Top Ten Tuesday: Father's Day Edition

hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This week's Ten:

Father's Day Related Freebie
10 Eight Memorable Book Fathers

Some of these fathers are very, very good, some are very, very bad, some aren't either of those, some are central characters in the book, some are barely present, but all left an impression and were memorable for some reason or another:

Atticus Finch
in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee


Captain Slate
in The Girl from Everywhere by Heidi Heilig


Maverick
in The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

 Darren (and his father, too)
in The Museum of You by Carys Bray

 John Milton
in Traitor Angels by Anne Blankman


Dill's father
in The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner


Billy Dent
in Jasper Dent series by Barry Lyga


Teddy Favors
in How High the Moon by Sandra Kring

Please leave a comment and let me know what book dads you most remember!

Blood of My Blood ~ Barry Lyga (earc) review [@barrylyga @lbkids]

Blood of My Blood (Jasper Dent #3)
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
September 9, 2014
480 pages
add to Goodreads/buy from Book Depo/or Amazon

Synopses and my reviews for I Hunt Killers (#1) and Game (#2) - if you want to remain spoiler-free check out those posts, not this one!

Jazz Dent has been shot and left to die in New York City. His girlfriend Connie is in the clutches of Jazz's serial killer father, Billy. And his best friend Howie is bleeding to death on the floor of Jazz's own home in tiny Lobo's Nod. Somehow, these three must rise above the horrors their lives have become and find a way to come together in pursuit of Billy. But then Jazz crosses a line he's never crossed before, and soon the entire country is wondering: "Like father, like son?" Who is the true monster?

The chase is on, and beyond Billy there lurks something much, much worse. Prepare to meet...the Crow King.

What could be worse than having your father, perhaps the most notorious serial killer or the police after you? Having both your father, the serial killer and law enforcement trying to get you. Such is the situation Jasper "Jazz" Dent, son of the infamous Billy Dent, faces in Blood of My Blood

When Game, the second book in the trilogy ended, Jazz, his best friend Howie and girlfriend Connie were all in danger, perhaps mortal danger. Can they save themselves and each other?

Blood of My Blood has (at least if you ask me) a creepier cover than the previous two books and it is a great reflection of the story inside. Both of the other books had blood, murder and some squicky descriptions of both, the trilogy's conclusion pushes things even further. It is definitely an older YA novel.

Yet some of what you may not want to read, those bits that really push things, are also some of what make the book so good. It seems to all be coming together for Jazz - what being raised by a serial killer means for who he is and who Howie and Connie think he's capable of being.

Now with his dad, Billy, back in the picture, not only are they, Connie, especially, in physical danger, Jazz will have to truly confront what being Billy Dent's son means for him.

Not to mention the Crow King.

The more things come together, the clearer it is that none of them can end this on their own.  As unconventional (and unsupported) as their relationships have been, they have always been there for each other. Is that still possible or have things - and Jazz - finally gone too far.

Blood of My Blood is a terrific conclusion to the Jasper Dent trilogy. More of Jasper's past  - things hinted at in the other books - is revealed and a new light shed on some earlier events, as well. The characters, from Jazz and Howie and Connie to G William and Hughes and beyond, really shine. The action and the course the story follows really have them at some of their best.

To keep this spoiler-free, I will just say that how everything came together and was concluded was brilliant. It is not all something you see coming, fits the characters and the series very well and does both justice. Blood of My Blood is a great way to end a series and one you should absolutely read (after reading I Hunt Killers and Game, of course).




Digital copy received for review from publisher through NetGalley - thank you.

Barry Lyga ~ Game (earc) review

Game (Jasper Dent #2)
Little, Brown Young Readers
April 16, 2013
517 pages
add to Goodreads/buy from Book Depo/or Amazon

(may contain spoilers for Book #1, I Hunt Killers - review link)

I Hunt Killers introduced the world to Jasper (Jazz) Dent, the son of the world's most infamous serial killer.

 When a desperate New York City detective comes knocking on Jazz's door asking for help with a new case, Jazz can't say no. The Hat-Dog Killer has the Big Apple--and its police force running scared with no leads. So Jazz and his girlfriend Connie hop on a plane to the big city and get swept up in a killer's murderous game.

