Shock Point - April Henry

SHOCK POINT
AUTHOR: April Henry
Genre: Teen Fiction
ISBN-13: 9780142412404
NO. OF PAGES: 185
PUBLISHER: Speak (2008) [an imprint of Penguin group(USA) inc.]
PRICE: Rs. 827 (on flipkart.com)

BOOK COVER SAYS: Without warning, Cassie is thrown in the back of a van and shipped off to peaceful cove, a boot camp in Mexico for troubled teens. her stepfather, Rick, has convinced Cassie's mom that Cassie needs help and that Peaceful Cove is a wonderful place. But Cassie knows the real reason why Rick wants to get rid of her:Rick, a child psychiatrist, has been prescribing Socom, an experimental drug to his teen patients. She knows Rick will make a lot of money if Socom is approved by the FDA. And she's unearthed the fact that three of Rick's patient's have died after taking it. Now Cassie has discovered the truth about Peaceful Cove ,too: it's really a brutal prison, where the only way out is to make it to graduation. But by then, more kids could die. Can Cassie escape and tell the world what she knows? And even if she does,will anyone believe her?


EXCERPT:  She arched her back even more frantically,managed to get her mouth free. "Mom - Mom! Help me! Mom!"

Her mom looked at Cassie, then away. Something was terribly wrong. 


SWARNALI SPEAKS: I got this book as a gift on winning the New Year's giveaway here. Honestly I regret even choosing this one. Saw this marked as a "psychological thriller" as a site and since I love psychological thrillers,I had great expectations on this one. But I was disappointed when I realised it was a teen fiction (as printed on the book), something that I never liked,even in my early teens. This book has nothing,absolutely nothing to do with psychology whatsoever!!

Cassie is the usual rebellious teen whose mother got remarried. As expected,Cassie is suspicious of his activities and does not trust him. Accidentally she discovers the shocking reports of an experimental drug Socom administered to teens by Rick,her step father. With her friend Thatcher, Cassie prepares to unveil the dark truths hidden from the FDA. But before she thinks of a plan,Rick transports her to Peaceful Cove in Mexico,a place to treat "troubled teens". Little does Cassie's mother knows what is in store for her daughter at the Cove. 

The narrative in the books is good and simple but the plot line is really very weak,anybody can predict what comes next. From the horrors at the brutal prison that Peaceful Cove actually is to Cassie's dream escape from the place and the almost fairly-tale like "happily ever after" end,I found nothing exciting in the book. The excerpt given at the back of the book is everything it has inside,just with a few more details. The book reminds me of great movies like "Babel" and "The Shawshank Redemption". All the characters in the book are stereotyped, all sketchily drawn- the evil step-father, the timid mom,the ever suspicious step-daughter and the newly-found BFF who is overly helpful. If you like fairy tale romance cum thrillers, this book is for you.

MY RATING: 2/5