing and Finny Boone’s wide shoulders that I failed to notice any of them.

While Paper Valentine doesn’t quite reach the literary and emotional heights of The Space Between, it’s still a book you’ll be proud to own. I know I am.

(less)

35 likes · like · see review

Jun 15, 2013 Melanie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-own, contemporary, horror, mystery, oh-so-meh, romance, young-adult, ghosts

See more reviews at YA Midnight Reads
3.5 stars
What would you think if I told you to read Paper Valentine without reading synopsis? I bet you'd think romance immediately. That's what I thought, because of the pretty US cover and cute title, I went for it. Now imagine my surprise when it showed up on my doorstep as the Australian cover with this paper love heart, decorated with blood? I practically went all freakish as I always try to avoid ghost stories. ~~Even though I seem to be reading all t~~...more See more reviews at YA Midnight Reads
3.5 stars
What would you think if I told you to read Paper Valentine without reading synopsis? I bet you'd think romance immediately. That's what I thought, because of the pretty US cover and cute title, I went for it. Now imagine my surprise when it showed up on my doorstep as the Australian cover with this paper love heart, decorated with blood? I practically went all freakish as I always try to avoid ghost stories. ~~Even though I seem to be reading all the ones being published this year.~~

Paper Valentine is a mixture of three main components: Contemporary, romance and most importantly, mystery thriller. Each of these aspects fit perfectly with each other, it's so obvious of how well Brenna Yovanoff can write. Even though the beginning wasn't exactly the best, as I read this dark and creepy book, Paper Valentine grew onto me. Expect this book to stun you with twists, cute romance and overall, a quite mysterious killer.

Hannah has been seeing her best friend after six months of her death- as a ghost. But that's the least of her worries, as there's a killer on the loose, murdering girls in Hannah's suburban area, leaving children's toys and paper valentine hearts on the dead corpses. As Hannah attempts to seek out the Valentine Killer, she becomes closer to danger herself.

'Ghosts are the kind of thing you go your whole life with everyone telling you they aren't real. I believe in them anyway, because the world is full of things that no one really understands. Mostly though, I believe in them because my best friend died six months ago and now she's with me all the time, materialising silently out of the shadows, creeping closer, reaching out.'

For me, Hannah was hard character to analyse and categorise. But one thing is for sure, this girl has depth. ~~I just re-wrote this part 3 times~~ After some thought, I have come to a somewhat relevant conclusion. Hannah sets the mood of this book. If she's depressed, I was set in a melancholic subtleness, then when I reached the creepy scenes of tense mystery I was almost immediately dragged into this phase where you just want to look behind your shoulder and jump at every freak in the floor. Brenna Yovanoff created Hannah's personality so intricately genuine that it takes ages of thought about exactly WHAT type of person Hannah is, with the fat layers of emotions being played with, I still can conclude that Hannah was a loveable and appreciated character by me.

So like I was saying, Hannah was relatively a quite character throughout even though she manages to keep a cogent voice throughout the novel. But the siding characters she conscientiously mingled with, the connections were stable and unforgettable. My cherished bond had to be Hannah and her little sister's one. The way her little sister wanted to be protective of Hannah was not only cute but also ringed the tightness in this hopeful family and the same genes of Hannah, except her sister was more outspoken.

Another admirable connection was the romance. While I wasn't too happy about the amount supplied, Paper Valentine does justice with a bad boy. Finny; misunderstood, rebel, deep and willing to fight anyone in his way, mysterious, suspected murder even. All if those word(s) are it exactly sufficient to describe Finny perfectly. He is a bad boy, but really soft hearted inside. Nonetheless, he was the perfect match for Hannah- even though I thought it was an absurd match at the beginning, Brenna manages to satisfy with her secret ways.

One major thing that bugged the crabs out of me in Paper Valentine was the background information and loose strings at the end. I wanted to know more about Lillian as a person when she was alive, while there were flash backs and referrals, I wanted Lillian herself to open up so I could explore more of her. Same for Finny. Okay, so maybe he's a mysterious guy that doesn't really reveal much about his past, especially because he was the love interest, I wanted to get to know him more. Moreover, why can Hannah see ghosts? Why can she talk to Lillian? Maybe if there was a sequel, these issues wouldn't have bothered me, but quite frankly and sadly, there is no sequel.

