Bleeding Violet

Oct 10, 2011 Wendy Darling marked it as will-never-read

Shelves: young-adult

Taking this off my list for good. See message #2 if you'd like the reasons why.

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Jan 03, 2011 Mariel rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: audrey hepburn

Recommended to Mariel by: stray cat strut

Short review: A girl-version of the cat from Breakfast at Tiffany's chases after her mom (they support themselves in the same way, anyway). There's no room for crazy cats. Shoo! She rubs up against everything. Whomever said that cats don't beg for affection like a dog were dead wrong. If you ignore them they do just that. This girl is determined to rub against all who ignore her. And kitty got claws.

Long review: The narrator of Dia Reeve's Bleeding Violet is crazier than a shithouse rat, as we l...more Short review: A girl-version of the cat from Breakfast at Tiffany's chases after her mom (they support themselves in the same way, anyway). There's no room for crazy cats. Shoo! She rubs up against everything. Whomever said that cats don't beg for affection like a dog were dead wrong. If you ignore them they do just that. This girl is determined to rub against all who ignore her. And kitty got claws.

Long review: The narrator of Dia Reeve's Bleeding Violet is crazier than a shithouse rat, as we like to say in the South. If Reeves were more adept as a writer, the crazy-eye view wouldn't have been such a detriment. As it was, attempting to look over her blazing purple shoulder to see what the hell was going on got to be more trouble than it was worth. Should I give her a break because it is her first novel? I'm not feeling generous. I'm a slave to my moods. Sometimes I could feel affection for the little scamp, the rest of the time I was impatient to get to the point. (That Bleeding Violet managed to make me laugh is the only reason I'm giving it three stars instead of two.) Whatever that point was could hardly matter to Hannah. She believed what she wanted to believe, no matter what. Her mom eventually gives in because Hannah (literally, in one instance) bashes her skull in with her relentlessness. Stone-cold stubbornness is all there is to it.
It'd have been more interesting if Hannah struggled to push through the abyss of crazy, or those deafening crazy pills her old and new family tried to make her take. It could have been interesting that she wore it like a badge of honor if she didn't wear it in the same careless way she wore her sex appeal (well, she SAYS over and over she has it. If you wanna take her word for it...). Hannah slept with all the boys of her last school, going in alphabetical order. That is until she got bored (of course she got bored! high school boys?). (That did win over mommy. She enjoys looking at herself in the mirror, I take it.) It's all just a whim in that unthinking childlike way you can't even remember later 'cause you didn't understand what was going on in the first place.
The flashbacks of her time in Finland were promising in a fairy-tale logic kinda way (could be what this book was missing more of). Too bad they descended into more sex to be loved scenes.
Daddy is a ghost (or a figment of the crazy?) and tells his daughter no one else will ever love her but him, won't she kill herself so they can be together again. He watches her have heap loads of sex. It's all in the name of love for Hannah. Hannah's need for love must come from his side of the family.
The scary town she moves to is exactly like those faceless ya books Dark Elite by Chloe Neill and Morganville Vampires by Rachel Caine. I'll think twice before picking up another girl-moves-to-monster-land ya fiction.(less)

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Jun 04, 2010 Bry rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010, young-adult, urban-fantasy, rubbish

I have no idea how the hell to classify this book. I didn't like it but I kept turning the pages at a feverish pace, granted that was more so in shock. Think train wreck that you can't stop staring at. This book is just a hot mess despite its gorgeous cover art.

Let's begin with the plot before trying to explain the insanity that is the characters. This book is about Hannah who shows up in her mother's home town of Portero, Texas. This town is overrun with evil creatures, magical doors that are...more

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Dec 31, 2010 Kristi (The Story Siren) rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book was so wickedly strange.... yet completely awesome. If I had to describe it with only word one, I think unique would describe it perfectly, or maybe crazy.. that would work too!

Hannah was unlike any other character that I've encountered in YA.... actually unlike any I've encountered in any genre. She's very nonchalant.... about everything! She could have killed her aunt, totally not a big deal. She hears her dead fathers voice in her head, oh and she sees him too... not a big deal. Pos...more

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Jun 14, 2011 Mara rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, did-not-finish, paranormal, young-adult

I made it to page 185. At that point I discovered that I was too annoyed and confused to care whether or not the quirky craziness of this book could make up for the fact that it essentially recycled its scenes in batches of three (Hanna forces some time with her resistant mother, Hanna goes to school, Hanna has some run in with paranormal craziness/sexy times, repeat) for nearly 200 pages without any glimpse of a plot or any attempt at all to explain what is going on.

Nothing. No glimpses. No att...more

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May 26, 2010 Kim rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya, read-in-2010, did-not-like-it, unfinished

I gave up after 250 pages, I just can't be bothered anymore. I don't get why everybody likes this book, I'm sorry.

