“Hush, Hush” by Becca Fitzpatrick

Hush, Hush triggers: brief moments of male-against-female violence, comments on overweight teens, unhealthy diets.

I first read “Hush, Hush” when I was 16 years old. I was super into the series, which contains 4 books (all of which I will eventually review): 

1. “Hush, Hush” (2009)
2. “Crescendo” (2010) 
3. “Silence” (2011) 
4. “Finale” (2012) 

I did truly enjoy this book again…at least, after the first half. Let’s just say that it was a good thing I didn’t develop my eating disorder until 2013, or this book would have made me feel like utter crap. Here is a list of weight and diet quotes from the first half of this novel: 

1. The main character, Nora, describing her best friend, Vee: “She’s green-eyed, minky blond, and a few pounds over curvy.” 
2. Describing the only foods that Vee is eating so she can lose weight: “Vee was on the color-wheel fruit diet. Three red fruits a day, two blue, a handful of green.” 
3. “Vee kicked me under the table. ‘She’ll have a vanilla-cream-filled doughnut. Make it two.’ ‘So much for the diet, huh?’ I asked Vee.” 
4. Nora’s response to Vee pulling out Hot Tamales: “Let me guess…cinnamon is a fruit?” 
5. The ‘mean girl,’ Marcie, commenting on Vee’s hospital visit: “I hope she stayed clear of those hospital meals, I hear they’re high in fat. She can’t stand to gain a lot of weight.” 
6. Nora describing her body compared to Vee’s: “Vee is voluptuous…Next to Vee, the only thing I have going for me are my legs. And maybe my metabolism.” Hot damn, Becca. 

There are a few other comments about Vee’s weight, usually made by Nora, supposedly Vee’s “best friend.” As a woman “a few pounds over curvy” myself, these comments were almost enough to get me to quit this book. I kept on, however, remembering how much I enjoyed the storyline in high school; thankfully, these comments stop about 55% of the way through the book. As soon as the comments stopped, I was able to fully immerse myself into the plot, and damn, that plot is good! 

Now that I’m (mostly) an adult, I’m more annoyed by how many YA paranormal-romance novels play out. There’s always an abundance of gaslighting and sex combined with a lack of a good storyline. Whenever the girl finds out about her crush’s paranormal background, it happens quickly and unbelievably (*cough* Twilight). Fitzpatrick does a great job of leading up to the reveal of Patch’s background as a fallen angel. While Nora does do a little research after noticing Patch’s wing-shaped scars and sensing his off-ness, most of the reveal happens when she touches Patch’s scars by accident and is swept into visions of how he fell and why he came into her life. It wasn’t rushed, it was believable, and it was very well-written. 

I also have an issue with these YA novels and how poorly they’re edited. I can’t help but roll my eyes at the dozens of grammar mistakes because teen sex tends to overwhelm any need for a real storyline. As a result, I really keep an eye out for aforementioned mistakes. Yeah, it’s judgmental, but you can’t really expect anything else from me. Thankfully, Fitzpatrick’s editor did a great job with this first book. 

Patch also doesn’t gaslight Nora in the way that characters like Daemon from “Lux,” Edward from “Twilight,” and Clary from “Mortal Instruments” do. He isn’t outright honest, but he’s not all, “You’re just imagining things, are you sure you don’t need mental help?” He even consistently tells Nora that he’s hiding dark stuff from her, which is absent from many of these paranormal series. 

To get political, it’s also interesting to see how Fitzpatrick represents the way police treat women, particularly young women. When Becca has to make calls about threats on her life, the police come and treat her like she just wants attention. An actual quote from one of these cops after she calls 911: “We need to ask you a few questions…Have you recently broken up with a boyfriend? [Gag]. How about drugs? Have you had a problem, now or in the past? [Piss off]. You mentioned you live with your mom. How about Dad? [Up yours, asshole].” 

What a realistic commentary on what it’s like to deal with 95% of policemen (unless, of course, you’re a cis-hetero white male). 

While the topic of fallen angels isn’t unique to paranormal romance novels, this particular storyline is unique and well-written. I give “Hush, Hush” 4/5 stars; the storyline itself is a 5, but due to the problematic comments about weight, I knocked one off. If you have an eating disorder, I do not recommend this book.