All in all, Paper Valentine was a capturing sinister yet quiet read. For my first Brenna Yovanoff novel, I must admit that I'm off on a great start and will be eagerly awaiting more of her books. While the prose took some time to adjust to, this book filled me with chills. I recommend this book to people who enjoyed The Dead and Buried, Pretty Girl-13 and other mystery thrillers out there! (less)

5 likes · like · see review

Jan 12, 2013 Joy (joyous reads) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, for-review

While the summary insinuated of a murderer on a killing spree, Yovanoff didn't really satiate my appetite for the gore. I have to admit though, that I was both relieved and disappointed that she opted not to write the scenes of the crime descriptively. There were hints of blood, bruises and cuts but never anything that would cause vertigo over the disturbing killings. But even if I'm disappointed in that aspect of the book, I still think that Yovanoff wrote with such lyrical flourish that I coul...more While the summary insinuated of a murderer on a killing spree, Yovanoff didn't really satiate my appetite for the gore. I have to admit though, that I was both relieved and disappointed that she opted not to write the scenes of the crime descriptively. There were hints of blood, bruises and cuts but never anything that would cause vertigo over the disturbing killings. But even if I'm disappointed in that aspect of the book, I still think that Yovanoff wrote with such lyrical flourish that I couldn't help but read with open admiration for her words.

This novel is about a town in fear of a murderer - so much so that they have become prisoners in their own homes. Amidst the summer heat and the incessant worries, Hannah is being haunted by her dead best friend. But you won't find her freaking out every time Lillian appears; in fact, it was as though she's still alive. Their relationship and interactions didn't change at all. Except Hannah couldn't really tell her family that she's still hanging around. I never got to find out what her unresolved matters are - don't know why she can't go to where she needed to go. Though I'm sure we were told at the end of the book but it's all very...vague to me.

To be honest, I can't quite wrap my head around this book. For all its talks of a rampaging murderer, the book's sole focus is really about the relationships of its characters. It's a coming of age book where our heroine finds a kindred spirit with a boy who, once upon a time, smushed her face in the snow. They've never really had any form of connection. He's the consummate dark character: silent, brooding, often in trouble but has the penchant for being kind toward Hannah. I liked the progression of their relationship. It's one of those, they wake up one day and realized how aware they were of each other.

For me, the major seller of this book was the paper heart cut-outs left by the killer with his victims. I wanted to know why; I wanted to know its significance and how it relates to the killer. In the end, the reason was disappointing. It was almost a random thought - without meaning or purpose. And the same goes with the killer. I wasn't given any hints or even premonitions as to who the killer was. While I can appreciate that to some degree, I'd still would like to be able to make some guesses. I think there was only a page where the actual process of deduction happened and then before I know it, Hannah has the killer. But of course, what's a good murder/mystery novel without a twist? There had to be a twist.

Yovanoff's style of writing is very simplistic but if you really spend time with the composition, you will find a hidden depth. It's disconcerting in a way that it's almost deceptive. This eerie, somewhat romantic novel will appeal to readers who'd like a taste of horror without too much gore (yes, it is possible!). But among other things, this is a story of a girl coming into grips with the loss of her best friend and her regrets over the things she could've done to cry for help when her best friend refused to.(less)

6 likes · like · see review

Mar 10, 2013 Trisha rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, a-z-challenge

"Whatever they said, whatever they told you about yourself, it’s not true."

Wow, what an amazing book. It's about so many different things that it's hard to pin down.I do know what my favorite stuff was - and although the mystery and thriller part was pretty cool, it was not my favorite part.

I really liked Hannah. Okay, maybe not at first - because it takes a while to get to know her. But she really is great.

And Finn and Lillian - they all start to really sell me on Hannah - much more than Angeli...more

3 likes · like · see review

Feb 16, 2013 Ms. Library rated it 4 of 5 stars

4 stars.
I want to write a full review of this, because it was so good and interesting, and I think it wasn't what I was expecting, but in some ways it was better. It was about loss and hope and how people change, and how you can hang on to a part of yourself while recognizing that some things have to change. Its about expectations and what people see, and prejudice, and cruelty. Its about anorexia, and how it takes over your life and affects the people around you. Yovanoff deals with this diffi...more

2 likes · like · see review

Feb 17, 2013 Lindsey added it

Shelves: read-in-2013

Like I told my friend Michelle, this book is like an episode of CSI in YA novel form. Quite suspenseful and pretty creepy until all is revealed. ~~Full review to come.~~

ETA: originally posted at my book blog: http://astormofwords.net/2013/02/04/p...

I'm not entirely sure why, but I chose Paper Valentine for my first read of 2013. Maybe it's because over Christmas break, I had several murder mystery show marathons. Appropriately enough, Paper Valentine played out like an episode of the mystery shows I...more

2 likes · like · see review

Jan 13, 2013 Ashleigh Paige rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, blah-blah-blah, could-have-been-so-much-better, damn-i-wish-i-could-write-like-that, such-a-disappointment, the-decent-shelf-of-meh, penguin, razorbill

See more of my reviews sooner on The YA Kitten! My copy was an ARC I received in a swap with a friend.