Maybe I gave up too soon, but right now I'm feeling too annoyed to give it another try.

I really wanted to like this, but this is just a bunch of random crap. It makes me feel like there is something wrong with my head for not getting the joke.

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Mar 19, 2013 TheBookSmugglers rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: best-of-2010

Original Review HERE

You are not welcome to Portero, Texas, unless you have a thick skin and you are here to stay. With hidden doors that open to other worlds (the Latin word for door: Porta) spread all over town and with all sorts of creatures (like leeches with tentacles for example and ghosts that live in the river and grant wishes if you can manage to breathe underwater enough to make the wish) crawling out or sucking you into them , Portero is definitely Weird Central of America. Its residen...more

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Aug 03, 2010 Haley Willis rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: wishlist, i-have-to-get-it

I don't believe there are words to describe BV, but I guess I'll have to settle for "actual words". Usually, I would wait a couple of hours to really let a book sink in, but with BV I want to bounce up and down and tell everyone about her freakishly awesome novel. I saw a few comments by some that claimed they found parts confusing, weird, and many other things that I laughed at. If your not the type of person who loves the strange, the freaky, and the interesting, then you will not fall for Ble...more I don't believe there are words to describe BV, but I guess I'll have to settle for "actual words". Usually, I would wait a couple of hours to really let a book sink in, but with BV I want to bounce up and down and tell everyone about her freakishly awesome novel. I saw a few comments by some that claimed they found parts confusing, weird, and many other things that I laughed at. If your not the type of person who loves the strange, the freaky, and the interesting, then you will not fall for Bleeding Violet.

This book blew my mind away. I couldn't stop reading it, I didn't even take a break to go eat until I had read several chapters. Bleeding Violet has a perfect balance needed of a good novel, humor, love, action, fantasy, alive dolls. There wasn't one thing I hated about this book, which is rare for me. I usually find at least one thing to fuss over in many popular books, but Dia Reeves made such a different type of novel. She has such a creative mind. I found myself wanting to be like her. In fact, she is one of the very few writers who convince me to keep writing. Out of the many books I've read, this one tops them all.

This book has everything I look for in a great novel, especially with a lot of humor in such a wicked book. Which is also what I love about Bleeding Violet, it makes you happy, yet freak out. Thinking about this book makes me want to read it all over again, and also make everyone I know read it as well. I don't think anybody could hate Bleeding Violet, unless they have no heart.

~Questions about what I think of Bleeding Violet~

Q. What Did You Think Of The Characters?
A. Absolutely amazing, my favorite was Ragsie.

Q. What Would You Rate Dia Reeves Creativity?
A. On a scale of 1 to 1,000,000? 1,000,002.

Q. Will You Buy This Book?
A. -Clutches Ragsie close to self- Do you have to ask?!

Q. Is Bleeding Violet Worthy Enough To Have A Sequel?
A. Hell yeah! But, it doesn't look like that will happen.

A last few words about Bleeding Violet:
Beautifully written, creative, and sparked with specialness, I would say this novel could never be insulted. Even by the heartless people who can't love.
Though I may have a much different opinion as others, I must say this book was the book for me.(less)

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Apr 09, 2013 Me, Myself, and I rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: uhm-what, crappy

The only way I can validly explain how I felt about this book is the below sentence:
What the hell was that ?
Honestly. How did this book even get published ? I really can not wrap my mind around the fact that this disgrace of a book was actually written, much less sold on shelves. And what I just said might be funny, and seem a little far fetched, if it didn't legitimately express how much I hate this book. I am seriously ashamed for ever picking it up, much less spending $18 on something as utt...more The only way I can validly explain how I felt about this book is the below sentence:
What the hell was that ?
Honestly. How did this book even get published ? I really can not wrap my mind around the fact that this disgrace of a book was actually written, much less sold on shelves. And what I just said might be funny, and seem a little far fetched, if it didn't legitimately express how much I hate this book. I am seriously ashamed for ever picking it up, much less spending $18 on something as utterly wasteful as this book. I can't even express how much this book makes me. . . Violent. How is it possible for a book to make me want to punch something as much as this does ? Call it anger management, but I think this book calls for a hole in plaster somewhere. Because this is the utter definition of everything I hate in a book. Nothing made since at all. (Really ? Eating pigs' blood on pancakes ? Was that called for ? Biting what's-his-face hard enough to make him bleed ? [Never mind not even being a vampire. It would have made a hell of a lot more sense if she had been one.] Not attractive. Talking to your dead family member in your head? Oh my child, I think this calls for an intervention.) I'm not even going to lie: I did not read this book. There. I said it. I skimmed through it and what I saw had me shaking my head. So about the whole "not-even-a-vampire-thing"- yeah, that might not be accurate. For all I know, she may be the queen of all vampires. But the book was just too unrealistic for me to even try reading. And let me tell you, I've read some very fantasy-based stuff.
If I had all day, I would continue with this very heated review of a book I did not in fact read. But since I don't and my fingers are starting to cramp from trying to type on the tiny IPod keyboard, I shall end it with a happy note:
My gosh, just writing this bashing review has made me feel loads better ^-^ I'm sorry this made absolutely no sense but I had to get this off my chest.
And, that folks, is all I have to say. (less)

