Review: Exposure by Kim Askew and Amy Helmes

Exposure by Kim Askew and Amy Helmes

Review by Lauren

copy sent for review but all opinions are our own

Official Summary: Double, double, toil, and trouble! The quest for high-school royalty can turn deadly when teen ambition outstrips reason. Skye Kingston is a shy shutterbug who prefers observing life from behind her camera lens. She doesn’t know she’s stunning, and comes off the sidelines only when she’s forced to by the terrifying events of one treacherous school year in Alaska. A boy named Duncan is dead, and his death may or may not be an accident. Skye’s three new best friends are eerily able to foretell the future, and cheerleader Beth might be more than a social climber–she quite probably is a sociopath. Then there’s Skye’s growing attraction to the school hottie, Craig, The Boy Who Would Be Prom King. But their time is crossed by fate. There’s already been one death, and who can say if it’s only the first? As Skye falls for Craig, she also slowly realizes that he is caught in the crosshairs of a deadly plot. Can she save Craig and herself from a murderous fate? Exposure is not only a modern take on the classic Macbeth, it’s proof that nothing has changed since Shakespeare riffed on the subject nearly half a millennium ago: the quest for power can lead to bloodstained hands.

Review: If you remember, I mentioned that I was reading this one a few months ago…amongst all my books for school. Obviously, class titles take precedence and Exposure had to take a backseat, though I tried to read it when I could. Finally, though, I can let you all know what I thought…since I’m sure you were waiting on the edge of your seat for months now. I know, I know. Okay…back to the story.

Skye- I really liked her as a narrator. I relate to her realization that maybe she hid too much in high school. For her, it was behind a camera lens. For me, it was behind a book. I was the quiet girl that always seemed to be reading. I don’t really regret that in high school, but college is ending for me soon and I do wish I did a bit more there. I’m fairly satisfied overall though, and that’s kind of how I feel about Skye. She’s not an annoying character, she’s easily relatable, and she really does care about people…but knows they ultimately have to direct their own life.

As for the re-telling of Macbeth, I enjoyed it! The witches were fun, especially how their prophecies came into a play, since they aren’t really witches. I also liked the use of some names from the original play, when fitting. It wasn’t overdone or weird. They actually looked like high school names in this day and time. Obviously, it’s a bit hardcore for a high school; murder and mayhem and the like. Aspects made sense, since high school is a very emotional and stressing time for people…but the rest you just have to go with and enjoy!

I will admit that since I read this over a longer period of a time than I normally would, I tended to notice more things that annoyed me. In general, this would be a fast read as it’s not very long, so I think many people would enjoy diving into it and finding out how a high school setting can flip Macbeth on its head. However, there were some dialogue (this is an ARC though…) that seemed a bit unrealistic and not at all how you’d image actual teens talking. This was more of a recent thought, as I was finishing up the book these last couple days, so it wasn’t a huge bother throughout. I’m also a bit tired of the idea that a quiet girl doesn’t realize she’s stunning thing. Not all the quiet girls are like this, and it would be nice to have some regular characters that are just that…actually average in looks, but all sorts of awesome in other ways. Regardless, I liked that Skye and Craig (her love interest) actually had a reason for liking each other. This isn’t just Skye crushing on the popular boy in school who suddenly notices her; they had a relationship before popularity and school politics came into play. So points for that at least!

In the end, this was a fun read. I do like Shakespeare, so I’d be curious to read more Twisted Lit novels by these two ladies to see how they twist some more plays from the Bard.