Readers coming to this book looking for a paranormal murder mystery will need to adjust their expectations. Readers looking for an exploration of Hannah's grief over her best friend's death and a young woman who lets life float by finally doing something about it will be right at home. The deaths, while they do play a part in the novel, aren't the focus for much of it.

Hannah's a likable characte...more See more of my reviews sooner on The YA Kitten! My copy was an ARC I received in a swap with a friend.

Readers coming to this book looking for a paranormal murder mystery will need to adjust their expectations. Readers looking for an exploration of Hannah's grief over her best friend's death and a young woman who lets life float by finally doing something about it will be right at home. The deaths, while they do play a part in the novel, aren't the focus for much of it.

Hannah's a likable character with a boatload of issues she works through over the course of the novel, her best friend's ghost haunting her, and a crush on a bad boy named Finny (actually Finnegan, but that's rarely used). Her relationship with Finny happens pretty much just because YA needs romance, but more of the focus is on Hannah and her dead best friend Lillian. Even as a ghost, Lillian exerts a massive amount of power over her best friend by pushing her into investigating the murders. Between the deaths, Hannah dressing up in all sorts of beautifully odd clothes, and Hannah living life, we get glimpses into Lillian's mind as she spiraled into anorexia and eventually died from it.

Yovanoff's prose is beautiful--so beautiful that there are too many passages I want to quote. Oh, why didn't I mark any of them?! There are a few flubs here and there, such as when Hannah describes the way blood bubbles out of a wound like water when it's just starting to boil in a pot, but for the most part, the poetic, evocative writing style is the best part of the novel. If her story matched her style, this might be a five-star book.

Hannah is rather disconnected from the world; problems roll off her like water off a duck's back most of the time. Even her younger sister says if Hannah was on fire, she'd still say she was fine! Hannah's way of being distanced from life and the crimes also distances readers from the narrative. Getting connected to the story is difficult, especially when the mystery we expect to be drawn in by gets less focus than we expected. It isn't until the very end, when the killer tries to off her, that I got nervous for her and invested in the story.

Yovanoff can definitely write, and I'm looking forward to reading more of her books in the future. The two I've read from here have been rather average or slightly above average, so here's hoping she'll be able to write a book that can really wow me. She has the ability. She just needs the story.(less)

8 likes · like · see review

May 07, 2013 Sabrina rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Wow. This was intense.
I'm still circling around some things left unexplained (the whys of Finny's shoplifting, why did Lillian linger, why only Hannah could see her) and maybe I'll put them together in something resembling a review.

-----
I'm talking about this book here on my blog (in italian).

2 likes · like · see review

Mar 21, 2013 Lauren rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: boo, death-dying, depression, friends-forever, loneliness, magical-realism, ouija-board-would-you-help-me, teenage-feelings, what-murder

Paper Valentine is about a a town that has been having a summer serial killer problem. The heroine, Hannah, sees the ghost of her late anorexic friend Lillian. Lillian was your typical Queen bee who wasn't as strong on the inside as her seemingly weaker friend Hannah. Hannah doesn't give herself much credit for being strong because she's too busy putting on a facade to please the other people in her life. The other members of their clique aren't worth noting. Angelie, is a raging bitch, but not...more

1 like · like · see review

Jan 13, 2013 Kristina rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc-egalley-for-review

This is my first book by Brenna Yovanoff, and I was not disappointed. Paper Valentine started off extremely slow for me, but once the story took off, I could not put it down! It had a little bit of everything in it, and I especially loved the ghost story aspect of it!

Hannah is just a normal teenage girl, who just happens to be able to see and talk to her best friend, Lillian, who died sixth months ago. When a murderer begins targeting young women, Lillian convinces Hannah to dig deeper into what...more

2 likes · like · see review

Feb 12, 2013 Mrs. ReaderPants rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012, pub-date-2013

More reviews at Mrs. ReaderPants.

REVIEW: My review is going to seem to bash this story, and I do not want to do that. I did enjoy reading Paper Valentine, and I did find some parts engrossing. Hannah's depression and guilt over Lillian's death is real and believable. However, I can't ignore some problems with characters and plot.

