DNF Review: Charm & Strange

Charm & Strange by Stephanie Kuehn, June 11, 2013. 216 pages. Published by St. Martin's Griffin. Source: publisher.

When you’ve been kept caged in the dark, it’s impossible to see the forest for the trees. It’s impossible to see anything, really. Not without bars . . .

Andrew Winston Winters is at war with himself.

He’s part Win, the lonely teenager exiled to a remote Vermont boarding school in the wake of a family tragedy. The guy who shuts all his classmates out, no matter the cost.

He’s part Drew, the angry young boy with violent impulses that control him. The boy who spent a fateful, long-ago summer with his brother and teenage cousins, only to endure a secret so monstrous it led three children to do the unthinkable. 

First Sentence:

I don't feel the presence of God here.

I have been battling with the decision of whether or not to DNF Charm & Strange for the better part of two years now. Sadly, as the desire to pick it up again to try and get get into it has faded, I decided it was high time to say "goodbye" to ever finishing it.

While it sounded interesting enough, I was unable to enjoy this one for so many reasons. Reasons like the overall story and the main character's violent nature. Even though I'm no stranger to reading weird books that have violence (because they're everywhere), there was something about this book that just turned me off. I cannot even put into words what precisely or why, just that this book was definitely, in the end, not one for me.

As I failed to get further than ten pages, I have no comment on the writing (this time). Because it wasn't the writing the was less than favorable...it was he story and character. So, while Charm & Strange did not work for me, I would not say that I would never give the author another chance to impress me. I'm hoping that maybe her next book, whatever it may be, will be more favorable to my reading tastes.

*sometimes I keep them short*

Final Verdict: Charm & Strange- Just not my kind of read, sad to say. While it may not have been the one for me, I, cannot decide if it would be something you would enjoy or not.

Charm & Strange earns

This book was received in consideration for review. All thought are my own.