Review: Another Life (When I Was Joe, #3) by Keren David

Summary/Cover Image from Amazon: 

Kicked out of yet another boarding school, Archie couldn't be happier to find himself back in London with old friends and an exciting social life. But he's worried about his cousin Ty, who is facing a sentence in a Young Offender Institution and doesn't seem to be coping. And he's finding that his old friends have moved on and it's a struggle to keep up with their new lives. When he begins to learn surprising things about Ty, Archie goes on a mission to discover the truth about his cousin's past. But who is the real Ty? The thrilling follow-up to When I Was Joe and Almost True takes readers on a terrifying adventure through London's gangland.

Review:

I read Keren David's first book, When I Was Joe, all the way back in Fall 2010. While it wasn't my favorite book ever, it was still an enjoyable and heart racing read. Therefore, when I was offered the chance to read anther addition in the Joe saga this time with Another Life, I jumped at the chance. It sounded like a solid read, and while I hadn't read the second book yet, I figured I would have no problem jumping right back into the series. Luckily, I didn't, and boy, was I surprised, as not only was Another Life a thrilling conclusion to the When I Was Joe trilogy, but it offered up interesting new characters and plenty of additions to the story I never saw coming! Basically, I was completely awed by the story Keren David had cooked up.

With Almost True, Keren David introduced a new point of view with the addition of Archie, Ty's cousin. From the get-go, I was excited to see how Keren would create Archie's character as well as how she would use him to advance the plot. Archie was a great addition for sure. It was fun to see how he perceived Ty and his past actions as well as to see how much trouble he would get in just to help Ty. Archie did get in some stupid situations at times, and while I couldn't help but shake my head, it lead for a lot of development in Archie as the story continued. It was also a ton of fun to get into Ty's head again. In this book, he's facing his biggest challenge yet: jail. In jail, he really reaches his breaking point, and my heart truly broke for him at the points where he sunk the lowest, but I was always rooting him on, hoping just maybe he would get his happy ending. I also enjoyed the various side characters such as Patrick, Ty's dad, and Archie's parents/friends. All added great little parts to the story.

The plot in this was fact paced and exciting from the get. Keren David really stepped it up from When I Was Joe to tell the truth, because while they were several moments in Where I Was Joe that I skimmed and flipped through, those moments were far in between in Another Life. The switching POVs really worked wonders...Keren always switched at such pivotal moments where I was like "WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!". Plus the twists/turns in this were KILLER. I don't want to give anything way, but let's just say some pretty interesting characters from the past make an appearance.

Keren's writing was also whip tight in this one. She did a great job with character and plot development, and I really enjoyed the final ending she offered in this one. It wasn't an overly happy one, but it provided some bittersweet closure that I feel any reader will like.

In all, Another Life by Keren David was a thrilling and suspenseful conclusion to the trilogy. I highly suggest this one to any reader (girls and especially boys) who enjoy suspenseful reads. Oh, and I can't wait to give the second book a spin and see what I missed exactly. :) 

Grade: B+  

Another Life (Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Goodreads) is now out! 

Source: Publicist 

When I Was Joe by Keren David + Giveaway!

Summary/Cover Image from Publisher's Website:

When Ty witnesses a stabbing, his own life is in danger from the criminals he’s named, and he and his mum have to go into police protection. Ty has a new name, a new look and a cool new image – life as Joe is good, especially when he gets talent spotted as a potential athletics star, special training from an attractive local celebrity and a lot of female attention. But his mum can’t cope with her new life, and the gangsters will stop at nothing to flush them from hiding. Joe’s cracking under extreme pressure, and then he meets a girl with dark secrets of her own. This wonderfully gripping and intelligent novel depicts Ty/Joe's confused sense of identity in a moving and funny story that teenage boys and girls will identify with - a remarkable debut from a great new writing talent.

Review:

Ever since this book started to make waves in the bloging world, I've been looking forward to reading it, and when the chance finally came for me to do so I was so excited. And luckily enough, When I Was Joe turned out to be everything I heard it was. Because When I Was Joe was one of the most exciting, thrilling, and unique books I've read in long time.

When I Was Joe is told from the viewpoint of Ty, a boy who's forced to lie about everything after he witness the stabbing of a young boy much like himself. Now him and his mum are in the witness protection program and given brand new identifies, as well as a new city to live in. Ty's new identify is Joe, a boy very different from his former self. Since while Ty was a dweeb and always a bit babyish, Joe is cool, a leader, and fierce- the eye-candy of all the girls and the guy all the boys want to be. Though, with Ty's new image come problems, like Ashley, a popular girl who isn't nearly as sweet as she looks, Carl, the school's bully who's after Ty, and Claire, the only girl who really gets Ty...too bad she's off limits. And this isn't even adding in the fact that one of London's most infamous drug families is after him with only one goal in mind: to leave Ty dead and unable to testify against them. If anything Ty's year will be anything but a breeze or uneventful!

Ty was an interesting main character, one who always had me on the edge of my toes with his way of looking at things, as well as the mysterious tone his character got when talking about the stabbing and what lead up to it. Another thing that I always found fascinating about him was the way he managed to grow up through this novel and gain a new way of looking at things, one that made him seem ages ahead of his real age but still naive and innocent at times. I especially liked his friendship with Claire. Claire was a very sweet girl and one who always managed to bring the good out in Ty, which left their scenes together to always be some of my favorites.

Another aspect I enjoyed about this book was the action-packed plot. It constantly mangaged to throw little surprises and twists at me that constantly had me rethinking my former predictions and making new ones. And the ending? It has made me so very excited about the sequel.

Lastly, David's writing was yet another good addition to the book. I always felt that she did a decent job of fleshing out her characters, as well as the plot lines. Though, I wasn't really found of the way she managed to make some parts dreadfully slow. But other then that, I think she did a great job with this book

In all, When I Was Joe is the perfect thriller read for teens out there, especially reluctant readers who are looking for a book to keep them on their toes. I simply can't wait to see what Ms. David comes up with next.

Grade: B+

When I Was Joe is now out!

Source: Jennifer at 45th Parallel Communications. Thanks, Jennifer!

And best of all Jennifer has alwasy donated a SIGNED copy of the book for giveaway.

Here are the rules:

~ Open INTERNATINALLY!
~ Must be 13 years or older to enter.
~ Must fill out form to be officaly entered.