My main issue with Paper Valentine is that it attempts to tackle so many issues at once. The story bounces from Hannah's depression, the ghosts haunting her, her guilt o...more

2 likes · like · see review

Dec 05, 2012 Christina (A Reader of Fictions) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc

When I went to ALA in 2010, one of the numerous ARCs I picked up and took home, in a haze of disbelief that people would want to give me free books just because I was in training to be a librarian, was Yovanoff's debut novel The Replacement. The Penguin publicist I spoke to hyped it big time, I think because it was part of their Breathless Reads collection. Something I've learned about myself since is that I don't tend to be a huge fan of the most-hyped books put into those collections, though t...more When I went to ALA in 2010, one of the numerous ARCs I picked up and took home, in a haze of disbelief that people would want to give me free books just because I was in training to be a librarian, was Yovanoff's debut novel The Replacement. The Penguin publicist I spoke to hyped it big time, I think because it was part of their Breathless Reads collection. Something I've learned about myself since is that I don't tend to be a huge fan of the most-hyped books put into those collections, though they do tend to do very well, they just are not my thing. Such was the case with The Replacement, which showed promise in the gothic tone and writing, but mostly fell flat. When I was sent a review copy of Paper Valentine, I really did not get that excited, but I did resolve to give Yovanoff another try, and I am so glad that I did, because she has grown a lot as a writer since her debut novel.

Ever since Lillian's death from anorexia, Hannah has been haunted by her best friend. Not by the memory of Lillian, no, but by her ghost. Lillian follows her around, giving her advice or criticizing her behavior, or both at the same time. Only Hannah can see Lillian, and, after six months of this, Hannah's pretty resigned to it, even though it can be an inconvenience and having ghost Lillian around isn't the same as having the real Lillian there.

Paper Valentine follows a lot of different plot lines, weaving them together expertly into a powerful novel. The first arc deals with friendship, with peer pressure, and with self-acceptance. Hannah and Lillian were incredibly close, best friends forever. They were also the most popular girls in school, making their own style and setting the trends. With Lillian gone, stuck with the rest of their group, now dominated by Angelie, Hannah's coming to realize that, much as she loved her, Lillian wasn't a very nice person all the time and that she could be a bad influence on Hannah. Watching Hannah come into her own as a person, both accepting the parts of herself wholly unlike Hannah and incorporating a bit of Hannah's advice made me so glad for her. Hannah needed a bit of Lillian's gumption, enough that she could tell off Angelie for being horrible and rude, but also needed to be Hannah-enough to not get too hung up on being popular.

Family, though a more minor thread certainly, still plays a crucial role in Paper Valentine. The parents are mostly absent, though the mother does ground Hannah for sneaking out and insist on meeting a boy before Hannah can go out with him. The relationship being dissected here is that of the two sisters, Hannah and Ariel. Though Ariel annoys her, understandably so, the two clearly have so much love for one another. Hannah can see how much Ariel tries to protect her and gets what Hannah is going through more than their mother and step-father do. I found their relationship touching, and loved that there was much more focus upon it than usual.

The book gets much creepier than just Lillian's ghost, however. Girls are being murdered, left in the park, heads bashed in, surrounded by the trappings of childhood, toys and candy. Next to each body is a paper heart. Needless to say Hannah will become wrapped up in the murders. Yovanoff does suspense and eerie settings very well, and there were some scenes that straight up freaked me out. What made Paper Valentine special, though, was how Hannah reacts when she finds herself in danger: she uses her brain and does not just collapse into a weeping heap waiting to be rescued. Unlike some heroines, she doesn't spend her doom-filled moments thinking of how much she loves some boy, but of ways to escape and of her sister and her dead best friend. As with when she fought back against bossy Angelie, Hannah held her own and refused to be cowed, and that just made me respect her and root for her so much.

Admittedly, I was quite skeptical of the romance at first, because I feared it was going straight down stereotype highway. See, Hannah has a secret crush on one of the bad boys. When we first see him, he's wearing a wife beater, even. He dyes his hair white-blonde with Clorox, has tattoos, and a missing pinkie. Early on, he shoplifts. I mean, not really swoon material. He never really does become the kind of guy I would swoon over, but Yovanoff makes him work, and I totally ended up shipping Hannah and Finny, who made me think a bit of Hanna and Caleb from Pretty Little Liars. Also, their romance reminded me a bit of Pushing the Limits too, only with less focus on romance, no pet names, and a murder mystery.

Yovanoff gives the reader a little bit of everything, and, after my lackluster first experience, I now plan to read The Space Between, her second novel, as well as whatever she has coming next. What a wonderful lesson in the importance of not writing an author off based on one book, especially a debut, because they have so much room to grow.(less)

1 like · like · see review

Jun 09, 2013 Kristen Marie rated it 3 of 5 stars

I haven't had the experience of having someone close to me die (friend or family), so I don't know how to relate to the main character. Hannah's mood throughout the book struck me as odd, like her personality was just kind of...blah. But that could come from the style of writing. It wasn't bad! Honestly! But I don't think it was the style for me. There almost wasn't very much pizzazz, you know? It didn't really engage me.

