11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Compelling, but softer then I expected, December 3, 2007
This review is from: Snitch (Paperback)
Julia Divino is a good girl, not squeaky clean but good. she's an A student with plans for college, and she vowed a years ago never to join a gang. Julia has friends in the life and that's as close as she wants to get.
Eric Valiente, Julia's dream guy. They meet he likes her, they'er togeather and it's amazing. Julia's falling fast and hard. but when Eric gets jumped in everything goes wrong. Julia is faced with choices and decisions that she never imagined having to make, and what happens when Eric turns out not to be who he says he is?
This is my First Van Diepen book, so I didn't know what to expect, and I only have two small complaints, 1 Julia has a tendency to get preachy which gets agravating at times. And 2 Given the teaser for Snitch I anticipated a harder edgier storyline. It was still a really decent read though.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Love, Gangs and Life, February 14, 2009
This review is from: Snitch (Paperback)
This was an interesting read for me. I teach in an urban environment and I know that some of my students are involved in gang life. I think this book did a great job of allowing someone to see the reasons why a person would become involved in a gang. Diepen reveals both the risks and the benefits of gangdom in this novel and she shares a glimpse of urban life in general. I thought some of the slang in this book was a little over used, but overall she captured the essence of a real teenage girl. I thought the romance plot was good, but it got a little serious too quickly for me. The characters were acting like they were absolutely in love without justification for it. I would have liked to see the romance develop a little more slowly, but perhaps this is where I am being old and stuffy.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Courtesy of Teens Read Too, March 10, 2008
This review is from: Snitch (Paperback)
Julia and her friends try to stay clear of the gangs that run rampant in her Brooklyn high school. Up until the day that Eric Valiente shows up, she has succeeded. A chance encounter in the dean's office on Eric's first day brings the two of them together.
Julia is instantly attracted to the hot new student, but she's never been the type of girl to score a guy like him. At a school dance, however, Eric makes the first move on Julia, and they quickly become an item.
But Eric has secrets of his own that he's not willing to share. Before long, he has become a member of the Crips gang. This goes against everything Julia believes, and soon, she breaks up with him. But one night at a club, she hears that a rival gang is going to jump Eric. With a subtle warning to Eric, life changes for Julia.
Overnight, she is considered a snitch and loses all of her friends. For her own protection, and against Eric's pleadings, she asks to join the Crips, as well.
Once a Crip always a Crip. At least until the night that the leader of the gang and some of his lieutenants are busted in a raid. All eyes turn to Julia and Eric as the snitches. Can it be happening to her again?
Ms. Van Diepen writes a powerful novel of the struggles to avoid the attraction of inner city gangs. Julia is a strong, independent character who tries valiantly to avoid the politics that goes on in her community. Only when it comes to her own protection does she have to reevaluate where she stands. The story moves quickly and is quite griping and gritty in its details.
Reviewed by: Jaglvr
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