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Apr 29, 2012 Sabrina *The REAL Princess* rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Nobody

B-O-R-I-N-G! Do you know what that spells? BORING as in this-book-totally-sucked and please-don't-read-this. I hated this book. I rarely hate ANYTHING! I am a peppy girl and mildly optimistic so for me to say that I actually hated a book is big.

Bleeding Violet just had nothing up for it. It built up so much promise that I couldn't help but feel disappointed after the first 3 pages. That's right, within the first 3 PAGES, I almost fell asleep. But I have read books that have had terrible beginnin...more

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Ellenah I totally get your logic and all, but the book is suppose to be odd, immature, morbid, and disturbing. And I loved this book. And what is wrong with b...more
Aug 23, 2012 03:58pm

Sabrina *The REAL Princess* Ellenah wrote: "I totally get your logic and all, but the book is suppose to be odd, immature, morbid, and disturbing. And I loved this book. And what...more
updated Aug 24, 2012 12:30pm

Ellenah Thank you for explaining your review to me. I guess i just didn't understand based on the way you explained before. And i am also sorry if i offended...more
Aug 24, 2012 07:29pm

Jan 08, 2011 Helena rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, favorites, reread, 2010, bechdel-test-passed

This book is disturbing. I'll start by saying because it is. In a MAJOR way. It is also the weirdest craziest funniest most amazing I've ever read in my LIFE. The tagline is completely right: Crazy never looked so good. Oh MY GAWD. Four hundred and fifty-four pages of unrefined awesomesauce.I literally could not put it down. I blew through it in less than three hours. Was it it strange? Yes. Did it boggle the mind? Yes. Did it take the cake for craziest book I've ever read in life? Hell yes. Did...more

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May 05, 2011 Austin rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: to-re-read, favorites, favorite-main-character

Read this in the summer, and I just finished re-reading it about 2 minutes ago. I never expected to love a book more by reading it again. This book blew my mind.
The story is mainly about Hanna adjusting to the strange town of Portero and trying to fit in.
I found Hanna to be a very relatable character considering that her favorite color is purple, like me, and she loves Swans. I LOVE SWANS! How much better could her character get? Hanna is also manic depressive, and sometimes she hallucinates. O...more

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Apr 16, 2010 Katie(babs) rated it 3 of 5 stars

Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves is a very strange book indeed. I would say if this book were made into a movie, it would be a cross between Tim Burton's Beetlejuice and Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth. Trippy is the word that comes to mind while I read the adventures of Hanna Jarvinen. Hanna is a biracial teenager born from a Finnish father and a black mother, who may or may not be a professional escort, and never wanted her to begin with. Hanna not only is manic-depressive, hallucinates, and...more Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves is a very strange book indeed. I would say if this book were made into a movie, it would be a cross between Tim Burton's Beetlejuice and Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth. Trippy is the word that comes to mind while I read the adventures of Hanna Jarvinen. Hanna is a biracial teenager born from a Finnish father and a black mother, who may or may not be a professional escort, and never wanted her to begin with. Hanna not only is manic-depressive, hallucinates, and sees and talks to her dead father, but won't think twice about killing to get what she wants.

Hanna may sound a bit bloodthirsty, but she is pretty much the only "normal" one when she decided to live in Portero, Texas where her mother is. Hanna ends up on her mother, Rosalee's doorstep and has this fantasy that she will be welcomed with open arms. Rosalee does anything but, and is bit wary of her daughter, probably due to the fact that Hanna may have killed her aunt but hitting her head with a rolling pin. Hanna shrugs it off, and is more concerned that she didn't get all the bloodstains out of her dress. Hanna pleads with Rosalee to let her stay and is given two weeks where she must try and fit in. Hanna thinks this is a piece of cake, but Rosalee thinks Hanna is doomed to fail since Portero is not your normal, everyday American town.