Meanwhile, Jazz's dad Billy is watching...and waiting.

Barry Lyta's I Hunt Killers (my review HERE), the first book featuring Jasper Dent, the song of serial kiler Billy Dent, was released in April 2012. It's sequel, Game, out this past April, also features Jasper working to figure out what his upbringing -- being  raised by one of the nation's most notorious killers -- means for who he is and how to avoid the seeds Billy tried to plant in his head.

Working to stay on the side of 'good,' Jazz is pulled into helping the New York police department try to catch the Hat-Dog Killer. But nothing's ever as simple as it would seem . . . and Billy's never far from Jazz's life.

Game does the same great job as I Hunt Killers with keeping the technical, investigation-y side of the story either very real or, at the very least, very real seeming. A lot of the story either involves or at least includes police and detective work so having it fit so well into the story was crucial.

Jazz's inner turmoil over who or what he is, is done very well. The 'Billy voice' he hears in his head, things his father either tried to teach him or sayings his father used to have, really gives the reader a great idea of Jazz's struggle. We continue to learn more in this novel about how Jazz grew up, how things happened. (I continue to hate Billy Dent a little bit extra for, Rusty, the dog, every time he's mentioned.) We also learn a little more about Billy in Game, too.

The fantastic Howie, Jazz's best friend with hemophilia and his girl friend Connie who's African American (worth mentioning only because her race is something the characters have to contend with) are both back. They're both great matches for Jazz. Though Howie does back down a bit more -- likely due to the fragility his hemophilia causes, Connie has fire and will go toe to toe with both of them on anything. They're personalities are brilliant matches. All three of them.

Game gives us some great character developments but it also has some superb plot, especially later on in the novel, that is not to miss. It will definitely leave you waiting, anxiously, on Book 3.

Rating: 8/10







received from publisher through NetGalley--thank you

I Hunt Killers ~ Barry Lyga (eARC) review

I Hunt Killers
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
April 3, 2012
368 pages
add to Goodreads/buy on Amazon /or Book Depository

What if the world's worst serial killer was your father?

That's the question asked by Barry Lyga's new book I Hunt Serial Killers - the question Jasper Dent has to deal with every day of his life. Billy Dent, his father, has been in jail for the past four years, but that doesn't stop the people of Lobo's Nod, the town where they lived (and Jasper still lives) from looking at Jasper "Jazz," strangely.

He might be charming and attractive and he was popular before his father's arrest but now people wonder how long it'll be before he becomes just like his infamous father.

And now bodies are stacking up in Lobo's Nod again. To keep his name clean - and maybe his conscious, too - Jazz is helping the police find the killer. Only, he may be even more like his father than anyone suspects.


I Hunt Killers has a main character in 17-year-old Jazz that will set you on edge. Certain events/recollections are definitely of the skin crawling variety, as well. Without either of those things, though, the novel would not have been nearly as good. The squicky - and frankly, rather gross and disturbing - bits needed to be there.

As much as I Hunt Killers is about finding a killer, it's also about Jazz trying to figure out who he is. Yes, he's the son of a serial killer who killed more than one hundred people and who raised him with knowledge of and talk about those kills . . . but what does that mean for him as he grows older? Is he, like everyone (or who he sees as everyone) seems to think, doomed to follow in his father's footsteps? Or can he turn away from the negativity and be a good person?

Jazz's inner struggle, the mystery, and the crime were all done incredibly well. One element wasn't lacking because of another's presence, they were all strong. The characters were also great. Through Jazz's grandmother we get to see a lot of how family dynamics and upbringing affected both Billy and Jazz - with it being shown and not told, something that makes the effect much stronger. The characters who are closest to Jazz are a lot of fun for their parts in the story. They're unique and original and I loved seeing the parts they played not only in his life but also in the unveiling of the story line as it progressed.

I Hunt Killers also seemed to handle the technical aspects of both the investigation of the murders, the handling of the evidence, etc very well (or if it was wrong it was written in a way that seemed very right).

Rating: 9/10


Thank you to the publisher & NetGalley for my e-galley of this title