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Monday, August 24, 2009

Review: Snap by Carol Snow


Title: Snap
Author: Carol Snow
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pub. Date: August 25, 2009
Genre: YA
Main themes: Family, Supernatural, Ghosts, Love, Photography
Pages: 224
Plot (from back of ARC):

“Madison thought she knew who she was. Then everything changed in a flash.
Stuck in a strange, sleepy beach town, Madison throws herself into her one passion: photography. But when bizarre figures start appearing in her pictures, people who weren’t there to begin with – and are later reported dead – Madison begins to question everything about who she is… and who she wishes she could be.”


Snap first caught my eye because of the cover, which I actually like and think fits the novel really well, but it was the summary that drew me in. I am a photography hobbyist (think dark rooms and winding my own film), so the fact that Madison is a photographer was interesting. Furthermore, Madison is a photographer who sees dead people in her pictures (I am not this type of photographer) made her even more intriguing.

The supernatural aspect was well done. It wasn’t what I was expecting, but I like that – it would have been boring if everything had turned out just as I’d expected it to. I thought it was really interesting that Madison didn’t have any supernatural ability, but that the camera itself was capturing images of the ghosts. It reminded me a bit of those ghost hunting shows on television.

Throughout most of the book I was not a fan of Madison. She honestly was so unlikeable – spoiled, rude, stuck-up, and immature are words that come to mind when I think of Madison. I don’t feel too bad about feeling this way though, as I’m fairly certain Madison was meant to be viewed this way at the onset of the novel. And, in ways, I can see a bit of my younger self in her. Madison is young and it was kind of refreshing to see her act her age – complete with immaturity and annoying habits and attitudes. Luckily, Madison learns some lessons throughout the novel, gaining maturity and insight. Unfortunately, it takes about four-fifths of the novel to reach this point.

There is a minor romantic plot line in Snap as well. I liked the boy, Duncan, who sounded like a cute skater, much like a boy I would have liked when I was Madison’s age. Again though, Madison made annoyed me with her horrible treatment of him. But I must admit, once again, that I remember girls my age (and maybe me, if I’m being completely honest), treat boys just like Madison treats Duncan.

Ratings (out of 10):
Characters: 8
Plot: 10
Writing style: 10
Romance: 8
Originality: 10
Total: 46/50 (A-)


Overall, Snap was a good coming of age story with a supernatural twist. Madison is a very realistic character, which makes her simultaneously refreshing and utterly horrible. After all, she is a young teenage girl – they are generally horrible at some point or another. Snap incorporates many different story lines: romantic, supernatural, and familial, making the novel a novel with a little bit for everyone!






20 comments:

  1. Interesting review. I'll have to check this out(:

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  2. Oh this sounds so awesome -- like a movie but even better!

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  3. This sounds really good, and I like the cover too. Thanks for the review!

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  4. "Madison is a photographer who sees dead people in her pictures (I am not this type of photographer)"

    That made me laugh so hard, I am not kidding. I Can't wait to read this one after reading your review. It looks really good.

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  5. I love this cover too and I liked your honest opinion about Madison. Very interesting supernatural twist and glad it kept you guessing a bit!

    Kim :)

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  6. Sounds like a good book. I hope I don't hate Madison though. Hating the MC usually makes me not care a/b whatever happens to him/her.

    ~Tashi

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  7. Great review. I am really looking forward to this book. I also really like that she does not have an ability, nice twist.

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  8. The idea that she can see dead people in her photos is really intriguing. I haven't read much super natural and this is a nice take to it.
    Thanks for the review and not having any spoilers for us. I'm looking foward to reading this book!

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  9. I like the cover too. Eeep! I always hate it when I dislike the character, but sometimes that's what makes the character real.

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  10. The first thing that caught my attention was the cover too.The story sounds kind of scary with dead people showing up in the pictures

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  11. Great Review1 She is seeing dead people in her pictures, awesome.

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  12. Good review. I just finished this book yesterday and through the whole book I kept thinking "When are the ghosts coming back?" by the description on the back of the book it seems like it is going to be a YA suspense but it turns out not to be. I was a little disappointed. But the book was still good.

    (This is basically what my review of the book looked like last night. lol)

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  13. I loved Switch, so I can only think good things about Snap and Carol!

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  14. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, supernatural/paranormal books!! This really sounds like my type of book. Switch was amazing!! Though I never really paid attention to who wrote it (sorry)!!

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  15. This was a really good review. I don't like it when the main characters are annoying, though. I just finished reading a book and the character seems just like Madison.

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  16. Sounds great! I love the supernatural plot. I love the fact that it is so unusual. Thanks for the great review.

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  17. I think it sounds interesting. I've been reading alot of books with ghosts in them lately.

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  18. This sounds good. I like books with a supernatural twist.

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  19. This book sounds really good. I like how it's different from the other paranoraml books I read.

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  20. Ooh... this book sounds like fun! I like photography and the paranormal, so I'd love to read it!

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