Book Review: Game (Jasper Dent #2) by Barry Lyga

Title: Game (Jasper Dent #2)
Author: Barry Lyga
Pages: 528
Publication: April 16, 2013
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Summary taken from goodreads:

Billy grinned. “Oh, New York,” he whispered. “We’re gonna have so much fun.” 

I Hunt Killers introduced the world to Jazz, the son of history’s most infamous serial killer, Billy Dent. 

In an effort to prove murder didn’t run in the family, Jazz teamed with the police in the small town of Lobo’s Nod to solve a deadly case. And now, when a determined New York City detective comes knocking on Jazz’s door asking for help, he can’t say no. The Hat-Dog Killer has the Big Apple–and its police force–running scared. So Jazz and his girlfriend, Connie, hop on a plane to the big city and get swept up in a killer’s murderous game.

5 STARS - IT WAS AMAZING

MY REVIEW:

You have no idea how excited I was to get my hands on this book! After reading (and loving) I HUNT KILLERS last year, I was already dying for the sequel to come out because I thought that the cliffhanger ending of I HUNT KILLERS was bad, leaving me constantly anticipating for the sequel's release. 

I was wrong.

So wrong.

GAME's cliffhanger ending took its predecessor's ending and put it through shock therapy for a month. That's how shocking and twisted and crazy this whole book was--not just the ending. The ending was unexpected, and while some people could have seen it coming, I did not and was therefore thrown for a complete loop when I reached the last page and found out that the book was over, leaving me with ten times more questions than I started out reading the book. 

But like I said, this book is like shock therapy: there's so much craziness happening trying to figure out the big picture that you're pretty much reeling from everything, dazed and disoriented from all of the events occurring one after another. The quick pacing and back-to-back events leave both you and the characters tense, on the edge of your seats, hardly giving you a break to process everything until the end when it's over, and you're still full of questions. For such a thick book, it doesn't take long to finish it because the story's so gripping.

And the characters! I'm glad that the book was split into so many different perspectives. While I HUNT KILLERS was Jazz's show, GAMES wasn't just about him, so I was happy to see Connie and Howie's perspective too. Although they're still side characters, the two are definitely more real and important than just comic relief and the voice of reason. In GAME, you find out just how awesome Connie is, using all of those lessons Jazz taught her, and about Howie's heroics and fragility--and I can't say anymore because spoilers! D:

So if you haven't read I HUNT KILLERS yet, get to it! And if you have, GAME does not disappoint, so grab a copy when you can!