Lili Peloquin

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: A rags to riches story filled with dark secrets and drama.

Opening Sentence: Her sister’s last words hung in the air: “You’re just jealous because I belong here and you don’t.”

The Review:

I didn’t know much about Lili Peloquin’s The Innocents when I first received the book. The beautiful cover lured me to quickly read the words behind it. And after reading the synopsis, I couldn’t wait to dive in. The bi-line for the book is “She hated her sister. She loved her sister.” Intriguing, no? The Innocents is a young adult contemporary that follows along the lines of Pretty Little Liars and Gossip Girl. So for those fans out there, this is for you!

The lives of sisters Alice and Charlie are about to change when their mom marries Richard Flood III. In a somewhat rags to riches insta-story, Alice and Charlie relocate to Serenity Point, a beach community for the rich and fabulous. And of course, while life seems perfect on the outside, that is hardly the case. Both Alice and Charlie quickly find out that the residents of Serenity Point have their own dark secrets, and the daughter of Richard Flood III, Camilla. To make things more interesting, Alice has many similarities to Camilla, some positive and some too creepy for words. Alice and Charlie soon find out that things aren’t as perfect as they seem, but how soon and will it be too late?

Alice was the older, quiet sister, the one who was shy and observant and who always had her nose stuck in a book. She was more responsible and calculated, and it clearly showed. Alice noticed everything, but mostly kept it to herself. Alice’s thoughts and viewpoint was clear and strong. She was the sister that was easier to relate to. But Alice had secrets, hidden deep within herself. She had conflicts which she held inside. To me, Alice was more interesting, just because she was so quiet.

Charlie was the opposite of Alice, bordering on annoying, but this could just have been me. She was headstrong and felt that she ruled the world. Charlie wore her heart on the sleeve and always thought about herself first. She was wild, unpredictable, and a typical teenager. Trouble? Well, trouble was Charlie’s middle name. And despite anything that Alice felt or thought, Charlie was quick to dismiss them. Charlie had vivacious written all over her, filling the pages of potential chaos and adventure.

Peloquin filled the pages about two broken families trying to mend itself as one. She brought depth into the story, while balancing it with teenage drama. Peloquin made things interesting, when they could easily not be, and for this I applaud her. I loved the dynamic of the sisters, towards each other and towards the other characters. I didn’t like a few things, and I felt that at times the sisters’ characters fell short of the scene they were currently in.

While I enjoyed the dynamic between the sisters, I didn’t enjoy the relationships between the sisters and anyone else. To me, it felt forced. Well, maybe not forced, but it just wasn’t there for me. I couldn’t connect to the scenes with certain love interests and I tuned out when it came to the scenes with Richard. As each secret was revealed, I felt that I knew what was going to happen. The reasons behind each action became a little more clear, but it felt like it was already leading in that direction.

Overall, The Innocents has a lot of potential to be a great series. Any shortcomings could be due to my tastes and preferences. The writing was great as well as having superb pacing. I urge you to give The Innocents a try for yourself.

Notable Scene:

Fuck it, she said to herself, jumping out of bed, pulling off her T-shirt. She’d head on over to the club. It was where she spent most of her mornings, anyway. And if Jude was a no-show, so what? She’d practice serves or get in a workout with the ball machine. She walked over to her closet to make sure that Fernanda had washed her favorite tennis skirt – she had – then beelined for the bathroom to take a shower. She’d have to make it a snappy one if she didn’t want to be late.

FTC Advisory: Razorbill/Penguin provided me with a copy of The Innocents. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.… (mer)

Alice and Charlie have lived a very normal life for the most part. Their family wasn’t wealthy, and they know what it’s like to struggle, especially after their dad left them and their mother. Not long after, they find themselves thrust into a totally new lifestyle when their mother marries Richard, a very wealthy man with a troubled past. His wife died of cancer and his teenage daughter died in a car accident just a few months earlier.

Determined to make the adjustment as easy as possible, Alice and Charlie have each other’s back. They’ll make it through the summer, surrounded by spoiled rich kids, and somehow, they’ll make the adjustment when they go off to the private boarding school in the fall. That all begins to change when they get to Serenity Point. Alice is happy blending into the scenery, but Charlie is determined to have fun, and has no problems sparring with her new frenemy, Cybil. Charlie won’t be bested by anyone. Plus she’s kind of attracted to Jude who seems to have a bit of a twisted relationship with Cybil even though they are related. With Charlie off getting drunk and fighting to stay on top, Alice watches her sister slip into the entitled lifestyle with ease. It’s a little troubling to her, but Alice knows that when Charlie wants something, she gets it. Alice is more concerned with the mystery surrounding Richard’s deceased daughter Camilla, and Camilla’s ex-boyfriend, Tommy. When Alice sees a picture of Camilla, she realizes they look a lot alike, and she uses this to get to Tommy. As the mystery deepens, the sisters begin to grow apart from each other, and their relationship with their mother begins to change. By the end of the summer, things won’t be quite as rosy as they’d originally planned.

This book reminded me a little of a cross between the TV show “Revenge” and “Gossip Girl”. You have the wealthy, snobby residents of Serenity Point constantly trying to one-up one another, and the juicy, gossip surrounding Richard. Couple that with a bunch of spoiled rich kids and you have a recipe for a good, juicy mystery told from alternating points of view of the two sisters.

I really liked Ms. Peloquin’s writing style, and while the story moved a little slower than I would have liked, it was a quick and easy read. I’m a sucker for messed up, rich kids. Their sense of entitlement amuses me, and Ms. Peloquin captures it perfectly. The book is filled with characters you love to hate. Some you want to see fall off a cliff, and others you want to see redeemed. As far as the two sisters are concerned, I preferred Charlie over Alice. Alice seemed a little dull to me, but then again, I tend to gravitate toward the questionable, spunky and flawed types. Charlie just seemed more real to me. Still, the differences between the two sisters made for a great dynamic.

The most inconsistent character (in my opinion) was Maggie, the girls mother. The woman she has become is WAY different than the woman the girls describe pre-marriage. It just seemed that the difference in character was a little too extreme, but maybe there’s a deeper explanation for all of it in future installments.

While this book may not be for everyone, I, personally enjoyed it. The resolution of the mystery wasn’t a surprise to me, but it made sense and was satisfying. There is a bit of a cliffhanger ending, but I liked it. I’m very much looking forward to the next installment!… (mer)

Sisters Alice and Charlie have been uprooted from their life with their financially struggling mother after their father left. Now they have been rescued by their mothers new husband, and thrust into New England society in a small town for the summer. Their mother and new step father will be sending them to a private boarding school in the fall but first they must survive the summer in this sea side town. Their step-father was widowed only a year earlier and his only daughter died in a car accident a few weeks later. Charlie and Alice adapt to this new world. While Charlie is making the most of it Alice is a little more reluctant and soon seeks to discover more about what happened to her step-fathers daughter and the suddenness of her mothers new marriage. This was a good story and the first in a series. It seems like it will be a promising series after the major revelations at the end of the book but it took awhile to get there. Didn't quite live up to the "nail-biting drama and breathless romance" in the synopsis in this installment but it does suggest this may be the case as the saga unfold. Overall an good YA novel with some nice twists and turns.… (mer)