What I did like however was how Lillian's story wasn't fully explained. I...more

like · see review

May 01, 2013 Liz Jager rated it 5 of 5 stars

I'm a big fan of Brenna Yovanoff. There are a handful of YA authors whose books are always on my "buy no matter what" list and along with Rosemary Clement Moore, Tessa Gratton and Kendare Blake and Karen Healey, Brenna's right up there.

Paper Valentine is very different to her previous two books. It's a standalone crime novel with supernatural elements (she sees her dead best friend and talks to her) and boyo, Ms. Yovanoff handles it well. The setting of the book, during a long hot summer, is su...more

like · see review

Apr 19, 2013 Kvothem rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal, teen-self-hurt, ya

Hannah's best friend Lillian died six months ago, but hasn't left Hannah's side since and when a series of gruesome murders happen in their town, it's not only Lillian who's haunting Hannah.
I had some problems getting into this story at first. Lillian having suffered from an eating disorder that Hannah believes she should have done more about before it took her friends life. But when the murders start Lillian reminds Hannah about a murder which happened six months before the current group of mur...more

like · see review

Apr 12, 2013 Dark Faerie Tales rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed-by-michelle

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales.

Quick & Dirty: A fantastic tale of death, life, and love and will haunt you in a romanticized way.

Opening Sentence: My sister Ariel, is sprawled upside down on the couch, pointing with the TV remote.

The Review:

I love Brenna Yovanoff’s writing. She won me over when I read The Replacement. I was instantly drawn to Paper Valentine by the cover. The simple, but unique font is the perfect balance to the main art: the girl. If you look closely, this is the same...more

3 likes · like · see review

Apr 09, 2013 Charty rated it 4 of 5 stars

Yovanoff continues to write interesting, off-beat YA that has a gloss of the horror genre to them. She's resisted the easy route of starting a series and instead seems focused on writing quality stand alone stories that have her trademark broken boys and serene anytown USAs with slightly sinister undertones. While there is nothing overtly fantastic to her books in the sense of straight out magic, they all share a sense that there's a whole other world that is lurking under or alongside our own.

I...more Yovanoff continues to write interesting, off-beat YA that has a gloss of the horror genre to them. She's resisted the easy route of starting a series and instead seems focused on writing quality stand alone stories that have her trademark broken boys and serene anytown USAs with slightly sinister undertones. While there is nothing overtly fantastic to her books in the sense of straight out magic, they all share a sense that there's a whole other world that is lurking under or alongside our own.

In Paper Valentine we're introduced to Hannah, who happens to hang out with her best friend Lillian - who also happens to be dead. Expecting a Veronica Mars like storyline where Hannah tries to unravel Lillian's murder, instead we are treated to a twist. Lillian is indeed dead, but it's self-inflicted by way of an eating disorder. And although there is no murderer in Lillian's case, the story doesn't shy away from slowing unpacking their friendship and discovering that they are both perhaps not the people they thought they were. In the midst of this slowly unfolding mystery is a massive heat wave during summer break that brings with it the murders of a couple of middle school girls. Nicknamed the Valentine killer for the paper hearts left at the crime scenes, Hannah, through several thread,s is drawn into investigating the crimes. In the meantime she starts a tentative romance with one of the local 'bad boys' Finny Boone and can their newly begun relationship withstand the doubts that perhaps Finny might be a killer?

Although I thought that some of the plot seemed rather derived, and Hannah was sometimes a bit of a vacant character, that was sort of the point of the book. Here's this girl that's been the happy one, the obedient one and she's had her best friend die and she's sort of been sleep-walking through life and then all these things begin to happen and Hannah starts to wake up and grow into herself.

I really admired the complete and realistic family portrayal and that all of Hannah's parents and sister felt like real people. They weren't needlessly horrible in order to drive the plot or make a point, they were just her family who loved her and had their own quirks and their dynamics seemed authentic. Her love interest Finny was also a bit of a cypher, but again, I can see how that was part of the point of the book. He's this guy that has been defined by others' views of him, and who has retreated in a lot of senses from the world that has hurt him. In Hannah he sees, I think, a person going down the same path he is, likely to get lost and I think that pushes him to reach out to her.

