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Anonymous
Posted April 19, 2013
My all-time favorite read. Laugh out loud funny. Wonderful story, witty writing and fantastic characters. Buy this book for yourself and for a friend.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Lets get some of the nitty-gritty out of the way...Camie has been homeschooled, along with her sister, by her mother her entire life. Her mom is now battling breast cancer so they have moved back to So-Cal to be near family, while Camie (16) and Jillian (12) will now be entering that place called Hell. Otherwise known as public school.
Not two minutes into her first day of high school Camie is rescued from becoming fodder for the social Elite by Tristan, who simultaneously nearly kills her by giving her cardiac arrest. Okay, not really...but he does bare a striking resemblance to Taylor Kitsch and he did just touch her. Just her arm, to keep her from falling on her face mind you...but those are just semantics. She's an instant smitten kitten and proceeds to think of him as the following: My Tristan, my soul mate, my future husband, my favorite womanizer and the like. Cute, huh?
I guess I should elaborate on that last one though, the womanizer one. Camie quickly comes to learn that Tristan is, to put it mildly and bluntly, known to be quite the man whore.
However, when one of his life long best friends (Kate) picks up on some strangeness wafting from Tristan that floats directly to Cameron, they hatch a plan for Camie to hook the biggest catch in school.
Now, normally this kind of plot would drive me up the wall. I remember all too well how games are played in high school and they usually annoy the crap out of me. This is different though. There is no vindication here it's just some plain old observant girl who really wants one of her oldest and dearest friends to grow up a little, settle down a lot and be more happy/ less moody. Kate thinks Camie is the one to do it and Camie, as infatuated and struck as she is by him thinks she's up for the challenge. Even knowing she is more than clueless and may end up heart broken. The chance at love is worth the risk though.
What made Shark Bait such a fun read is how incredibly smart and funny this group of kids are. Camie is completely endearing with her sense of humor, intellect and complete naivete. She's a fairly grounded girl even if she does let her imagination wander where Tristan is concerned. Seriously, when she programs him into her phone she nicknames him this:
Tristan is an enigma of sorts to start out but once you get to know who he really is you can't not love the guy. The relationship that builds between these two is adorable, heart warming and also extremely volatile. Tristan has a short fuse, large ego and a disconcerting amount of experience. Paired with Camie's lack of certain social life skills, the two of them together are like a sleeping volcano, ready to blow at any second.
The side characters are all equally loveable. I'd say character development is probably Cooksey's strong point. Even the characters you dislike are interesting to say the least. Jillian is beyond bad ass though. She is way at the top of my favorite characters. Picture this: Malibu Barbie looks, Mensa Member brains, cat like reflexes all packaged in a evil, darkly goth attitude and wardrobe. I want to adopt her.
The writing is fun loving, super witty and full of 80's references and Buffy The Vampire one liners, which are two of my favorite things. Most important moments in the book give way to some song that plays in Camie's head and I loved seeing all those pop up.
Truly, Shark Bait is great, fun read that will elicit tons of giggles and heart tugging. Go read it, you won't be sorry!
emerald1008
Posted May 26, 2013
Great Read!!!
I think I will always enjoy reading YA books. But this was one of the best. It was laugh out loud funny. I loved Camie's sense of humor, Tristan's surfer godliness, and oh boy do I hope if I ever run into Jillian she is one my side!
Anonymous
Posted May 22, 2013
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0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.AlwaysYAatHeart1
Posted April 23, 2013
I absolutely loved this!
I can't begin to tell you all how much I enjoyed book. I absolutely loved Shark Bait and it ranks up there in my list of all times favorites. Seriously, I was completed sucked in and captivated from beginning to end. You know those kinds of books that keep you smiling like an idiot the whole time your reading it, along with having fits of laughing out loud (the kind where people look at you like your "not quite right," especially when it is just you and book, and your acting like that), well Shark Bait is that kind of book. The story line itself was captivating and so much fun, and the characters themselves were even more fun. I loved, loved, loved Camie. Her inner dialogues were funnier many times than the things she actually said, and her personality just grabs you. Tristan, the surfer god who all the girls worshiped, and many guys for that matter, was a total hottie, all alpha male and all that, who was much deeper than people give him credit for, and who didn't quite know what to do with his feelings for Camie. The chemistry between these two is off the charts hot and there are some really steamy scenes that get your heart pounding. Another one of my favorite characters was Camie's little sister Jillian and I cannot wait to see more of her in the next book. Jilllian is a total badass in every sense of the word. Seriously guys, all the secondary characters were great and I really loved them, and even loved to hate a few.
I can't encourage you guys enough to get this book. If you are a fan of Jillian Dodd and love her Keatyn Chronicles, then you are going to absolutely love Shark Bait. It truly is one of my favorite books EVER. I would really love to see this as a movie or a television series, I think it would be that big of a hit. If you haven't read or heard of Jenn Cooksey, she is an author you definitely want to get to know, and I look forward to reading more of her work in the future. Again, if you haven't read it, what are you waiting for, hurry and get it.
Anonymous
Posted November 2, 2012
Was a great read!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.AutumnReview
Posted August 21, 2012
My friend Jessica at Hackaroo's Reviews reviewed this book recently and
had a contest to win the book. Well, Jess sold me on the book in her
review, so I entered and WON! Now, I've chatted with Jenn Cooksey on
Twitter, but until Jess, hadn't heard of her book. I'm here to
say....everyone needs to read this book! I really, truly, loved it. I'm
blown away that this is a debut novel. This is only the third book I've
read by a debut author that has seriously blown me away this year.
