Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.

Start by marking “Dark Eyes (Dark Eyes, #1)” as Want to Read:

Other editions

Enlarge cover

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Open Preview

Dark Eyes

(Dark Eyes #1)

William Richter

3.62 · Rating details · 1,358 ratings · 237 reviews

Wally was adopted from a Russian orphanage as a child and grew up in a wealthy New York City family. At fifteen, her obsessive need to rebel led her to life on the streets.

Now the sixteen-year-old is beautiful and hardened, and she's just stumbled across the possibility of discovering who she really is. She'll stop at nothing to find her birth mother before Klesko - her ...more

Get A Copy

Hardcover, 383 pages

Published March 15th 2012 by Razorbill

More Details... Edit Details

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about Dark Eyes, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

Underground Duologies/Trilogies I Might Check Out

97 books — 8 voters

Find a Stranger, Say Goodbye by Lois Lowry

A Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life by Dana Reinhardt

YA Adoption Fiction

237 books — 45 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

Showing 1-30

Average rating 3.62 ·

Rating details

· 1,358 ratings · 237 reviews

More filters

Sort order

Start your review of Dark Eyes (Dark Eyes, #1)

Apr 12, 2012 Maja (The Nocturnal Library) rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2012-favorites, contemporary-fiction, favorites, all-the-right-choices, totally-saw-that-coming, cover-lust, debut-author, young-adult, all-action, reviewed-in-2012

From the second I first saw Dark Eyes, I knew we were going to be great friends. Everyone in the world liked the Millennium trilogy, so labeling this book as YA version of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo was a smart move indeed… but fortunately, it’s not just a marketing trick, it has a grain of truth to it.

In her short sixteen years, Valentina Mayakova has lived three very different lives. Shortly after birth, she was abandoned at a Russian orphanage, where she spent her first few years, with From the second I first saw Dark Eyes, I knew we were going to be great friends. Everyone in the world liked the Millennium trilogy, so labeling this book as YA version of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo was a smart move indeed… but fortunately, it’s not just a marketing trick, it has a grain of truth to it.

In her short sixteen years, Valentina Mayakova has lived three very different lives. Shortly after birth, she was abandoned at a Russian orphanage, where she spent her first few years, with no one but an affectionate cleaning lady to care for her properly. At five, she was adopted by a rich American couple and taken to New York, where she became Wallis Stoneman, a pampered, but aggressive and stubborn girl. By her fifteenth birthday, her parents were already divorced, and Wallis, angry and defiant, left her mother Claire for a life on the streets of New York. Her street family consists of three other people: Ella, Jake, and Trevin. One day, while trying to make a new fake ID, Wally accidentally discovers a letter from her birthmother, with a heartfelt note and a valuable stone, and starts looking for her real mother all over the city. But she’s not the only one looking: her real father has just escaped from a Russian prison and dragged her older brother Tiger to New York to find her mother and the rest of the stones.

Don’t you just love it when someone writes for young adults like they aren’t made of glass? When an author respects that teens can read about something very traumatic and not be overly traumatized themselves? I often think about how patronizing YA authors tend to be toward their audience, but William Richter does not pull back. In Dark Eyes, he doesn’t just gloss over the events that put those kids on the streets. We learn about Ella’s vicious stepfather who used to rape and photograph her until she finally couldn’t take it anymore. We get a glimpse of Jake’s story, his dead parents and sister, and the abuse he had to put up with from his cousins and state appointed guardians. We get to really learn the details about the beaten and murdered meth addict in the morgue. We get bloody action scenes, throats get cut, women get beaten almost to death, and all the while, there is a steady stream of profanities in Russian. (The fun part for me was that Russian and Croatian swear words are almost the same so I chuckled every time Klesko said something particularly juicy.)

Dark Eyes reminded me so much of a Hollywood action movie, which I suppose makes perfect sense since William Harlan Richter is a Hollywood screenwriter. I kept waiting for Bruce Willis to show up, barefoot and in a white sleeveless shirt, and shoot all those wicked Russian mobsters. He didn’t come, but he could have – he would have fit right in.

There is, of course, the small issue of predictability. I knew everything that was going to happen at least fifty pages before it did and I knew which characters were going to die the second they showed up. It didn’t really bother me, however, and I don’t think Richter was aiming to surprise. Dark Eyes is a thrill ride that uses gritty, realistic details of life on the streets to shock and captivate the reader. I hope there's a sequel in the works.

