Book Review, a Report Card for Jenny Pox

Report Card Book Review Title Jenny Pox Book list price $9.99 Author JL Bryan eBook Price $0.00-2.99 Publisher Self-Published Stand alone/Series Series Genre YA Fantasy/horror # in Series 1 of 3 Story- Overall Grade B Everyone knows Jenny Mittens; the social outcast whose daddy is a drunk and who wears gloves year round. She refuses to be affected by her role in the small town s lives in, knowing hat her ‘untouchable’ attitude is actually saving lives. Jenny’s bare touch spreads a plague, Jenny Pox, and she’s spent her life without the comfort of skin-to-skin contact. Her life changes when she discovers two of her classmates share a similar quality, showing her that love can be a pox all it’s own. Plot B Romantic Subplot B Seth could have been better developed, and I would have like more chemistry between the two of them, but still satisfying. Originality B The concept behind the magic is brilliant, but the storyline and characters are reminiscent of many other YA. Magical system A Magic with no purpose but to destroy or kill and activated simply by touch was a welcome change from the norm. ‘Adult Content’ D Too explicit for most YA readers. Some of the scenes seemed to be added for shock value. Drugs were also added, but within context. Ending C I like the direction the ending was going, but feel the author changed it last minute to be able to write sequels. Characters B Most of the characters were completely forgettable. Jenny was great though; she was well developed and atypical.  Protagonist A I love her. She’s not perfect, but she seems real. I’m a sucker for outcasts though. Antagonist B Ashleigh fits too well in a popular yet evil archetype, but her magic was fun and she had well-laid [evil]plans for the future Supporting characters. D They were just stock characters, seemingly interchangeable with each other and fit their stereotypes exactly. Overall Development B POV floated between Jenny and Ashleigh, making them well developed. Other characters came up short by comparison. Character relationships B Author did a decent job, though the relationships were more described than shown; made interactions seem a bit awkward Good role model A- Not a codependent whiner, Jenny knows when to take action and how to think for herself, but marks off for her killing spree Writing B This would be an A if the editing had just been better. I felt there were several scenes that didn't match the otherwise great flow and should have been worked on or cut .* This part has been updated, and I intend no offense to the author** Prose B Author’s Voice A Love his voice. Book really read like a YA, and he really imparted his own sense of style in it. Editing C This book would definitely benefit from better editing. There were pages that seemed superfluous and I found myself skimming a bit. The grammar had room for improvement, though the format, spelling, and punctuation seemed good. Punctuation, spelling and grammar B Additional Notes- Overall a good read. Neat concept, and one I haven’t seen before. The characters fit into the archetypes that are so common in YA fiction, but for the protagonist and antagonist their actions go way beyond the normal and make up for it. I will be reading the other two in this series, and keeping an eye on this author for future releases. There are some graphic scenes that include sex and drugs so this may not be appropriate for younger teens/tweens, though I still consider it a YA book. One of the leading storylines is about the ‘bad-guy’ using Christianity/youth programs as a way to influence others as part of her evil plot. There was no true Christian character, the ones that claim that title in the book are bad, manipulative, or just stupid and I can see how people could find that offensive. I have no idea if this was a reflection of the authors’ own views on organized religion. Some of the scenes have rather grotesque images, ie rotting disease-ridden flesh.