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Hush, Hush (by Becca Fitzpatrick)

common sense media says

Angel-human romance not nearly as heavenly as the cover.


parents & educators say
  • 30% say sexual content is an issue

What parents need to know

Parents need to know this is a confusing book. Not simply a supernatural romance like Twilight, it quotes from the Old Testament in the Bible and other religious texts; this information will baffle non-religious teens and likely insult those who are religious. Twilighters will no doubt be drawn to the cover art with a beautiful young male angel falling from the sky with broken wings. Sex is the heavy-handed theme throughout the book and it makes the innocent, naive character of Nora hard to take seriously. She is also attacked repeatedly by someone in a mask and someone wearing her coat is murdered.

Educational value: Not applicable.
Positive messages: Nora's mother works out of town and leaves Nora alone for days on end so they can afford the mortgage. The discussions of fallen angels and the Nephilim quote both the Bible and more esoteric religious texts such as the Book of Enoch. There is no corresponding discussion of the Judaic or Christian religion or others. Nora falls for Patch and it is supposedly a great romance although Patch repeatedly admits he wants sex.
Positive role models: Patch is Nora's first boyfriend, and she is naive and gullible where he is concerned. No real redeeming characters to speak of.
Violence: Nora reveals early that her father was shot to death. She is attacked multiple times by a person wearing a ski mask and dressed in black. A "bag lady" is murdered because she is wearing Nora's coat. Nora's best friend is attacked and assaulted. Nora's house is broken into.
Sex: Book centers on a deviant race created when fallen angels mate with human females. Lots of discussion of angels who want to have sex with human females, but main character -- a sophomore in high school -- only makes out with her angel. In a prologue a young man has sex with a farmer's daughter in 1595; he pays her with silver.
Language: Pretty mild: "slut" and "skank" are the worst it gets.
Consumerism: Not applicable.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Two male characters drink and/or are drunk. When Nora's best friend is assaulted and lands in the hospital she talks for three pages about enjoying the drugs there.

More on Hush, Hush

What to talk about

Talk to your kids
  • Families can talk about the quotes from the Bible and the other religious texts. They are not fictional; which religions do they represent? What are some of the differences between the religions represented in Hush, Hush?
  • There are many popular culture representations of angels in our society. What do they represent? Why do they appeal to us?
  • Nora puts herself in danger many times. What could or should she have done differently?
  • What do our own family values express about angels? Are there any positive portrayals of angels in this book?

What's the story?

What's the story?
Nora is a sophomore in high school who falls hard for a mysterious new boy in her sex-ed class. But strange things begin happening, and when she finds herself in danger she can't help but suspect him.  She is stalked and then attacked by someone dressed in black and wearing a ski mask; her best friend Vee is attacked. Nora suspects two other boys they recently met, but her friend suspects Patch. Then there is the suspicious new therapist digging into Nora's life. When a homeless person is murdered while wearing Nora's coat and her bedroom is ransacked, the danger escalates, but Nora can't avoid the feelings she has for Patch. As she learns more about fallen angels and a deviant race called the Nephilim, she gets closer to Patch and to unravelling the mystery.

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 

It's oh so promising on the outside and so disappointingly creepy and confusing on the inside ... Bible verses, quotes from esoteric religious texts, angels lusting after human females, and lots of violence mar this supernatural story. There are numerous plot points borrowed from Twilight, but much more violence -- and Nora has none of Bella's intelligence. Her great romance with Patch is marred by his repeated admissions of lust for her and other human girls in his past. He wants dearly to become human, but we are never sure why, other than to have sex with them. There are many opportunities to offend readers, and at the least to confuse the heck out of them, even readers familiar with the more standard lore of the orders of angels.

The adults are mostly absent. The plot rushes from attack to attack. The characters are not developed enough to really engage with them. Sorry, Twilighters, this isn't the next big thing.

Book themes & details

Book Details
Author: Becca Fitzpatrick
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication date: October 1, 2009
Number of pages: 391
Hardcover price: $17.99
Read Aloud: 14
Read Alone: 14

This review was written by Debra Bogart
 
 

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What parents & educators say

13
Based on 10 parent & educator reviews:
  • 30% say sexual content is an issue

Most useful reviews by all members

TAG101
teen, 17 years old
 
Perfect for High School and up, lowest being 7th grade
So totally amazing, I'm 15, in high school and this can help you if you are single. Perfect for single girls, especially Patch ;D

 
Only if you're desperate/need a beautiful book cover for you're bookshelf.
It is extremely rare that I give a bad review on a book which claims to be Young Adult, Fantasy and includes fallen angels, vampires etc... But it had to happen someday. Now, I'm not gonna totally bash Hush, Hush because, as a debut novel, it isn't that bad. However, there are so many things WRONG with this book that you can't excuse it for being a debut: firstly, the characters just didn't connect well enough for me, there wasn't enough chemistry - Patch was far too distant and mysterious and Nora and he spent nowhere near enough quality time together, something which makes it ridiculous to believe that Nora had fallen in love with him. The plot was sort of like the roller-coaster in the book — there were too many ups and downs and twists and turns, most of which didn't really fit with the rest of the novel, and so there were points I was ready to give up I was that bored. I guess, there are things which are appealing about Hush, Hush - the most prominent being the fantastic cover, a feat which almost caused me to forgive the book for the overall disappointment I was left feeling after I ploughed my way though. Although, a good read if there's nothing in the YA, Fantasy Genre that you haven't already read, I would strongly recommend Fallen by Lauren Kate instead!