Also posted at The Nocturnal Library
...more

flag 31 likes · Like · see review

Feb 21, 2012 Giselle rated it really liked it

Shelves: arc, own

When I see a book being compared to another, especially a well loved one such as The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, I'm always skeptical on how it can actually live up to such a claim. Fast paced and filled with conspiratorial twists, Dark Eyes reminded me of Dragon Tattoo before I actually remembered that it said as much on the blurb.

A rebel roughing it on the street, Wally is trying to locate her biological mother after getting a mysterious envelope containing strange messages as well as an exp When I see a book being compared to another, especially a well loved one such as The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, I'm always skeptical on how it can actually live up to such a claim. Fast paced and filled with conspiratorial twists, Dark Eyes reminded me of Dragon Tattoo before I actually remembered that it said as much on the blurb.

A rebel roughing it on the street, Wally is trying to locate her biological mother after getting a mysterious envelope containing strange messages as well as an expensive gem. However, someone else, someone very dangerous, is following the same trail. The story immediately begins with a high action murder scene, fastening the book with an ominous vibe. Then we move on to meeting our unusual protagonist- Wally. With incredible confidence and excellent street smarts, Wally is a particularly bad-ass heroine. Her ability to handle herself becomes quite apparent during the many impressive fight scenes throughout the novel. She is not your average teenager and this is the main reason why I enjoyed this so much. At the very start I wasn't too sure how much I would like the story, but it didn't take long until I was truly captivated by the eccentricity of Wally's whole situation.

Russian mob bosses, hidden identities, stolen riches- Dark Eyes has a slew of exciting plot-lines that are sure to enthrall you along with its never-ending twists and non stop action. True originality is not something commonly found in the YA genre nowadays, I was thus thrilled at how Dark Eyes stands out from anything else I've read with its authentic grittiness. Even though the first half left me wondering why Wally would chose a life on the streets in trade of her wealthy home life, by the end of the book I understood the reasoning behind her choices and behavior; showing us how deeply rooted this whole story really is.

Dark Eyes is abrasive, it's fearless, and it's clever. Would I recommend it to everybody? Probably not. I would recommend it for those who like things outside the box. A book in a prose depicting such great detail, you will see the story come alive in front of your eyes. But, also, a book written by an author who is not afraid to take risks and become just a little different.

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

flag 25 likes · Like · see review

Nov 29, 2011 Alexa rated it liked it

Shelves: young-adult, early-reviewers, arc, 2012-reads, debut, contemp-challenge

My review can also be found on my blog Collections.

2.5 stars

Dark Eyes had some pretty shocking moments. Things I did not see coming, especially in the last couple of chapters. But that doesn't mean I was happy with those surprises. In fact, I can't wrap my head around why some secrets were secrets in the first place. It made no sense. I felt like most of the death and sorrow in this book could have been avoided if a certain character was truthful YEARS ago about the identity of Wally's biologica ...more

flag 6 likes · Like · see review

Apr 18, 2012 Mitch rated it it was ok

This book was just frustrating; I almost gave up a third of the way through because the plot seemed to be written intentionally vaguely, a conspiracy just for the sake of having an elaborate conspiracy. Finally finished it, and while I did get into it for one or two stretches, for something billed as Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for teens, everything falls into place a little too neatly. In fact, everything about this book is too neat, too methodical, too clean.

What do I mean? The first third is This book was just frustrating; I almost gave up a third of the way through because the plot seemed to be written intentionally vaguely, a conspiracy just for the sake of having an elaborate conspiracy. Finally finished it, and while I did get into it for one or two stretches, for something billed as Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for teens, everything falls into place a little too neatly. In fact, everything about this book is too neat, too methodical, too clean.

What do I mean? The first third is just a bunch of scenes assembled together solely to give the impression that an elaborate conspiracy’s going on (without explaining what that is, obviously). There’s the clichéd woman going to the morgue to identify her daughter, except it’s not her daughter, scene. There’s the girl being directed to a fake ID seller at ‘random’ and receiving a package there from her biological mother scene (and of course, the girl can speak Russian with a Russian accent even though she hasn’t heard or spoken it since she was six, which I know from personal experience is impossible). And there’s the requisite menacing Russians escaping from a prison camp by shooting their way out scene. All in all, an assault of intentionally assembled scenes purposefully set up to appear random to build up the ‘mystery’. Nothing organic about it at all, not without more breadcrumbs to help connect the dots.