Overall I enjoyed it. It's a quick fast read. I don't know that I thought everything was super believable but the story hung together enough I didn't mind. The strongest thread was Lillian and Hannah's friendship and how only now, with one of them dead, are they truly able to be true to themselves and each other. There's a lot of pain there. Admittedly Yovanoff makes no effort to explain the ghost of Lillian or the other dead girls Hannah ends up seeing, but it works. It's just a fact of this reality you are stepping into. Kudo's to Yovanoff for bucking the YA trends of long, pointless series and endless streams of vampires and werewolves. Her supernatural elements are refreshing in their simplicity and so are her romances which are in no way epic - and thank god for that!

Can't wait to read whatever she decides to write next.(less)

like · see review

Mar 24, 2013 Naberius rated it 3 of 5 stars

I've read other things by this author, so I was looking forward to grabbing this book from the library --- and I wasn't disappointed. I liked how the author had the main character haunted by her best friend, especially since Lillian didn't really seem like she was that good of a friend to her; it's an interesting twist. There are things that are hinted at in the story about the friendship between Hannah and Lillian, and also, about how Lillian died. As, as mentioned, Lillian didn't seem like th...more

like · see review

Mar 14, 2013 Hylary Locsin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Originally posted on my blog: http://libraryladyhylary.blogspot.com ! Check it out for more reviews!

Six months ago, sixteen-year-old Hannah Wagner’s life changed forever when her best friend, Lillian, died. Now Hannah is being haunted by Lillian’s ghost, who is just as controlling as she was when she was alive. Hannah always followed Lillian’s lead with their other friends, but now that she’s on her own she isn’t sure if she fits in with the popular crowd anymore. To make matters worse, Hannah c...more Originally posted on my blog: http://libraryladyhylary.blogspot.com ! Check it out for more reviews!

Six months ago, sixteen-year-old Hannah Wagner’s life changed forever when her best friend, Lillian, died. Now Hannah is being haunted by Lillian’s ghost, who is just as controlling as she was when she was alive. Hannah always followed Lillian’s lead with their other friends, but now that she’s on her own she isn’t sure if she fits in with the popular crowd anymore. To make matters worse, Hannah can’t stop thinking about Finny Boone, a delinquent and social outcast who has always been strangely kind to her. Living with the ghost of Lillian quickly becomes the least of Hannah’s problems, however, when a string of grisly murders begins happening in a park near her house. It seems that a serial killer is targeting young girls, leaving the bodies riddled with toys and a single paper valentine. Lillian urges Hannah to begin investigating the murders, but the more she learns, the more it seems like her life might be in danger next.

Brenna Yovanoff is well-known in the young adult arena for her dark, quirky and well-written novels, and her latest, Paper Valentine, is no exception. Part murder-mystery, part ghost story, Paper Valentine weaves a complex and thoroughly enjoyable tale with interesting, well-developed characters. The relationship between Hannah and the ghost of her best friend Lillian is perhaps the most important part of the story. In life, popular girl Lillian was in charge. Hannah followed her charismatic friend’s lead, even as Lillian began to self-destruct thanks to a lifelong struggle with anorexia. Now that Lillian’s dead, Hannah feels more than a little lost, even with her friend’s ghost constantly hovering nearby. Readers who have ever had a relationship like that between Lillian and Hannah will identify with what Hannah feels, especially when she begins to make her own social decisions following Lillian’s death. For those readers who aren’t as interested in the friendship aspect of the novel, the mysterious murders committed by the Valentine Killer will provide more than a little entertainment. Hannah and Lillian are determined to find out the identity of the killer before more girls are murdered, but the more they uncover, the more they realize that there is nothing simple about the person who is targeting young girls, leaving their bodies littered with toys and a single paper valentine. Overall, Brenna Yovanoff’s latest novel is at times both exceptionally heartwarming and creepy. It will hold a lot of appeal to a variety of readers, both teen and adult.

This is the second novel of Brenna Yovanoff’s that I’ve read, and I can safely say after thoroughly enjoying both that I am a fan. One of my favorite things about this author, apart from her dark, well-written stories, is that her novels are stand-alone. This means that the story is given a beginning, middle and end, leaving the reader feeling satisfied instead of longing for a sequel. I think it’s a huge accomplishment that the author can create something intriguing and with a great deal of depth without having to publish oodles of sequels. I’m looking forward to seeing what she comes up with next! (less)

like · see review

Mar 11, 2013 Rebecca rated it 3 of 5 stars

Paper Valentine is about a teenage girl named Hannah who lives in a small town that is being becoming the center for the murder of teenage girls. What is special about Hannah is she can see her dead best friend, Lillian, as a ghost. Lillian died six months before the murders started happening and now she haunts Hannah. No one knows who is killing these girls but soon Hannah is going to figure it out.
I thought this book was good but it was a bit slow paced for my liking. There was a lot of backg...more

like · see review

Mar 03, 2013 Whatchyareading added it

Shelves: caitlin, young-adult, paranormal

I love Brenna’s books. I love that she writes stand alones with mysteries and romance and real, characters that dig themselves into my head and don’t leave. Paper Valentine was no exception.

