Title: Rockoholic
Author: CJ Skuse
First Published: March 2011
Recommended for: young adults-teens, people wanting a light, fluffy read
Date read: 30 Nov- 3 Dec
Rating: 3.5/5
I have to admit I was initially inclined to read the book due to the great reviews it received (and the really pretty cover), however, after seeing these reviews I ended up being disappointed in the book. I knew it would be a bit of a fluffy, teen read (which it was), so I wasn’t expecting to feel much, if any, kind of emotional connections to characters or their relationships to be explored deeply. My expectations were right. I did cry a bit at the end when Jackson (one of the main characters) and Jody (the protagonist) share a goodbye, but that was it, in fact I think that scene was the best written in the whole novel and the part I enjoyed most as there was more depth in the writing, including more emotion, and through that scene you actually got to really see how Jackson and Jody’s relationship had developed.
Whilst reading the book I almost felt bored, it initially moved too slow and you just wanted something to hurry up and happen! Normally, when a book is boring or certain chapters are boring I read quickly to get to the good part, but I found myself forcing myself to keep reading and there were good parts but nothing exciting; nothing to really look forward to. I was also slightly annoyed at the ending, you can sort of make peace with the ending and be okay with it, but I felt it wasn’t how I wanted it to end, I guess it didn’t follow the normal conventions of these teen romance novels.
Talking about the depth of the novel, it actually does deal with serious issues such as drug abuse, however it just skims the surface of what the issue is and what it involves, and I think the plot could of been more interesting with more explanation.
I wasn’t entirely sure about the main character Jody. She kept making really stupid decisions and wouldn’t listen to anyone, and I felt as if her reasoning or just her feelings in general (she was angst) weren’t explained that well, yes there was her connection with her grandfather who passed, but even her dad left her and that is never really covered. Although, it’s from her point of view I felt as if she was hard to understand and I think we needed more insight into what was going on in her head, not just what was going on around her.
To finish off, I must note that I loved the Harry Potter references, as well as stating that I didn’t really enjoy this book, although it was ok, I was hoping that the ending would make up for the slow story but unfortunately it was only a half-happy ending.
between the covers 