Next comes a parade of pointless characters and bad action scenes. I don’t mean Wally, but I didn’t see the purpose of Jake, Ella, or Tevin at all, for all the words and paragraphs devoted to Jake and Ella, in the end they were singularly useless and played no major role whatsoever – so they get to live. Tevin, who gets to be the black named throwaway character, gets even less character development and back story than the completely useless Jake, even though he’s supposed to be Wally’s love interest. And the one scene with Nick. What? Why bother with a crew, Wally, when you’re going to go it alone anyway? And of course, could you be a little more exciting while you’re at it? I’m reading a scene with Wally and the Russians in a shootout in an office building, and she’s moving from one office to the next, trying to avoid them. Heart pounding, riveting, exciting, right? Nope, I had to fight down the urge to skim along – my description’s more exciting than the actual writing, which was just a methodical recitation of the facts rather than a good, frenetic action scene.

And I finally get to the ending, where how all the supposedly random stuff’s connected is finally explained. Without spoiling anything, while some of it is believable if a little predictable, at least one part (how Wally got her mother’s letter at the beginning) is a big WTF. Really? (view spoiler) And they’re fighting the Russians? At this point, I’m bouncing between one or two stars, heavily leaning towards one star, but in the end I figure, since I actually liked the plot of Wally as a streetwise kid looking for her mother (even if the conspiracy as a whole is ridiculous) and a couple of scenes of either her looking for her mother or the Russians looking for her (and killing people), two stars it is. ...more

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

Jul 19, 2012 Beverley rated it it was amazing

I wasn't entirely sure what I'd make of Dark Eyes to begin with as it's not the type of book that I'd usually go straight for. The fact that it was written by a Hollywood screenwriter and the intriguing synopsis won me over and I'm glad I didn't turn down the chance to read it.

What I loved most about this book was Wally. She's so tough and kick-ass and the way she doesn't go down without a fight left me with so much admiration for her. We need more strong female protagonists like her! Although I I wasn't entirely sure what I'd make of Dark Eyes to begin with as it's not the type of book that I'd usually go straight for. The fact that it was written by a Hollywood screenwriter and the intriguing synopsis won me over and I'm glad I didn't turn down the chance to read it.

What I loved most about this book was Wally. She's so tough and kick-ass and the way she doesn't go down without a fight left me with so much admiration for her. We need more strong female protagonists like her! Although I didn't agree with some of the decisions she made, you can't help but support her in the end. I soon felt like I was 'part' of the crew and I fell for her friends, Tevin, Jake and Ella too. I adored the way they stuck by each other through thick and thin and were like family to each other.

Another factor that I can't not mention is that it moved at such a thrilling pace, with twists and turns slapping me in the face along the way. I have never read a book so dark and so gritty before which only made me love it more. The plot completely engaged me and I was never left bored at all. The action and the thrill that came with it was dealt with superbly by Richter, weaving in and out, casting doubts and leaving my heart racing. There were many parts of the book that had me staying up past midnight, just as desperate as Wally to find answers.

Because of the rush of action and combat, I was surprised to find myself loving the book nonetheless despite the lack of romance. It only featured lightly and disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, although I think a heavy emphasis on romance would have detracted from my enjoyment of the book. Instead, it focussed on family love and the love formed between friendships which was just as enjoyable to read as a hot romance, surprisingly.

And the ending... oh my, the ending. It took me completely by surprise as loose ends were tied together in a heart-stopping, edge-of-the-seat fashion. The shock, the heartbreak, the confusion... just WOW. You need to read it for yourself to experience the sheer horror as events unfold in the book.

Overall, Dark Eyes is a hauntingly thrilling rollercoaster of a read which will have your heart racing as quickly as the fast pace at which the book moves. If you're looking for a book with endless action and a generous supply of twists and turns, look no further.
...more

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

Nov 09, 2011 Dani rated it really liked it

Shelves: mystery-thriller, contemporary, 2012-dac

Wally, long unsure of who she is and where she comes from, has abandoned the luxury of her adoptive mother’s Upper East Side lifestyle for a life of her own making. Living on the street, squatting in abandoned buildings, Wally and her street crew of other homeless teens spend their days scavenging for valuable items to sell just so they can get a bite to eat and a warm place to sleep. It’s not a glamorous life, or a life with a lot of guarantees and security, but what Wally’s found with her crew Wally, long unsure of who she is and where she comes from, has abandoned the luxury of her adoptive mother’s Upper East Side lifestyle for a life of her own making. Living on the street, squatting in abandoned buildings, Wally and her street crew of other homeless teens spend their days scavenging for valuable items to sell just so they can get a bite to eat and a warm place to sleep. It’s not a glamorous life, or a life with a lot of guarantees and security, but what Wally’s found with her crew of Tevin, Ella & Jake is family, a sense of control and an assurance of where she fits that she wasn’t able to find back on West 84th Street. However, when ghosts from her past begin to surface — clues that hint at the whereabouts of her birth mom and that promise much-needed answers — Wally begins a thrilling and dangerous search into the dark and dangerous secrets of her mother’s past.