The first day of high school for Hanna is very weird, to say the least. The whole school wears earplugs and the majority of the student body is in black while Hanna wears purple. She doesn't just stand out because of the way she looks, (she loves to wear long dresses and high heels) but because she's a transy. Transies are people who haven't grown up in Portero and usually wear bright colors because they have no idea that if you stand out too much, you may just end up dead. Hanna becomes fixated on Wyatt, who wears green because he's Mortmaine; one who hunts the evil creatures causing mayhem in town. Hannah practically jumps for joy because everyone is freakier than she is and decides she wants to be Mortmaine and fight evil alongside Wyatt.

Now Hanna has to be on the look out for things called lures that turn you into glass, doors that appear out of nowhere that will show you worst nightmare, and monsters that want to take your soul and suck you dry. Things hit really close to home when Rosalee becomes possessed by a nasty spirit called Runyon, who used to be Mortmaine but went off the deep end. Runyon is causing major mischief and it's up to Hannah to stop him before he destroys Portero.

Bleeding Violet was one reading experience I will not soon forget. I have to hand it to Dia Reeves for writing a very imaginative story, but one that is not comfortable reading. And in all honesty, I would be very wary in allowing any teen under the age of sixteen to read this book. The violence and bloodshed will make your head spin and have a bit of a sadomasochistic feel to them, especially when Rosalee, who channels Runyon, decides to torture and kill a young boy she finds at the lake with the help of Hanna. This a very squeamish, snuff like stuff, not only because Rosalle gets the boy drunk to make sure he passes out while she tortures him, but the mentions of her victim having an erection is one that made me cringe:

"She straddled him, moving his erection aside so she could sit comfortable on his stomach." And from Hanna…

"I fell onto my back on the cold ground and laughed until I cried, hope bubbling within me. If it was okay for a boy to hold on to his erection while being tortured, then it was okay for me to hold on to my love for Rosalee."

Now isn't that sweet of Hanna to have this bonding moment with her mother while they kill this poor boy, who becomes some sort of sacrifice for Runyon?

Along these lines, the topic of sex, especially between Wyatt and Hanna is somewhat a fade to black kind of variety, which I couldn't understand at all. I guess it is one thing to explain the scene above in graphic detail, but when Wyatt and Hanna have sex, which I really don't think added anything to the story, it was glazed over as in they kiss, fade to black and next where Hanna is pulling on her underwear and thinking how great it was.

This is where I have to ask, why in a young adult book like Bleeding Violet, are graphic scenes of voice and murder acceptable to be written in great detail, but when a our main character like Hanna has a tender moment with Wyatt, that leads to sex, why is that glossed over? Extreme violence is perfectly okay, but showing detail sex scenes are not? What gives?

These issues aside, I absolutely adored Hanna. Her tenacity, positivity and unique personality were a breath of fresh air. Hanna has this wonderful inner strength and big caring heart, even though her actions may be strange, but then again Bleeding Violet is one massively, wacky book.

I was on the fence on what grade to give Bleeding Violet because I wasn't sure what to think. It’s not all that often and author like Dia can make me have such a strong visceral reaction, where I was flinching as I read. I certainly wouldn't recommend this for anyone younger than high school. Hanna was the saving grace for me and one character I can't help but applaud for her bravery and facing down those who feel she is not worthy or important.(less)

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Feb 14, 2010 oliviasbooks rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: borrowed-and-returned, young-adult-fiction, urban-fantasy-paranormal, horror, read-2010, not-afraid-of-sex-in-ya, debut

3,5 stars. Until about two thirds of the book (the pimply-boy-at-the-lake-incident) I would have rated 4 fully colored stars. But human causalities leave a sour bytaste in my mouth - even in a horror book. And oh my ... is this a horror book.

Dia Reeves has done a clever job: The town's setting, which allows for every kind of monster or abnormity to appear, in combination with the mental illness and unpredictability of the heroine - including a special twist (her former mere hallucinations have...more

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Jan 10, 2010 Anastasia rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book was definitely one of a kind. It surprised me at every turn, from the very beginning. It had enticing starting chapters and immediately threw me into the story. I HAD to continue turning the next page.

Hanna, the main character, is a very disturbed individual. I say "individual" because I've never stumbled across a character like hers anywhere. She's quick-witted, helplessly romantic, amazingly smart, unique, and die hard. Although, the story isn't one you would have imagined for such...more

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Jan 08, 2010 Michelle Rebar rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: lovers of the absurd

WHOA. And I say that as if I am Keanu Reeves and have just entered The Matrix, because I'm pretty sure my mind will never be the same after reading BLEEDING VIOLET. It is without a doubt the craziest and most original book I've ever read. It is absolutely insane, wildly imaginitative and quite possibly the work of a mad genius. I guess the best way to describe the experience would be, well, have you ever woken up from a dream and you want to go back to it so you force yourself to go back to slee...more WHOA. And I say that as if I am Keanu Reeves and have just entered The Matrix, because I'm pretty sure my mind will never be the same after reading BLEEDING VIOLET. It is without a doubt the craziest and most original book I've ever read. It is absolutely insane, wildly imaginitative and quite possibly the work of a mad genius. I guess the best way to describe the experience would be, well, have you ever woken up from a dream and you want to go back to it so you force yourself to go back to sleep and pick up where the dream left off, except when you do, it's not the same as it was before and it's kind of messed-up-crazy and it's even more amazing than it was originally? That's what BLEEDING VIOLET is like. WHOA.

