Review: Seven Deadlies by Gigi Levangie

Title: Seven Deadlies: A Cautionary Tale
Author: Gigi Levangie Grazer
Genre: (I have no idea)
Publisher: Blue Rider Press
Length: 256 pages
Original Publishing Date: October 17th, 2013
Series: Standalone
Where I got it: NetGalley
Links: Goodreads Amazon Author's Website

Synopsis from Goodreads:  
"New York Times bestselling author Gigi Levangie Grazer returns with Seven Deadlies, a witty and wildly different novel set amid the sinful reaches of Beverly Hills, narrated by a captivating, gimlet-eyed Mexican-American heroine."
 
Main characters: 5/5
Our main characters Perry is a fourteen year old Mexican-American girl living in Beverly Hills. She attends a private academy and between extracurricular activities and tutoring five days a week, she is kept pretty busy. It was difficult to find out a lot about Perry at first because she narrates these seven stories. Although she is present in each one (as the tutor or babysitter), she is not the main focus. Perry's voice knocked me clean off my feet though. She is sassy, funny, witty and strong. I just want to pull out a couple lines so you can get an idea of how unique her voice is:

• "(I've had more success at kissing since then, I'll have you know. Not everyone runs away after kissing me"

• "I had become a fanatic, spending every spare moment (spare moments being rather spare in my life) researching the Seven Deadlies, as I like to call them. (I wanted to make them hashtag-friendly, give them a catchy social media moniker.)"

• "This is what they call a "game changer" on ESPN."

Perry had me laughing out loud and her refreshing and engaging voice was so much fun to read!

Secondary characters: 4/5
Perry's mom, Yelena Maria Gonzales, is described at one point by Perry as "the Buddha". Yeah, that's a lot to live up to. Yelena was mostly included in the story to give Perry advice about her students and give Perry herself life advice. This unfortunately meant that Yelena came up a little one-dimensional and I wondered what was actually so great about her, other than the advice-giving.
Perry's students were something else. They were larger than life (as they were meant to be), quirky and outrageous.

Writing style: 5/5
I love the framing of how Perry is writing to an Admissions Committee (this one is in the first sentence, so I hope it's not a spoiler). I loved the illustrations inside the book. I loved how quickly the book moved. I loved the breakup of the smaller stories. I loved Perry's voice. I loved the fairytale style of the tales.

Plot: 5/5
You guys, I don't even know where to start with this book and I think that anything I tell you will be a spoiler. Essentially, we follow Perry along her journey tutoring seven different children who each have/are represented by a different deadly sin. Beyond that, the only thing I can tell you is you need to read this one for yourself! This plot was 100% wholly original and refreshing. I never knew what was coming for me and I loved the blind twists and turns.

Ending: 4/5
What the what the what??? I don't know what to think. I can't even write anything.

Best scene: The ending

Reminded Me Of:  Is it weird if I say Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle? You read it and let me know what you think on this one.

Positives: Perry & her refreshing and witty narrative voice, the complete uniqueness and originality of the plot, that ending (!),

Negatives: I don't even know... (I'm speechless)

Cover: I'm in love with this quirky sketched cover and I think it represents the novel perfectly.

Verdict: A completely unique story with a one-of-a-kind main character. It's so different that I can't compare it to anything else and it completely blew me out of the water.

Rating: 9.6/10 (5 stars)

Your Thoughts: Have you read it? What did you think? If you haven't, will you be adding it to your TBR list? Let me know!