On the one hand, Wally is a character that the reader is given a chance to know very well over the course of the novel. She’s an incredibly strong character, not without her weaknesses, but she’s determined not to let her weaknesses conquer her. She’s fiercely independent, skeptical (but not jaded), shrewd, cautious, practical, and principled. She’s extremely loyal to those she cares about, and a natural leader. Yet, while all these qualities of her character make themselves apparent, she’s a person who’s also extremely hard to know. For the most part, Wally largely remains emotionally closed off to the people she cares about most – rarely letting them see her for who she is. Perhaps this is because she feels adrift without knowing her true identity and where she comes from. She places a lot of value in obtaining this knowledge and is a bit blind to the the things she already has. Though she cares about her family and friends, she builds walls to keep them – and in some ways the reader – out. I liked Wally, I was intrigued by Wally, but unfortunately I never really connected with Wally throughout the book.

One last, quick note about Wally’s character: I believe Wally is somewhat misrepresented in the book blurb. Though I believe that Wally could someday become a vigilante-like character – the foundation certainly has been laid for that eventuality – that’s not a role she fills in this particular book. Wally plays more of a detective/defensive type role throughout Dark Eyes, rather than an vigilante/aggressive role.

The mystery of who Wally’s mother is and the questions surrounding what happened to her – if she’s still dead or alive – is the real driving force behind the novel. It is an intricate trail of twists and turns that Richter has created featuring a fascinating cast of characters that are employed brilliantly throughout the story. The attention to detail, the way the various pieces of the puzzle all fit together makes for a compelling, well-crafted mystery that kept me guessing and theorizing the whole way through. It’s a gritty, hard sometimes heartbreaking story and one with very real consequences – a fact which lends credibility and weight to the story. For those readers that enjoy a good mystery, Dark Eyes is a dark, intelligent puzzle, and Wally is an intuitive and resourceful investigator.

Though a largely plot-driven novel, I do wish that there had been more emphasis on relationship development, particularly between Wally & Claire and Wally & her crew. This harks back to the comments I made about Wally’s own development. It is clear that Wally cares for Claire, Jake, Ella and Tevin, but there is a little too much telling vs. showing to establish these relationships, and even far too little of that. A few more foundational scenes to establish relationship/character development of these characters in the context of their relationship with Wally would’ve lent this story better emotional depth and resonance. It is rare that I will say this, but even though the characters and relationships aren’t as strong as I normally prefer, the fact that I love the mystery is enough for me to forgive some of what’s lacking in that department.

Overall, Dark Eyes is a gripping, thrilling and gritty mystery about secrets, identity, obsessions and the boundaries one is willing to cross to find the answers they seek.

** Due to some mature content, I would recommend this to an upper YA audience. ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Mar 28, 2012 Elle! rated it it was ok

Shelves: thrillers, ya, boring

I couldn't get into this book though I really really really wanted to. I couldn't get it. I couldn't read it. I couldn't sympathize it. Maybe it was because I didn't feel the characters. Maybe it was because they were flat as the my mother's back side (I love you mother) - or the novels plot as dry as the Mohave Desert (pardon my cliche.It felt like I was reading a screen play to be honest. :/ This book is just eh...meh, "all-ight". So, I read this novel and I'm thinking, "this book was basical I couldn't get into this book though I really really really wanted to. I couldn't get it. I couldn't read it. I couldn't sympathize it. Maybe it was because I didn't feel the characters. Maybe it was because they were flat as the my mother's back side (I love you mother) - or the novels plot as dry as the Mohave Desert (pardon my cliche.It felt like I was reading a screen play to be honest. :/ This book is just eh...meh, "all-ight". So, I read this novel and I'm thinking, "this book was basically have been better as a movie."

Why?

Because it lacked emotion. The main character was to hard-baked, and to touch-ass, ultra emotionless female for me. Just because she lives on the street doesn't mean she has the feelings of a cucumber. Wally(Valentina) seemed more male than female , so it was hard to connect with her. The only emotion that came and actually made me feel something is her sex scene and her run in with her ex. I wanted to understand but it was actually like a barricade pushing me back. She wasn't loveable and hell -I've read some evil characters that I loved to death. She was just a boring cliche Ice Queen. Her cold manipulative reaction to her mother was poorly written (if you want a good book about a mean female giving her mother hell read Mildred Pierce , that's how you write motives).