ErikaErikaErika
teen, 15 years old
 
Perfect for all teens
I loooved this book but it is difficult to understand. It has parts of the bible in it so... mabe advanced readers should read it. Overall 4stars

 
A nice break from vampires...
I really adore this book. Its one of the few that I can read cover to cover then turn back to the first page and start all over again and still be completely engrossed by the characters and the plot. It doesn't have the best role models in the world, with one of the characters being a fallen angel and one of many planning to kill Norah, but its nor influential in any way. The only other notable thing is that the fact that Vee, Norah's best friend is dieting throughout the book, albeit badly, but dieting nonetheless.

Michelle the ...
parent of and 4 , 7 , 11 , 15 year old
 

Julianne
teen, 15 years old
 
You'll love it!
This is a great book about how love overcomes everything. Patch and Nora have the readers rooting for them from the very beginning! I loved this book and stayed up multiple nights reading it. I even made my twin sister read it, and she kept me up all night with the lamp on. LOL Read it, you'll love it!

smileygirl1996
teen, 17 years old
 
Perfect for teenage girls- a totall buy!
This book is really good, i haven't read the whole of it yet but it's good so far.

areoshopper
teen, 13 years old
 
Great book
i loved this book i read it in one day. it has romance and action really a great book the whole fallen angel thing is bad but in the end it gets better. fans of twilight will love this book

H.M.H
teen, 17 years old
 
A must have
Love it, did not stop reading and finished it in 2 day. I ate while reading and i only slept for 4 hours. (slow reader) and I think It is a good book for older teens.

bookworm.5
teen, 17 years old
 
Might be a little ifffyy for kids under 13
I LOVED this book! it was totally great because i was into it, and i didnt find it confusing at all :)

 
I finished reading this, after I finished Serafina67, I believe that this book was amazing. It will captivate readers, it's simply just a page turner. I enjoyed reading and so did my friends whom I let borrow the book. They went out and bought there own after that, I have read it more than twice where as my friend has read it ten times because he loved it. Its great for boys and girls. There is some violence but it's really just play fighting between Patch and his friend and there are some parts where "someone" is trying to kill Nora. There is also a people whom have died in the book but overall its a great book and isn't too graphic. There may be some sexual content that is implied between Nora & Patch but nothing actually happens.

bookworm42
teen, 14 years old
 
A Must Have for Twilighters!
I loved this book. I find the main character, Nora very likable. I also think some of the more minor problems that kids my age and older are facing.

MrsEmmettCullen
teen, 14 years old
 
HushHush 12+
I love this book, totally a buy!

readresponsibly
parent of 3 and 4 year old
 
Clever but too much Bad Boy
It looks like a lot of the teen reviewers liked this book. I thought it was clever, and although I didn't care too much for Nora, she redeemed herself in the end. However, I believe this book promotes that 'bad boy' trend that is happening in the young adult world. Patch doesn't treat Nora well. He's just mean, yet she keeps after him.

gabrielle_0651
teen, 16 years old
 
I LOOOOOVE this book

KatieBabe103195
teen, 16 years old
 
hush hush from a 14 year old girls point of vew
i loved this book im a vampire fanatic so i am obsessed with twilight this book is better nora is a good role modle she is risponsibull and allways trys to use her beest judgment but things gel a little steemy so i wouldent give it to a 11 year old maby 12 depending on how miture they are. good read great author bye it, read it, love it, obsess about it!

ReaderWriter
teen, 14 years old
 
awsome book :)
Great Book! One of the best I've ever read!!! :):):):):):):):)

talulah williams
teen, 15 years old
 
i loved this book. I thought that it had a good story line and the characters were great. I could barely put it down as i just had to know what would happen to Nora and Patch. It is a deinite must read if you like twilight!!!

 
******
I see no plot points that are BORROWED from Twilight, Common Nonsense. Also, Nora is very intelligent. She is a good student. On the newspaper team. Selfless. Ect... While i didn't find this novel to be one of the best i have ever read, it did have some interesting concepts. I liked learning about Patch, and i thought that it was interesting how when Nora touched Patch's wings there were flashbacks. I found the coach funny and the sex ed and Patch's comments even funnier. If i am rating a book for 11 and up it's only because of the social context. I don't think that those younger than that will understand the setting very well. It is not because i am censoring a book. Which is wrong. I'm only basing this on reading level. In My Opinion.

booklover1
teen, 15 years old
 
best book i have ever read i mean it
so good

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