Hanna is crazy. Really crazy. She only wears frilly, homemade purple dresses and has always been a weird girl. She takes a multitude of pills for her mental illnesses and she has hallucinations. She even hears her dead father's voice in her head. When she thinks that her aunt wants to put her away in a hospital, Hanna runs away to live with her estranged mother, Rosalee, in Portero, Texas in hopes of starting a new life. When she arrives at her mothers door, she is shocked to discover that she is not wanted, but Hanna will not back down. She is determined to prove that this can work and she will somehow fit into her mothers life. Little does Hanna know that she has just moved to the one place that is even more insane than she is. Crazy is about to take on a whole new meaning.

On the first day at her new school, Hanna notices that everyone is dressed in black and they are not very friendly. Oh, and the windows are trying to lure people to their deaths. That's a big problem. Along comes Wyatt, a boy dressed in green who seems to know how stop whatever is happening. Hanna is intriguied and impressed by him and muscles her way into his life. It turns out that this little town in Texas is overrun with monsters and Wyatt is a member of the Mortmaine, a group of hunters that protects Portero. All the madness that was once inside of Hanna's head is becoming reality. Portero is the only place that has ever out-crazied her, and it's getting weirder and more dangerous by the minute. It's literally a fight or be eaten situation. With mosters, ghosts and evil sprits on the loose, it's a wonder how Hanna and Wyatt find the time to fall in love. This love could be what eventually saves Hanna's life, but being a badass helps a lot. Hanna is definitely a badass. A crazy badass in heels and a bloody, violet dress.

You never know what will happen next in BLEEDING VIOLET. At times it is brutal, but has it's share of touching moments. There are also moments that are bizarre, wild and absurd. This is definitely a head trip that is not for the faint of heart. It is brilliantly original and I can say with certainty that I never have and never will read anything else quite like it. At least not until Dia Reeves opens up her mind again. The only things that have ever come close would be some of the more freaky anime out there (like MELODY OF OBLIVION, FLCL, ELFEN LIED or SHADOW STAR NARUTARU). The longer I think about BLEEDING VIOLET, the more I love it. My mind is changed forever. There is no spoon (Matrix reference).

*I recommend this for readers over 16 because of the more mature relationship between Hanna and Wyatt. There's also quite a bit of blood that gets spilled. (less)

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Apr 23, 2010 Nic rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010, paranormal-supernatural-world

Weird and wonderful is how I would describe this book. It's the strangest book I've ever read but I liked it.

At the beginning I wasn't sure if I was going to stick with it as it seemed a bit too odd but around 80 pages I started to enjoy it. What makes this book so enjoyable is Dia Reeves writing, there is never a boring moment, it's fast paced and takes you to the craziest, darkest world you can imagine. The characters are interesting and very original. The main character Hanna is insane but y...more

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Mar 07, 2011 Mely rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: writer-poc, fantasy, horror, young-adult, 2011-by-poc, 2011-read

This may be the most cracktastic thing I've read that isn't manga. It resembles a murder ballad more than a YA paranormal romance. Brilliant, strange, horrific world-building and monsters, and humans as bad as monsters.

I feel like it got a little more typical towards the end? Or at least plot took over.

Kind of like Peter Greenaway does YA. I'm hoping Slice of Cherry reminds me as much of Ginger Snaps as it looks like it will.

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Jan 05, 2013 Mrs. Featherbottom rated it 3 of 5 stars

I read this book after Dia Reeves's Slice of Cherry, which takes place in the same weird little horror movie fantasy town as this one, so I was prepared for the story to be super weird, somewhat off-putting, and really interesting. I did enjoy it overall and finished it pretty quickly to find out what happens, though I didn't find the characters quite as entertaining as the ones from Slice of Cherry. The main character herself, Violet, was pretty compelling but I didn't get that into any of her...more

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Dec 31, 2012 MonsterReader marked it as never-will-read

Shelves: author-acting-like-child, author-ranting, author-attacks-readers, bad-author-behavior, blacklisted-authors, grow-the-fuck-up

There is a HUGE difference between being bitchy, and being a bitch. For example, my friend insults me, calls me names, but I know for a fact that if I needed her, she'll be there at a moment's notice. She may be bitchy, but she's got my back. Then there are people like Mrs. Reeves who insults her readers, and that to me is not bitchy, nor funny, just plain rude. That, to me is being a bitch.