This "trendy" book is good for 14, 15, 16 year olds.I'll even tell a 17 year old who wants a light read to take a whack at it. The book was sprinkled with cursing to look more edgy than a cliff side. Gosh books should not make you want to go watch television! But this book did. It also made me want to lie on a train track and slam my head on the floor.

Examples of the random cursing: Like "hey man I want a f*cking sandwich, look I'm I'm cursing, f*ck you, sh*t," says character.It almost seemed seething with melodrama to me. I wanted to love this book but now I just want to light it to flames. It was that bad....... Darn it, over hyped, poorly constructed characters and motive. Plus, the font drove me ~~crazy~~ insane but that's not the writer's fault.

The only thing I can say about this novel is that New York was described very very very well. As a Thriller, it lacked depth (as shallow as a puddle), it lacked a back story. Plus the protagonist was nothing more than a Lisabeth , knock off (I don't like the Lisabeth Series , Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Series as well).Grrrrr well happy reading folks, anyone 18 and over who loves back stories , deep well thought should stay away!

All in all, this is more for the young to mid teen crowd, who will just love this book. I can see why a lot of people love it but it isn't for me. Gosh I really wanted to like it! I'm starting to think it's because I like teeny fiction with depth (yes in my late teens but never the less, I am a teen). Enough of my sulking of my "teenagerness" slipping out of my fingers like a buttery steak knife. Back to Dark Eyes, it's not as advanced and well thought out as I expected it to be. So I'll leave it to the young to mid-teens.
...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Mar 07, 2012 Caz rated it really liked it

It is funny to see a book that revolves around a sixteen year old girl being compared to such a dark book such as The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. I am not going to lie, I saw little comparison but the main comparison for me? Both books are great reads full of thrills, mystery and action.

Wallis a.k.a Wally is a adopted Russian orphan to a wealthy American family in New York. Wally, who has always been a bit of a wild child leaves homes at fifteen to live on the streets. With her crew, Tevin, Ell It is funny to see a book that revolves around a sixteen year old girl being compared to such a dark book such as The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. I am not going to lie, I saw little comparison but the main comparison for me? Both books are great reads full of thrills, mystery and action.

Wallis a.k.a Wally is a adopted Russian orphan to a wealthy American family in New York. Wally, who has always been a bit of a wild child leaves homes at fifteen to live on the streets. With her crew, Tevin, Ella and Jake. When she comes across information about her birth mother, she goes on a dangerous race against time to find her: one that will turn Wally's life into a tale spin of running, hiding and avoiding being killed because Wally is not the only person looking for her infamous mother.

Wally is such an interesting female lead. There is something very compelling about her. I think it is due to the choices she has made to turn away from her wealthy life and live on the streets. You can tell she a lot of anger built up inside of her from over the years. The choice also makes Wally a very easy target to call selfish and stupid. She is a little of those two, isn't everyone? However, once you read the book, you find that there is reason behind her so called madness. Wally is also very smart, both intellectually and on the street.

Dark Eyes is full of secrets. Secrets here, there and everywhere! Expect the unexpected in this book, that is all I shall say to you about these secrets. Well that and thankfully, Richter does clear up the secrets in the book.

I can see Dark Eyes making a great film actually. That being said, Richter seems to have left Dark Eyes open to a sequel which, I, for one, would enjoy to read.

This story is for older YA readers and adults. There is dark and violent themes, which I thoroughly enjoy.

Final Thought.
Give it a read. Richter has created a intriguing story full of action, secrets, struggles, twists and even a little romance and is probably one of the best YA thrillers written. ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Sep 02, 2011 Savannah (Books With Bite) rated it really liked it

When I started reading this book I had no idea what to expect. I can tell you that once I started the book I liked it. It totally blew me away with a mystery that makes you run for your life!

What I liked most about this book is the great on the run from your life plot. I totally thought this was a paranormal book, I was wrong. I loved the aspect of searching for clues, jewels and long lost person thought to be dead. The mafia twist to the book rocked. I never saw that coming. The way this theme ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Aug 07, 2011 usagi ☆ミ rated it it was amazing

Shelves: best-of-12, 2012, mystery, arc-galley, crime, ebook, teenage-shennanigans, 2011, reviewed, for-review

Okay, I can see where people would compare the “Millennium/Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” trilogy to this book, and to be fair, for the YA market, that’s a pretty good match. I absolutely loved “Dark Eyes” because it has all of the elements I could ever want in a YA book – thrills, chills, and spills (with a teeny dash of romance mixed in). Richter makes Wally so alive that I felt as if I were really there, with her, running with her as the clock ticked down. If you like your YA heroines fierce an Okay, I can see where people would compare the “Millennium/Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” trilogy to this book, and to be fair, for the YA market, that’s a pretty good match. I absolutely loved “Dark Eyes” because it has all of the elements I could ever want in a YA book – thrills, chills, and spills (with a teeny dash of romance mixed in). Richter makes Wally so alive that I felt as if I were really there, with her, running with her as the clock ticked down. If you like your YA heroines fierce and strong, “Dark Eyes” is most definitely the book for you.

