Dark Eyes (edition 2012)

While this book was good, it is not a good book for young teens. It includes teenage sex, lots of gun battles and death and cuss words. I would only recommend for older teens/young adults. That said, I did enjoy the book, it was fast moving but a darker theme with homeless children, abused children and their life on the street as well as the story of the main character. ( )

This review first appeared on The Book Zone(For Boys) blog

The words they used in the publisher's blurb for this book seemed designed to suck me in: thriller, fast-paced, intelligent - just my kind of thing. Add in a female protagonist and a tagline of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo for teens and I was equal parts excited and intrigued, and although I'm not sure it is a particularly valid comparison, Dark Eyes is still a thoroughly entertaining and fresh YA story.

Main character Wally is not a particularly easy character to warm to. Adopted from Russia as a child by a wealthy American couple she has never had to want for anything. However, this is not enough for her and she now spends her life squatting in empty New York buildings, helping her small group of friends to live off the streets, selling on anything they can scavenge. She comes across as somewhat spoiled and arrogant at first, but persevere as she will begin to grow on you.

Her fake ID having been stolen, Wally heads out to Brighton Beach to score a new one, and her life suddenly gets turned completely upside down, as the guy she goes to see hands over a package containing a gem stone, a manila folder of documents, and a letter addressed to her using her original Russian name. What's more, Wally also finds herself being followed by person or persons unknown. So begins an exciting, modern thriller that twists and turns as Wally becomes obsessed with finding out the meaning of the letter and thus the truth behind her adoption, putting her life, and those of her friends, in extreme danger.

I suggested that readers need to persevere as far as warming to Wally's character is concerned, and this also applies to the story as a whole. Unlike many YA stories it doesn't race along at a breakneck pace from the first chapter. Instead, it builds slowly, gradually building the tension as Wally puts together the various pieces that reveal a story involving russian mob bosses, betrayal, deception and murder. Once the back story is covered the pace then picks up, and I found it very difficult to put the book down, desperate to get to the story's conclusion.

I recently posted a review for Crusher by Niall Leonard, in which I applauded the author's inclusion of swearing, violence and a small, non-graphic sex scene. William Richter does exactly the same in Dark Eyes - the violence isn't tempered and the language is exactly what you might expect to hear from teenagers who have been living on the streets. Just like Crusher, this book is just one step from being an adult thriller, just as its intended readers are knocking on the door of adulthood, and as such it is right that includes these more adult elements, although I know that some parents, teachers and librarians will disagree with me. ( )

Sixteen-year-old Wallace “Wally” Stoneman was adopted by a wealthy family in NYC when she was younger. The posh lifestyle never suited Wally, so she left home to live on the streets. She feels more at home with her street crew, and the bond they share feels more familial than the rich lifestyle she led with her adoptive parents.

When a girl Wally knows is murdered, a chain of events is set into motion that will lead Wally to answers of who she really is, where she came from and who her birth mother is. What Wally doesn’t know is that she is the daughter of a hardened Russian arms dealer who has recently escaped from prison and is also after her mother. When father and daughter cross paths, there will be blood.

The book takes place in and around New York, focusing mainly on Wally’s life on the streets. I loved the atmosphere the author created. The streets held a sense of danger, but they never felt as dangerous as some of the other, more serene places that Wally travels to as she searches for her mother, and tries to evade her murderous father.

All of the characters are very well-drawn. I liked Wally, though at times I felt she was almost a little too determined. Luckily she had her “crew” (Jake, Ella and Tevin) to help her out and keep her grounded. I really enjoyed the family they’d created. One thing I wish I’d gotten a better handle on was Wally’s relationship with her adoptive mother, Claire. It seemed weird to me that Wally would pop in on occasion and Claire would try and connect, and then Wally would up and leave again. I think if I were Claire, I would have locked her ass in her room so she couldn’t leave again. The fact that Claire was willing to let her come and go like this surprised me, because Claire did love Wally. It wasn’t one of those “I don’t want you around” type of relationships.

The writing fit the tone of the novel perfectly. This is more of a plot-driven, than character driven book, which is fine. I expected that. The pace is very fast and there are a ton of twists and turns. Some of them didn’t surprise me, but it was still enjoyable. After reading so many paranormal books, it was nice to step into a fast-paced crime thriller.

Before I started reading YA, I primarily read adult thrillers and mysteries, so it was nice to be able to combine my love of crime thrillers and YA. This was just the book I needed to break up the monotony of all of the paranormal and end-of-the-world books I’ve read lately. This is definitely a series I will continue to follow. ( )

Adopted at age 5 from a Russian orphanage by a wealthy American couple, Wallis Stoneman evolves into a hardened runaway at age 16. As she goes on a quest to find her Russian birth mother, Wally learns that her biological father is a ruthless Russian gangster who broke from prison. Klesko will stop at nothing (even murder) to get what he feels he is owed. Wally learns some tragic secrets as she's caught in the dangerous crossfire.

Very intense thriller that makes no bones about being gritty in terms of violence as well as language. There were some parts that dragged though, plus the ending had some strange twists that seemed to linger on. Not a breeze-thru by any means, but good overall; would recommend to those 7th grade (not younger!) and up who like suspense. ( )

The first thing I need to say about Dark Eyes is that it isn't a normal YA book, or the type of books we are used to read in the YA section. There are no vampires or any type of mythical creature, and there isn't the typical teenager romance story either. This book is completely different and much more complicated than you can ever think.

The story is about a girl, Wally, who was born in Russia, adopted and brought to america when she was a kid. She doesn't remember anything about her past life, but of course, those memories aren't going to be lost forever. She has run away from home, she is living on the streets with some friends, and suddenly her life becomes something more complicated when she finds something about her mother, her father and her real self. Now, her life won't be the same.

Even though this book caught my attention from the very first moment I read the synopsis, I couldn't enjoy it at all. The writing style was perfect and it was easy to read, and sometimes I thought I was reading a script of an action movie. It was very detailed and very well done, but I was missing something. Maybe the characters were too plain. Maybe I didn't like Wally at all. She was a tough girl, or perhaps that is what the author wanted to show us, but I didn't see her like that. She was only a rebellious girl, a runaway. I think I would have liked her more if she didn't have a home and she needed to live in the streets and not for the lame excuse that she preferred a life on the streets than in a nice place with a family. I didn't get that and I couldn't understand her character for that simple thing.

Another thing that I didn't like about this book is that even with all that mystery and suspense, the book is quite simple, predictable and sometimes there were too many coincidences. All the information was there, always, the only thing Wally needed to do was appear in the right moment to be able to collect it. Too easy, for me. And that made me think that the story was a little bit plain and poorly elaborated.

I'm giving this book three stars. I liked it, it was a good read if you don't have anything to do, or anything more to read. I'm sure a lot of readers will agree with me, but others will think that this book is the best book that they have ever read. There's no accounting for taste. ( )