I am insulting this so-called author because she has the right to do whatever the hell she wants, but I a...more

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Dec 23, 2012 LG (A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 5-star, ya, read-2011, format-print, acquired-library

[Although I enjoyed this book, as well as Slice of Cherry, reading Wendy Darling's comments made me feel a bit disappointed with the author. I had no idea about any of this when I originally read and reviewed Reeves' books.]

I've done things a little backwards. Although this is the first of Reeves' Portero books (and her first YA book), I read Slice of Cherry, the second book in the series, first. I don't think this ruined much for me. I probably would have figured out Portero's weirdness wasn't...more

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Sep 21, 2012 Kelsey rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 1-12

Hanna is a girl who has psychiatric problems - those having to do with the utterly insane. Hallucinations are at the top of her list and after her aunt threatens to send her to another psychiatric ward, Hanna finds herself in a sticky situation after hitting her aunt over the head with a rolling pin. Unsure of whether or not she's dead, she goes to stay with her mother who has had nothing to do with her her whole life. The new town is an unloving and unusual one just like her mother before she...more

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Jun 08, 2012 Angela rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorite-books-of-2012, good-ya, witchcraft-and-wizardry, ya, paranormal

This is one of the oddest books I've ever come across.

Hanna is very much an in-your-face character with absolutely no qualms about revealing how violent she is (she has a tendency to hit people in the back of the head), how sexually active she is (attempting to sleep with all the boys in her class), and not at all shy (meeting a strange boy at a lake, she immediately strips naked because he's naked. Also doesn't mind being watched by her dad while having sex. Which, ick. That disturbed me more t...more

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Apr 27, 2012 Shel rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult

REVIEW: Bleeding Violet

Reeves, D. (2010). Bleeding Violet. New York: Simon Pulse.

454 pages (but with large font!)

Appetizer: If she doesn't take her meds, Hannah hears the voice of her dead father. Listening to him, she arrives at her mother's house in small town Portero, Texas at midnight. She lets herself into the house of the women who she's never truly known.

Her mother still doesn't want her there, but they make a deal: If Hanna can manage to make friends and survive for two weeks then she ca...more

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Mar 30, 2012 Lacee Pilgrim rated it 3 of 5 stars

Title: Bleeding Violet
Author: Dia Reeves
Target Audience: Young Adult
Pages: 454
Chapters: 36
Rating: 5/10
Genre: Fantasy / Romance
Person: First
Tense: Past

Blurb (quoted):
“Love… can be a dangerous thing.
Hanna simply wants to be loved. With a head plagued by hallucinations, a medicine cabinet full of pills, and a closet stuffed with frilly violet dresses, Hanna’s tired of being the outcast; the weird girl, the freak. So she runs away to Portero, Texas, in search of a new home.
But Portero is a stranger...more

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Mar 03, 2012 Katie rated it 2 of 5 stars

Recap:
When Hanna shows up on her mother's doorstep with a suitcase full of pills and purple clothes, she doesn't seem too worried about the fact that she and her mother have never met. And that her constant companion is the ghost of her Poppa. And that she's leaving behind the aunt whom she most likely murdered - but she can't be sure since she didn't stick around to check for a pulse.

Hanna's mother doesn't want anything to do with her, but that doesn't stop 16-year-old Hanna from making herself...more Recap:
When Hanna shows up on her mother's doorstep with a suitcase full of pills and purple clothes, she doesn't seem too worried about the fact that she and her mother have never met. And that her constant companion is the ghost of her Poppa. And that she's leaving behind the aunt whom she most likely murdered - but she can't be sure since she didn't stick around to check for a pulse.

Hanna's mother doesn't want anything to do with her, but that doesn't stop 16-year-old Hanna from making herself at home. Together, they wager a deal: Hanna has two weeks to fit in and make friends in Portero, TX - something her mother thinks will be impossible. If she does, she can stay. If she doesn't, she'll be on the first bus back to Aunt Ulla's (who, by the way, is still alive).

After years of different diagnoses, the latest being manic depressive, Hanna is used to being the "freak" in her class. But she's never been to a town like Portero before. Here, she's just another teenage girl.

Review:
Bleeding Violet is another book that I picked up based on wildly adoring recommendations from Ari. It was even chosen as the book for last February's African American Read-In. In this interview with author Dia Reeves, Ari calls Bleeding Violet "fantastically bizarre." That's the best description I can come up with.