I was pretty much hooked from the first page. I love it when authors plunk us down in media res beginning their scene, but I especially love it when they do it when they’re starting the book that way. My heart pounded throughout the entire book and I consumed it in more or less one sitting. This is a fantastic standalone that just has one goal: find yourself and survive. Wally’s journey to find her birth mother and the reason why her friends start dropping like flies was tightly, elegantly wrought with no words to spare but plenty of sensory language/dialogue and a real feeling of a life on the street.

But seeing as Richter is a screenwriter by trade, this is no surprise. The prose is cinematic in quality, and it was like watching a movie in my head. There were a few places where I felt there were some sensory input pieces missing (the beginning with Wally still in Russia), but as I have a screenwriter for a friend who makes the same mistakes with his own book, that’s par for the course. In screenwriting, you have a camera to fill in your sensory blanks. With prose writing, you don’t have that camera, you have to make it instead. But because this was more or less such an airtight story, I can’t really nag Richter about that. It was so polished and for such a narrow scope of a story (Wally and her quest), all the characters were very well-rounded and nothing felt empty or lacking except for a few pieces of the sensory spectrum here and there.

What I also really loved was the fact that he left room for the reader to imagine Wally’s true ending at the end of the book, leaving it empty for the reader to fill in what she was going to do next. This is a very fast-paced book, and the ending finally drew itself out in the final pages, unwinding very slowly and that was delicious, too, as all of the questions we had about Wally, her mother, her father, and some of the other characters were very easily and elegantly answered. There is some romance here, but it’s not a main focus, though it does affect Wally and her judgment at times. At heart, this is adventure, this is a thriller, and this is a race against the clock to find answers before others get killed. This is what YA needs more of – well written, strong YA heroines that are trying to find themselves and not their next boyfriend. Considering Richter wrote this as 3rd person close, he managed to write Wally as a girl in a feminine tone. It’s hard to do cross-gender narration (even in 3rd close), so that’s what made this even more enjoyable.

So if you love your YA girls hardened, smart, and you like your stories with a bite to them, check out “Dark Eyes” when it hits shelves in the US in March. This is definitely one of my best of 2012 so far, so be sure to grab a copy at your bookstore or library. It really is worth the read.

(posted to librarything, goodreads, shelfari, and witchoftheatregoing.wordpress.com) ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Dec 23, 2011 Anna (Literary Exploration) rated it really liked it

Shelves: mystery, thriller

More of my reviews can be found at my blog, Literary Exploration

When the synopsis says this book is similar to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo it isn't lying! Dark Eyes is filled with action, mystery, some romance, and MURDER! I didn't know too much about this book going into it, since the synopsis is short and I haven't read many reviews, but I'm so glad I got the chance to read it!! I know a lot of people aren't interested in it too much, but here is where I'm going to attempt to persuade you More of my reviews can be found at my blog, Literary Exploration

When the synopsis says this book is similar to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo it isn't lying! Dark Eyes is filled with action, mystery, some romance, and MURDER! I didn't know too much about this book going into it, since the synopsis is short and I haven't read many reviews, but I'm so glad I got the chance to read it!! I know a lot of people aren't interested in it too much, but here is where I'm going to attempt to persuade you to buy it. Right now.

The characters are fantastic! Wally is an awesome female protagonist; she's smart, strong, funny, witty, and despite the fact that she's left her home to live on the streets she still has a great heart! I didn't really connect with her, but I enjoyed following her journey! The different characters whose perspectives we see (Detective Greer, Klesko, and several others) are all pretty different, but I think the way Richter put everything together made the multiple perspectives work really well.

The entire book is definitely plot driven. It's super fast paced, gritty, dark, and thrilling! There was always something happening, a different mystery needing to be solved, and I was on the edge of my seat the entire time! I'm really not a big fan of contemporary fiction, but I really loved reading Dark Eyes. The mystery was probably my favorite part; Wally is searching for her birth mom and I had no idea who it was until Wally found out herself! There are definitely a lot of heart breaking moments, and my heart was really torn up by the end.