I loved the understated paranormal element in this book. Usually I’m not a fan of “is actually paranormal or is it all in their heads” type of fantasy. I like my ghosts to be ghosts. But this one just worked so well for me. There is a chance that everything ghost related was all in Hannah’s mind but I don’t t...more I love Brenna’s books. I love that she writes stand alones with mysteries and romance and real, characters that dig themselves into my head and don’t leave. Paper Valentine was no exception.

I loved the understated paranormal element in this book. Usually I’m not a fan of “is actually paranormal or is it all in their heads” type of fantasy. I like my ghosts to be ghosts. But this one just worked so well for me. There is a chance that everything ghost related was all in Hannah’s mind but I don’t think so. And even if it was it worked so well with her character that I believed it.

This was one of those books where I loved everything so much I’m having a hard time figuring out what to say other than “I LOVED THIS AND THIS AND THIS.” Which would be true…but doesn’t make for an interesting review.

The love interest in the book, Finny, was just perfect. He situation in life was just different enough from Hannah’s that it made her question her belief’s about people and the truths that she’s knows about them. This was a good reflector of the story as well. I think my absolute favourite moment of the book was when Hannah realizes why Finny runs his hand over her cheek a lot. It’s a moment where they both look back on prejudices and sheep-like behaviour that they had and regret it.

So, obviously, there is a murderer and there is a mystery surrounding who it is. But I loved, loved, loved that it wasn’t the murders going on that were the real upsets in Hannah’s life. It was the loss of her best friend to anorexia and trying to figure out how her life worked without her constant companion. Except that her best friend is still lingering in her life. In the form of a ghost obsessed with a serial killer. The whole thing was such genius. And it sounds kind of crazy but it all just fit together so well.

It always felt, to me, that Hannah was hanging on to her sanity with a torn thread. I liked that Finny brought some balance to her life but that to get rid of the ghosts haunting her for good she had to discover the murderer, and come to peace with best friends death.

Not plot related, but I really enjoyed that anorexia was in no way played down. It was treated very much like a disease that can have horrible, tragic outcomes and it was not glorified in any way. BUT neither was this an ISSUES book. I dislike ISSUES books. Paper Valentine show cases the perfect way of addressing issues teens, and everyone, face in their lives without making it an ISSUES book. I LOVE THIS.

If you haven’t read Paper Valentine, or any of Brenna Yovanoff’s other amazing works, YOU SIMPLY MUST!

ALSOALSO!!! I totally guessed who the killer was! I’m so proud of myself. I AM THE WORST AT RECOGNIZING FORESHADOWING!!

This was posted at WhatchYAreading on January 14, 2013.(less)

like · see review

Feb 13, 2013 Monica! rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2013, you-go-girl, i-see-dead-people, whodunit, what-is-this-feeling, i-love-you-for-your-cover, dammit-author-stop-being-awesome

My passionate love affair with Brenna Yovanoff’s books continues thanks to Paper Valentine, which, side note, I consistently accidentally refer to as Paper Hearts, otherwise known as That One Super-Creepy X-Files Episode Where The Serial Killer Cuts Hearts In The Clothing Of Girls He Has Murdered And OMG COULD ONE OF THE DEAD GIRLS BE MULDER’S MISSING-AND-PRESUMABLY-KIDNAPPED-BY-ALIENS SISTER SAMANTHA but of course it wasn’t Samantha, get a grip, Fox, it’s only season four.

…

Where was I?

Friends,...more

4 likes · like · see review

Feb 08, 2013 GRPLTeens Grand Rapids Public Library rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: magical-realism, stand-alones

Appeal Characteristics ghosts, bad boys, murder, gothic tone, humor, sibling relationship, friend relationship, teen issues, identity, disorders, parent/sibling relationship, suburban, dysfunctional peers, fashion

That is how I literally read through the book. If I wasn't dancing through pages than my warm fuzzy meter threatened to go into overdrive after reading this book! I'm not sure if it's Yovanoff tone of writing, or just how her easily it is to like her characters...but this book was my l...more