There are many characters in the story, but I'm going to focus on lead
characters first. Even though Cami is sixteen, I identified with her
immediately. She's been homeschooled and is very mature for her age.
When she moved to San Diego, she's pushed into the wonderful world of
high school clicks and angst. Because Cami has a good head on her
shoulder's, I felt like she handled it all well. She's really funny too.
When Cami first sees Tristan, she's immediately in love. Now, I know
some people aren't fans of insta love, but let's take a moment to
remember high school and seeing a dreamy guy for the first time. Insta
love. So, what's a girl to do in order to get the hottest guy in school
to notice her? She becomes friends with his best girl friend Kate. A
plan is made, and operation get Tristan begins. I must admit, while
Tristan sounds like a dreamboat, I wasn't sure about him at first. It
appears that he's playing hard to get, but I'm here to tell you, this
guy is deeper than he may seem. Tristan doesn't put himself out there
for just anyone, but he takes notice of Cami right away. Slowly, he
works his way into her life. Once their feelings for each other come
out, it's like watching fireworks. There is some serious chemistry
between these two. Tristan has easily become of my favorite male leads.
I can't wait to see what happens with these two as the series develops!
Now, the supporting characters kick butt! With the exception of Zack, I
loved every character. I have hopes that as the series continues we will
learn more about each one. In fact, I really can't wait to see what
happens with Cami's sister Jilly as she gets older! She cracked me up!
As I mentioned before, this is Jenn's first novel and I'm blown away by
the writing. The story flow was so smooth and she captured my attention
immediately. She created likable characters that you can identify with
and fall in love with. I also appreciated all the pop culture
references. They provided good visual in many different scenes. Thanks
for that Jenn! I'm literally chomping at the bit for the next book to
release. I MUST know what is going to happen next. I have to say that
there are some mature situations in the story, so I'd recommend this
book to the over 16 crowd. If you are a fan of true love, pop culture,
and just plain fun, this is a great book for you.
Anonymous
Posted July 30, 2012
Review from SlicedOpenReviews(dot)com
Camie seems like the best place to start since I’m pretty sure her and I were separated at birth. I have never started reading a book and felt so connected to the MC. Everything about her actions, thoughts, mannerisms and choices reminds me, dead on, of myself. I was pretty freaked out and ready to have a full on panic attach before I got 10% through the book because I just couldn’t get beyond it. Taking that a step further, Camie is 15 in this book and this usually puts a halt on any true relation to a character. Me at 15 and fictional portrayals of 15-year-olds are on total opposite sides of the Grand Canyon. I guess maybe I was a bit of a delinquent in my younger-days but regardless, it was insta-love for Camie and I, and I have a feeling it will be the same for many more readers.
Sticking with discussing characters let’s move to our wonderful supporting cast; Kate/Jillian/Pete/Jeff just to name a handful. Each character had something to give to the story. Each character was dynamic without being over the top and complicating. There was a great balance in each and I give kudos to Jenn Cooksey for this!
Last, but oh-so-certainly not least, is the ever so sexy Tristan. If I’ve said it once, I have said it 1000 times. OHHH how I love the bad boy and Tristan was the uber-balance of bad-sweet boy. Much like Camie, I was instantly connected to his character, actions, mannerisms, etc. Oh and he provided a lot of the laughter for me while reading (alongside Jeff, cause he was so funny).
Moving on, so one thing this book does NOT lack is story and substance. There wasn’t a lot of “fluff” as I call it. Yeah, that in between stuff that fills pages but doesn’t really contribute to the story. To me everything had a place, meaning and purpose. Sounds a bit overbearing right? Well, it’s not. There is so much humor and other emotion built-in to each page and movement that even though my Nook tells me it was 359 pages, I feel like it flew by way too quick. There are three levels of emotion that I grade a book on and I use those to gauge how good the author was a relaying the emotion of the characters and story and well, Shark Bait hit ALL of them at one point or another during the book – thus, one real successful book if you ask me.
High-school, like real people experience…yes, like parties with drugs and alcohol, cussing and slutty girls. It was great! Scream Lions and Tigers and Bears OH MY all you want, but it’s real life people, not this fake fictional world we sometimes like to pretend teenagers live in. I really appreciated authors who are not afraid to show the way things are. Shows how ballsy they can be and usually is only done by authors who have true skill
My last point may be one of my favorite parts of this book. It showed the true level of creativity and witty repartee that Jenn Cooksey is capable of…yes…the Whiteboards. I am not going to give much beyond that in description because I have read and re-read each section of this and I just feel that if I quote any part of it, it will spoil it when you read it. Because you should, like right now. Go read the book and experience the unexplainable excellence that is Jenn Cooksey!
jlynnJB
Posted June 28, 2012
The book took me right back to high school, where everything was so dramatic. It cracked me up to think about how just like the teens in this book my friends and I were. Every boyfriend we had, we were going to "marry" (even if we were only 15 yrs old) and all the nasty girl fights were so ridiculous.
Since I happened to go to the school that is referenced in the book, I of course had great pictures in my mind of where everything is.
It also reminded me that I really need to hit up the pizza joint mentioned next time I'm in town, because it really is the best!
Can't wait to read the next installment!
Way to go Jenn!
Anonymous
Posted May 2, 2013
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted October 23, 2012
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted October 7, 2012
No text was provided for this review.
Overview
Camie’s worldly wisdom might be severely lacking (i.e., the closest she’s come to being kissed was sitting too close to the TV whilst Jake Ryan leaned in to ...