Overall, I really enjoyed Dark Eyes because of it's fast pace and gritty plot. I would definitely be interested in reading more books by Richter, his writing was fantastic and he knows how to tell a story! While I'm not a big fan of most contemporary fiction, I've been reading a lot more lately and this is definitely one of the better ones! I would recommend Dark Eyes to lovers of gritty contemporary fiction, thrillers, mysteries, and anyone who enjoyed The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo! ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Dec 05, 2011 Anna Kay rated it really liked it

Wally (Valentina) was born in Russia and lived in an orphanage for the first five years of her life. Then she was adopted by a rich American couple and grew up in comfort, but with huge attitude problems that led her to live on the streets when she turned fifteen and her parents divorced. Wally has been on the streets for almost three years and has a group of friends that she crashes with, who have each other's backs. But she stumbles onto something big when one of her former friends is killed w Wally (Valentina) was born in Russia and lived in an orphanage for the first five years of her life. Then she was adopted by a rich American couple and grew up in comfort, but with huge attitude problems that led her to live on the streets when she turned fifteen and her parents divorced. Wally has been on the streets for almost three years and has a group of friends that she crashes with, who have each other's backs. But she stumbles onto something big when one of her former friends is killed while carrying Wally's fake Driver's License. It leads her on a quest to find her birth mother, who it turns out is in America watching over her under an assumed identity. She has never contacted Wally because she ripped off Klesko, a Russian mafioso and Wally's Father, to finance her escape. Will Wally be able to find her birth mother and get answers before Klesko does? And who will die before it's all over? I honestly enjoyed this book quite a bit. I liked how tough and collected Wally was, even when her day-to-day was fairly uncertain. I also loved the 3-Dimensionality of all the side characters and the double plotline that was working its way to the ending. You can tell Richter is a screenwriter and it worked out in a good way. That said, I always felt that Wally was kind of a brat for not appreciating what she had until it was really gone and not just waiting for her to come back. How many homeless people have a home that they just refuse to live in, but occasionally do laundry at? She came across as a fake on quite a few levels, pretending that she had it as tough as her friends kind of rubbed me the wrong way. But I loved the mystery and the ending was so shocking, I NEVER saw it coming! If you're into action and crime, this is the book for you (as long as you can suspend your disbelief).

VERDICT: 3.75/5 Stars

*I received an Advanced Reading Copy from the publisher, via LibraryThing. No money was exchanged for this review. The expected publication date is March 15th, 2012.* ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Dec 31, 2011 Britta rated it it was amazing

I am very confused by why this book has not gotten more attention, because it definitely deserves it. The action never lets up for a second, the plot spreads its tendrils until points overlap and intersect and become this huge mess of chaos that somehow the characters are able to untangle. Some people tell me that is what one would call a "mystery/thriller" plot, and I can't speak for adult, but for YA, Dark Eyes really is something different.

I don't even know where to begin with plot, so I will ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Sep 15, 2014 Heather Juengel rated it it was ok

Wallis (Wally) Stoneman was born in Russia and was adopted by a wealthy family who lived in New York City. When Wally found out she was getting adopted, she didn't know what to do. Her whole life she lived in an orphanage and thought of the other children in the orphanage as her family. Her whole world was turned upside down in an instant second. The only thing she knows about herself is that she is Russian. When Wally turns sixteen she stumbles across a secret that will change her life forever ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Jan 05, 2012 Chantaal rated it liked it

Shelves: young-adult, thriller, mystery, contemporary

Originally posted at The Wandering Fangirl.

Touted as the YA version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, I had many expectations going in to Dark Eyes. While the novel met them, it was a little tougher to suspend disbelief with Wally, our heroine. She’s a runaway, plagued with anger issues since she was a child, and apparently running away from a mother who loves her unconditionally makes sense? Wally stumbles into a plot that leads her on a chase for her birth mother, while trying to avoid dange ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Aug 25, 2014 Katherine rated it it was amazing

Shelves: young-adult

So this is really a 4.5 rating. It was an amazing book but a little too dark for me to call it perfect. This book was amazing! So intriguing that in the end when all of the 'mysteries' are unveiled you feel that 'mind just blown' feeling. Even if you could guess some of what will happen in the end, there is no way you can solve all of the mysteries before the last page of the book! I love it when I don't know what will happen next. But it was all very tastefully done. My only reservation about t ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Sep 08, 2012 Tellulah Darling rated it really liked it

Great, compelling read. I loved that it was like she had powers but in a real way. Just having been taught firearms and martial arts, combined with her time on the streets had honed her survival skills to a new level. I always enjoy a good gangster story and thought there was a wonderful level of detail and originality with the Russians. The world was interesting with fully realized characters that I was concerned about. A bit obvious what the big reveal is but that didn't really detract from th ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Sep 23, 2014 Sydney rated it it was ok

Dark Eyes was different from other books. Suspenseful and mysterious, the book kept me on the edge of my seat. However, not unlike other books targeted for teens and young adults, the book lacked in philosophical insight and symbolism. Then again, there is not much to be expected from books such as these. But worry not! I mean this with good nature. Instead of offering fresh insights or ground-breaking ideas, the book was simply a page turner. I enjoyed it quite thoroughly.