Our protagonist, Hanna, is faaaaaar from typical: She talks with ghosts and a wooden swan, is completely unafraid of suicide, uses sex to make allies, and wears only the color purple. That last one seems pretty normal in comparison now, right? When she shows up at her mother's house, whom she's never even met, and just walks right in in the middle of the night and starts making grilled cheese sandwiches, Hanna can't understand why Rosalee isn't happy to see/meet her.

But while Hanna is pretty bizarre in her own right, Dia Reeves has created something even more strange in the town of Portero, TX. This town is full of monsters, hidden doors, magical keys, possessed people, and a mayor who isn't afraid to put a curse on you - even after you're dead.

Using Portero as a backdrop, Reeves tackles intense themes like mental illness, abandonment, and death. Sex and race also play a role in this story. At one point Hanna comments, "I'm sorry. I can't believe I asked you that. I hate it when people ask me that [What are you?]." When her friend responds, "Why would they ask you?" Hanna replies, "Because I'm biracial. People look at me and can't figure me out, so they ask, 'What are you?' Like I'm a whole other species."

From my point of view, the primary theme of the novel was finding one's self - Where do you fit in your family? Where do you fit in your town? Where do you fit in the world in general? These are all questions that teens will quickly connect with, and Reeves' wild world of ghosts, magic, and monsters will help to make this book an easy sell.

Recommendation:
Can I say that I truly enjoyed Bleeding Violet? Well, no. Hanna was just a little too intense for me to ever really connect with her. But did I ever consider not finishing her story? Absolutely not. Bleeding Violet is unlike anything I've ever read, and there's not a doubt in my mind that many, many teens will love this book. **I would not recommend this book for any students younger than high school.

PS:
Dia Reeves is a school librarian and reading her FAQ page was just as entertaining as reading her debut novel. I highly recommend it!(less)

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Feb 01, 2012 BookChic Club rated it 5 of 5 stars

Reeves has a fantastic debut on her hands, full of suspense, realism and some original fantasy elements. I do think however that the book probably could have been a bit shorter and some parts didn't seem necessary to the plot. The prose was done really well and had a compelling feel to it, which made it difficult to put down though I had to put it down MANY times due to work and having to do other things.

Hanna was a fun character to read about and the kind of heroine all YA should have- bold, da...more

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Dec 27, 2011 Chelsea rated it 2 of 5 stars

This book is surreal. Hanna is a bipolar sixteen year old who was living with her aunt, but for one reason and another ran away from home to live with the mother she has never met or had contact with. Her mother, Rosalee, doesn't seem to want her anymore then her aunt did, but Hanna is determined. Rosalee tells her that if she can manage to fit in and make friends she can stay. Hanna quickly finds that her new home is extremely unusual. The town is full of monsters and supernatural phenomena. Ev...more This book is surreal. Hanna is a bipolar sixteen year old who was living with her aunt, but for one reason and another ran away from home to live with the mother she has never met or had contact with. Her mother, Rosalee, doesn't seem to want her anymore then her aunt did, but Hanna is determined. Rosalee tells her that if she can manage to fit in and make friends she can stay. Hanna quickly finds that her new home is extremely unusual. The town is full of monsters and supernatural phenomena. Everyone treats Hanna like an outsider, and expect her to die or run away screaming at any minute. Hanna meets Wyatt, who is part of a group of monster fighters called Mortmaine. Hanna and Wyatt banter back and forth and quickly succum to their mutual attraction.

The best sub-genre to place this in is horror, without a doubt. It's plenty violent and gory, with moments that even a jaded reader may find disturbing. The gratuitous violence was not really a problem for me, because I frequently read horror and usually enjoy it. The bizarreness of it all is also not a problem, because at least it's imaginative. Because Hanna suffers from hallucinations, what is real and what is in her head is sometimes ambiguous. I thought that was a nice touch.

My issue is the characters. Hanna has all the characteristics of a problem teen: she acts out, is sexually promiscuous, doesn't have a problem with violence, does drugs, and never thinks about consequences. She's bipolar and doesn't always take her meds. She's so very desperate for someone to love her, it's pitiful. There is just something off about Hanna's character. I liked her, I even sympathized with her at times. But, whether because of her illness or the weirdness of the setting/scenery, she never seemed real to me. She seems more like a caricature then a real person. And because of this, it's difficult to become really invested in her story.

Wyatt is similarly unreal and twisted. I did like him, and I felt like he started to grow a lot in the story. As for their relationship, it was just ok. It gets physical really quickly, and that did nothing to help the realism. They do have some good dialogue and banter. But at no point did I believe they were falling in love, or would remain together long term.

Aside from Hanna and Wyatt, who at least have moments of likeability, I hated every single character. Hanna's mother is irredeemable. I know that on some level she loves Hanna, but not once does she show it in any way that counts. The other teens seem cold and generic, none standing out at all. Except Petra, of course, who is so whiny that you root for her to die horribly.

