[Book Review] Exposure

Title: Exposure (Book 2 of the Twisted Lit Series)
Author(s): Amy Helmes & Kim Askew
Date Published: January 18, 2013
Genre: Young Adult, Romance
Source: ARC from Author
Rating: 4/5

Links:
Goodreads
Amazon
Barnes & Noble


About the Book:

Double, double, toil and trouble. Sometimes, the quest for high school royalty can be deadly! In this emotionally-charged twist on Shakespeare’s Macbeth, a self-conscious shutterbug named Skye Kingston navigates a treacherous school year in Alaska fraught with unspoken secrets and tragic twists of fate. Along the way she encounters three strangely prophetic BFFs; one social-climbing, sociopathic cheerleader; and a heart-stopping hottie named Craig McKenzie: the man who would be Prom King. Can Skye save the boy she loves — and herself — before they get caught in the crosshairs?

Review:
Exposure is an engaging young adult story about self-discovery and courage to own up to one’s mistakes.

This is book 2 of the Twisted Lit series by Amy Helmes and Kim Askew, and is actually a modern take on Shakespeare’s Macbeth. However, you don’t really need to have read Macbeth beforehand to understand the whole story. Just imagine Macbeth being set in a modern high school setting and you pretty much get Exposure.

This is the second book from the Twisted Lit series that I’ve read and I’m pretty much a happy camper of the series already. Although I would have to say that I liked the first book better than this one. This could be attributed to the fact that this book has a slightly darker theme than the first one.

Now, unto the story…

The female lead, Skye Kingston, is a shy and quiet girl who minds her own business and keeps to herself. It would be safe to say that she’s an introvert and would rather witness a scene rather than partake in it.

I love the fact that there was contrast between the Skye at the beginning of the story and the Skye at the end. I think that she really did turn over a new leaf and became a better person. She learned to put herself out there and actually experience the things that she just witnessed before.

Also, I loved Skye’s photography exhibit at the end of the story. It signified her transformation into a new person. She went from being the girl behind the camera to being the girl in front of the camera, being brave enough to go and be herself.

As for Craig, well, at first I really was hesitant about liking him because he seemed the sort of person who can’t even distinguish what is it that he really wanted. Personally, I don’t like people who are indecisive and Craig was a little bit like that when it came to Skye and his popular friends.

Basically, he’s torn between his popularity and his real self, which only comes out when he’s with Skye. At first, I didn’t understand the indecisiveness, but as the story progressed, there was a justification why Craig was like that. And really, you can’t blame the guy.

Also, I love the fact that even though he could have walked away from it all and be with Skye without telling the truth, he chose to own up to his mistake and take responsibility. I would have hated him if he didn’t tell the truth just for the sake of having a happy ending with Skye, but he did, and I really think that his choice made a better happy ending for the story.

Then, there’s Beth, the super villainess that cuts everything down her path. She’s got serious issues all on her own. However, at the heart of it all, I think she just wants someone who can love her for who she really is. And maybe she mistook popularity as love and acceptance so everything went downhill from there.

Aside from the young adult aspect, this story has enough mystery and drama that kept me reading. It’s well-written, well-planned and each of the character has their distinct personality that it wasn’t hard to imagine them inside my head as I read.

For fans of Shakespeare who are looking to read new twists to his classic works, I highly recommend reading the Twisted Lit Series by Amy Helmes and Kim Askew.