Wednesday, April 10, 2013

The Monster Behind the Mask

Kiss Kill by Jeni Mawter

Summary: Transmedia story for Teens to Twentysomethings

How do you man up when you’re down? 

When 16 year old Mat meets Elle she seems perfect. But over time Elle becomes more controlling and aggressive. Feeling like no one will believe him Mat isolates himself more and more. Their relationship fragments then explodes. 

The Kiss Kill story is told in fragments using multiple texts and transmedia. Prose is combined with scripts, songs, notes, poems, comics, essays, texting and photos. Transmedia is used through blogs, YouTube, iTunes, Facebook and Twitter. 

Disclaimer: I received this book from the author in exchange for a review.

Review: A tragic tale of a boy caught in an abusive relationship told through snippets of his life.

I liked how Kiss Kill was set up. It really felt like a slice of a teenager’s life. I liked Mat’s story was told through text messages, plays, lists, videos, asides, and more standard narration. It was interesting to read a story told in this manner. While I did enjoy the book, the way it is set up does cause some of the story to get lost. It skipped rather quickly from Mat lusting after Elle and then suddenly they were dating. I would have liked more about that transition.

Elle is a very good example of how appearances can be deceptive. Mat thinks she is the perfect girl, but quickly finds out that she is far from perfect. It is a good message for people, especially teenagers, to learn that your boyfriend or girlfriend is never going to be perfect and they will have faults, make mistakes, and have not so desirable personality traits. Mat’s experiences with Elle were disturbing and show that men can be the victims of domestic violence. I was very glad when Mat was finally able to break up with Elle.

Rating:






Recommendation: I would recommend this book to those that enjoy fiction told from a teenager's point of view or fiction dealing with real world issues. 

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