1 like · like · see review

Feb 08, 2013 Karen (Book Light Graveyard) rated it 4 of 5 stars

I’ll go ahead and admit that the sole reason I picked up this book was the cover. Gorgeous. And now that I’ve read it, you know what I love even more than the cover? Finny Boone. Oh my goodness, Finny. I’m such a total sucker for the strong, quiet, former bad boys of fiction, and Finny is swoon city—rough around the edges but kind when it matters. Even though we don't actually get to find out that much about him, I think he might possibly be in the running to join Jonah Griggs, Sean Kendrick, an...more I’ll go ahead and admit that the sole reason I picked up this book was the cover. Gorgeous. And now that I’ve read it, you know what I love even more than the cover? Finny Boone. Oh my goodness, Finny. I’m such a total sucker for the strong, quiet, former bad boys of fiction, and Finny is swoon city—rough around the edges but kind when it matters. Even though we don't actually get to find out that much about him, I think he might possibly be in the running to join Jonah Griggs, Sean Kendrick, and Owen Armstrong on my list of YA boys that I’m kinda totally in love with.

But tearing myself away from the topic of Finny, the rest of the story was pretty dang good too. It was a bit darker than I was expecting for some reason—it turns out this book is a murder thriller full of serial killers and ghosts. Which, while it a bit unexpected, I kind of really adored since I went through this phase six or seven years ago when basically all I read were romantic suspense novels about murders and serial killers. So this book was a bit of a throwback for me, and I had a good time getting sucked in by all the suspense. Although I noticed I definitely get creeped out way more easily than I used to, because this book had me vaguely regretting reading it at night on a weekend my roommate was out of town.

While Finny was the character I loved the most, there were quite a few other characters that I liked. Hannah, the main character, has an awesome sense of style, which may seem like a shallow reason to like a character, but I definitely envied all her sundresses. But aside from her clothes, I liked watching Hannah’s slow discovery of who she is without her best friend, who died six months earlier. I also really enjoyed Hannah’s relationship with her little sister, Ariel, who is totally spunky and awesome in her own right. And an honorable mention goes out to Decker, their stepdad, who I wouldn’t have minded getting to spend more page time with, seeing as how he’s so dang cool.

Overall, if you’re in the mood for a mystery that’s on the more darker, suspenseful side, this could be the book for you. If nothing else, read it for the swooniness that is Finny Boone.

Rating: 4 / 5

Book Light Graveyard (less)

like · see review

Jan 28, 2013 Siobhan rated it 4 of 5 stars

i will admit that it took me a little bit to get into this book. Maybe it was because I started it in the afternoon, just after I finished another book, or maybe I was just not into the story. But I will say that the middle and end made up for my lack of interest in the begining.

I really did not know what ot expect when openeing this book. Usually Brenna is very good at creeping me out (I remember reading The Replacement and having that feeling) and this book was no different. It included ghost...more

like · see review

Jan 26, 2013 Sensitivemuse rated it 3 of 5 stars

What stood out for me the most about this book was the writing. It was very well done. The sights, the smells, and the general feeling throughout the plot was certainly felt. I loved the mood and atmosphere that was set for this story. The whole mystery mixed with some paranormal characteristics was good although I was wrong as to how Lillian died. I certainly wasn’t expecting what she died from. But then, that would be pretty typical right?

The story does sort of try to not become a typical plot...more

1 like · like · see review

Jan 19, 2013 Tara rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: personal-favorites, summer-reading, ya, favorite-authors

The YA lit market is saturated right now and what is so amazing about any of Yovanoff's books is that they manage to stand out. Where most books can be lumped into the "if you like x, you'll love y" types, each of her books is a complete anomaly.

Fans of Yovanoff will recognize her ability to make the story spooky without being gory or unnecessarily scary. She isn't exactly a horror writer because the prose defies genre. However she is writing for a niche that isn't really targeted in YA fiction...more

1 like · like · see review

Jan 15, 2013 Hannah rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: urban-fantasy-type-fiction

Fantastically spooky.

Firstly, let it be known that ghosts are not my supernatural being of choice. That said, however, the author weaves a wonderful tale of grief and loss against the backdrop of a city ravaged by heat and a serial killer. This is my second book by Brenda Yovanoff, and she hasn't disappointed. Her style of writing makes her scenes so real and tangible, I could practically feel the lethargy and the heat oozing from the pages. Whilst the novel is not action - packed, it still in...more

like · see review

title link	preview: Paper Valentine
avg rating	preview: Paper Valentine Goodreads rating: 3.73 (2168 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12109772-paper-valentine?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1350335466l/12109772.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12109772-paper-valentine?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff[/url]

Paper Valentine

Friend Reviews

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topic
Discuss This Book

combine
Other Editions (7)

Genres

Readers also enjoyed similar books

Books by Brenna Yovanoff

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website

Trivia About Paper Valentine

Quotes from Paper Valentine