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Dec 05, 2014 Cayla Sade rated it really liked it

I thought this book was very well-written. I did enjoy this book even though I don't usually read mystery and stuff like that. The author did a good job developing the characters, except for Tiger. I feel like Tiger could have been a bit more developed. I know he came in within the last part of the book, but i don't think the author developed him enough so that i can have a mental image of his features. ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Apr 20, 2012 Anasheh Satoorian rated it it was amazing

"Daughter, tell your American friends: never fight a Russian in the snow. You see? How many empires of the world must learn this hard lesson?"

I loved this book! Good mystery! Hope there's a sequel! ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Jan 25, 2015 claireloueeez rated it it was amazing

Two words describe my final thoughts on this book, mind fuck. Definitely will have to pick the second one up sometime. If you're after a badass female character READ THIS!!!!. I just can't right now ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Aug 18, 2018 Caitlyn Hamilton rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: made-me-cry

Goddamnit William Richter, you crazy jerk, you did it. You made me finish this damned book, and you made me cry in the process. Against all odds, you've even got me considering picking up Tiger: A Dark Eyes Novel.

Throwing the concept of formal reviewing out the window, I have to tell you I almost threw this book out the window. I started out curious, got really really bored when I figured out the main mystery halfway through, and almost DNF'd this book three times before we reached the end. But, ...more

flag Like · see review

May 18, 2017 Sandra rated it it was amazing

Despite some of the bad reviews, I enjoyed this book.
Perhaps looking at it from the tired perch of my 73 years, 70 of which I have been reading mysteries, gave me a feeling for Wally.
Perhaps the fact that I had one of those rebel children helped.
Whatever the reason, this book reached out and grabbed me, and I read it in just a few hours.
Being touted as a Young Adult novel probably limits the readers, and I think the older readers would appreciate it more.
Give it a try, it will surprise you, sadd ...more

flag Like · see review

Mar 08, 2020 Laronda Blessing rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I really liked it. Was it as good as The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo as intimated? Of course not. But it was a compelling read. The characters are a bit too in-one-category (Wally is sooo hard baked and expert in all things combat-related, others are sooo vulnerable) but hey, it's a rare man who can write a compelling female character that's not hard-baked and quite masculine-leaning. I thought the plot was pretty well developed for the most part, although there were definitely jarring/off point ...more

flag Like · see review

May 05, 2018 Meliha Onal rated it it was amazing

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

flag Like · see review

Oct 28, 2018 Ben rated it really liked it

I deeply enjoyed this book because of the ending. The plot twists at the end were just phenomenal, and the story really came together because of it. I would have rated a five but I felt the author could have done better with describing how badly Wally wanted to find her birth mother, and how she felt about her evil father bursting into her life.

flag Like · see review

Jan 18, 2019 Jade rated it liked it

Shelves: 2019

You know when a movie has these random things that all connect and these actions that would never happen in real life.
That is this entire book.
This book reads like an action movie (so if you like those read this) which makes sense because when I looked up the author it turns out he is a screenwriter.

flag Like · see review

Mar 21, 2018 Saffron rated it it was amazing

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

flag Like · see review

Aug 15, 2017 Michelle rated it liked it

Shelves: amazing-ya-books

Actually I would say 3.5 on this one. It was a SLOOOOW start but once things started picking up it got much better.

flag Like · see review

Apr 02, 2019 Tanajua rated it really liked it

Loved the plot twist it shows u never really know a person no matter how much time u spent with them. Love the action. If u like suspense, " gang", and actionbcheck it out ...more

flag Like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend It | Stats | Recent Status Updates

Readers also enjoyed

See similar books…

Genres

Mystery

51 users

Thriller

22 users

Contemporary

21 users

Adventure

13 users

Fiction

12 users

Realistic Fiction

11 users

Action

10 users

Suspense

8 users

Thriller > Mystery Thriller

7 users

Mystery > Crime

6 users

See top shelves…

About William Richter

William Richter

37 followers

William Harlan Richter is a Hollywood screenwriter. He was nominated for an Emmy Award as Producer of “We Stand Alone Together”, the documentary episode of the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers. William was born and raised in California.