I also think it's necessary to discuss whether this book is really appropriate for teens. For younger teens, probably not. It's too full of violence and sex with no reference to consequences. But for any reasonably mature teen over the age of 16 or so, this book is perfectly fine. It doesn't go so far as to really condone the bad behavior, and I don't see many readers wanting to emulate a crazy character in any case.

The bottom line is, I didn't like this book because I didn't care for the characters. But I'm entirely in favor of horror and surrealness and all of those wonderful things. So I'd say if your a horror/fantasy, and you don't mind deeply flawed characters, maybe give it a try. 2 stars. (less)

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Oct 29, 2011 Andy Gavin rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a weird weird book, and I mean that in a good way. Nominally, it's about a schizophrenic girl, Hanna, who's dad has died and who decides to move in unannounced with her mom she's never met. But her mom doesn't live in a normal town. She lives in some kind of weird place in Texas where gates between universes have let all sorts of strange monsters and realities in. A town with its own supernatural police.

The voice here is really fun. It's first person past, but with a sort of cavalier dev...more This is a weird weird book, and I mean that in a good way. Nominally, it's about a schizophrenic girl, Hanna, who's dad has died and who decides to move in unannounced with her mom she's never met. But her mom doesn't live in a normal town. She lives in some kind of weird place in Texas where gates between universes have let all sorts of strange monsters and realities in. A town with its own supernatural police.

The voice here is really fun. It's first person past, but with a sort of cavalier devil-take-care crazy-girl style. I liked it. Some sentences were fantastic (both literally and figuratively). Not exactly in the lyrical kind of way that you might expect, but because of their deft wit, and quick and creative way of describing utterly fantastic goings on.

Because this book is FILLED, PACKED, STUFFED, with weird monsters and magic. Reeves uses the protagonist and POV character very deftly to explain it, or mostly just show what happens. She doesn't feel the need to combine herself to easy concepts either. For example, sound sucking, student grabbing, invisible squids live inside the high school windows and one of the characters defeats them with a deck of playing cards! It's a tribute to her skill that I could follow nearly all of this stuff. And it's compact too, not being a very long book and containing dozens of strange encounters. The descriptions are lean but vivid. Occasionally she violates POV slightly on the side of clarity because the protagonist is new to this stuff and she explains it with a bit more understanding than she might be expected to have. But this isn't very noticeable. Now I do wonder if someone with less experience reading speculative fiction in all its forms might have trouble with this novel. I mean, I've read A LOT (5000+ speculative novels), and played hundreds if not thousands of video games with magical systems etc. We won't even count the movies and TV shows. Certainly someone who likes their reality... well... real, would be put off by the book. I wasn't. The supernatural flavor was really interesting and unique, reminding me ever so slightly of something like the eerie Lost Room, or the wonderful but very out of print Marianne series by Sherri S Tepper.

The choice of using such a fractured POV character was interesting. There could be an argument that the entire book was some sort of delusion. I myself just treated Hanna's view point as literal, and everything she saw as factual. The protagonist, and some of the other characters for that matter, don't feel entirely real. They aren't cardboard per se, as they feel well rounded, they just have a bit of surreal style to them that comes from their rather depressed moral compass. There's a lot of killing and murder in this book, often horrifically grisly in fact, and no one seems to care too much. One of your best friends has been impregnated by evil demon spawn who are eating her from the inside out, well, just cut them out and leave her bleeding to die. That sort of thing. It works in the story, but if you stop and thing about the reactions any non psychopathic person might have... These characters just move on. It didn't really bother me in the context of this story as the narrator's view point tends to whitewash away the consequences.

There's also a good bit of cavalier sexuality -- a welcome break from the self censorship that seems to be the norm since the 90s. Hanna is certainly open minded in that regard, and likes to take off her clothes. Unfortunately :-) there isn't a lot of detail, like most everything else in the book a lot is left to the imagination. This is also part of the trend. To tell the truth Judy Blume's Forever (1975) is still the most explicit teen book I can remember.

Overall, this is a great book, but it's much more FANTASTIC than your typical paranormal. Being a fantasist, that was more than fine with me.(less)

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Oct 22, 2011 Lightreads rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, fiction, horror, urban-fantasy, young-adult, disability

I had to wait a while to review this, because otherwise I would have snarled my way through a glowing review powered on my sheer fucking outrage over the crap people say about this book. Did you guys know that sixteen-year-old girls who are confident and sexually active are sluts? Oh, and people with mental illness should not be the protagonists of young adult fiction because it’s “upsetting”? That’s right, being exposed to people with disabilities is really unpleasant, and it shouldn’t happen t...more

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