I (Finally) Read Crash by Lisa McMann

Crash 
by Lisa McMann
Published by Simon Pulse
on January 8, 2013

Summary from Goodreads: Jules lives with her family above their restaurant, which means she smells like pizza most of the time and drives their double-meatball-shaped food truck to school. It’s not a recipe for popularity, but she can handle that. What she can’t handle is the recurring vision that haunts her. Over and over, Jules sees a careening truck hit a building and explode...and nine body bags in the snow. The vision is everywhere—on billboards, television screens, windows—and she’s the only one who sees it. And the more she sees it, the more she sees. The vision is giving her clues, and soon Jules knows what she has to do. Because now she can see the face in one of the body bags, and it’s someone she knows. Someone she has been in love with for as long as she can remember.
Welcome to the second installment of my end-of-the-year feature I Finally Read This! If you missed the first installment in which I read the Program by Suzanne Young, the way it works is this: I pick a 2013 release that I have still not read, I interview myself about why I haven't read it, and then I tell you what I thought. Here goes….

How Long Did It Take Me To Read This Book? About eleven months and two weeks.

Why Didn't I Read It Sooner? I think I had Lisa McMann confused with another YA author named Lisa Schroeder, who writes books in verse. So I thought this was in verse. Also, I sort of have a love/hate relationship with covers that have giant eyeballs on them.

What (Finally) Made Me Pick It Up? Sara @ Forever 17 reviewed Crash, the second book in the series -- yes, another book in the series has come out in the time it took me to read the first -- and that convinced me that a) this book was not written in verse and b) I might like it.

My take: Crash was a snappy, fun little book. I say "little" because the book was 233 pages. (I won't lie -- that was also a factor in my picking it up -- I have a Goodreads challenge to finish in 5 days!)

Crash is a paranormal-ish suspense story about a girl who is seeing a vision of a terrible accident and wants to stop it before it happens. That's pretty much it, and I loved that. Sometimes it seems like YA books try to cram too much plot in -- twists and reveals and sleight of hand -- leaving me wishing for just a good, straightforward story. That's what Crash offered.

My absolute favorite thing about the book was the adorable yet realistic story world that the author has created. The main character, Jules, is the daughter of a pizzeria owner and in love with Sawyer, the son of a rival pizzeria owner. And by "rival," I don't mean friendly competitor. The two families hate each other.  I loved the fact that Jules and Sawyer are the Romeo and Juliet of the pizza world. I also loved Jules' family -- they definitely have their issues, but they seemed like a real family, bickering and loyal.  Jules was a hilarious character -- her narration had me laughing out loud, like when she keeps trying to crack jokes and they just fall flat. The one character who felt a little underdeveloped to me was Sawyer. Because of the whole rivalry thing, he can't be a big part of the book at first, and I had to take Jules' word for how amazing he was. By the end, I got a little better sense of him, but he didn't seem quite as charmingly flawed as Jules and her family. (And I am absolutely certain that his last name was Agnotti just so someone could call him Hottie Agnotti.)

Crash is a great book if you're looking for something that's the equivalent of a hot, cheesy slice of pizza -- a quick yet satisfying bite that might just leave you craving more. Crash could be read as a standalone, but, as I mentioned above, there is a second book, Bang, that takes the vision premise and puts a new spin on it. For more on that, check out Sara's review, linked up above!

Comments

  1. Romeo and Juliet of the pizza world. What would they think of next ?

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  2. Well it sounds like you enjoyed the book :), and it does sound rather intriguing so I might go check it out. Also I like this new feature, definitely something a little different. I know I have plenty books on my shelf which I should have read months ago!

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    1. I am rushing to finish a few more but I will never finish them all!!

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  3. Glad you enjoyed it, Jen. I think I have read a book by this author in the past and liked it.

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    1. I loved her writing -- I feel so stupid thinking these were in verse!!

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  4. "I sort of have a love/hate relationship with covers that have giant eyeballs on them."

    LMAO - that's very specific.

    Honestly I would have never picked this one up without your review. I thought it was another conspiracy/cloning/sci-fi story.

    But dueling pizza families?? I can do that.

    Awesome review Jen.

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    1. IDK, the eyeballs are kind of cool and creepy at the same time…

      I think you'd like this. Especially since you love the dueling chocolate family books :)

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  5. There is pizza in this book?! My parents owned a Pizza Restaurant and I worked there all through high school so I am like obligated to read any book I come across with a Pizzeria! Thanks for the awesome review =D

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    1. Wow -- then I definitely want to hear what you have to say!!! Read it :)

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  6. So glad you finally read Crash! I totally loved it. Jules brother, Trey, is awesomely lovable. And Sawyer gets more time front and center in Bang, so you MUST read that too.

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    1. Loved Trey -- at first I thought they were friends. They got along so well!!

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  7. Excellent review! Lisa is a local author for me, which is why I picked up this book, but you're right it's quick and snappy and kind of the perfect YA book depending on mood.

    Ashley @ yAdult Review

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  8. Glad you enjoyed. i def would not have read if in verse, I don't do that often

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    1. Yeah, I know that some people enjoy books in verse, but they are almost never a hit for me!

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  9. I wasn't very interested in this book (cover is creepy) and I'm not really craving any paranormal right now. However I am a total sucker for anything R&J related so that aspect is making me reconsider my decision to not read this.

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  10. I'm so glad you enjoyed this Jen! And I'm beyond happy to hear a review of mine inspired you to give it a chance! They are such fun books. :)

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  11. Go Go GO! haha I am on a mission to get to my goodreads challenge! So page count has been a factor this week :) I thought this book was middle of the road, it got a bit cheesy at times for me.

    Ashley @ The Quiet Concert

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    1. Cheesy? Is that a pizza pun you just made??

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  12. LOL! This is another book that I need to get into quickly. Like you, I'm falling behind on books that I say I'm going to read but just don't get to them.

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  13. Hmmm, I was wondering about this book for a while, and I might give it a try. Sometimes we need uncomplicated books that aren't necessarily epic and that can be read fast and are slightly shorter. I'll be saving Crash for that moment!
    Thanks for your review!

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  14. I haven't read this particular book of Lisa's but I did enjoy her Dream Catcher series-It too was a short and awesome read. I think you might enjoy it so you should give it a try. :)

    The whole 'Romeo and Juliet of the pizza world' definitely makes Crash sound like a compelling read so I think I'll give this one a try when I'm in the mood for something light.

    Good Luck with your Goodreads Challenge! :)

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  15. I've actually read Wake, one of Lisa McMann's books, and well... I didn't like it. At all. But I guess this book doesn't sound that bad- it sounds quite good, to be honest! And after "Romeo and Juliet of the pizza world"- I was sold!

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  16. Sounds like a cute book. I probably won't get to this one for now. Maybe in the future. :)

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  17. I liked this one, especially the star-crossed lovers from pizza families element, but for some reason, I haven't made the sequel a priority. I really remember enjoying the humor, so I'm not sure why I haven't gotten to it yet. I'm sure it's not the giant eyeball on the cover, though. :P

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  18. I have seen Lisa McMann at a couple of author events and I just love the way she presents herself, but sadly I am quite behind in reading her books. Every one of them that I have read, I have loved though.

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