Rites of Passage
Author: Joy N. Hensley
Publication Date: September 9th 2014
Publisher: Harper Teen
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~
Sam McKenna’s never turned down a dare. And she's not going to start with the last one her brother gave her before he died.
So Sam joins the first-ever class of girls at the prestigious Denmark Military Academy. She’s expecting push-ups and long runs, rope climbing and mud-crawling. As a military brat, she can handle an obstacle course just as well as the boys. She's even expecting the hostility she gets from some of the cadets who don’t think girls belong there. What she’s not expecting is her fiery attraction to her drill sergeant. But dating is strictly forbidden and Sam won't risk her future, or the dare, on something so petty...no matter how much she wants him.
As Sam struggles to prove herself, she discovers that some of the boys don’t just want her gone—they will stop at nothing to drive her out. When their petty threats turn to brutal hazing, bleeding into every corner of her life, she realizes they are not acting alone. A decades-old secret society is alive and active… and determined to force her out.
At any cost.
Now time's running short. Sam must decide who she can trust...and choosing the wrong person could have deadly consequences
Rites of Passage is one of those rare books I probably would
never have picked up, and the only reason why I did in the first place was
because of the Dare behind it all. This is also one of those times I'd let
someone slap me for being so stupid. This is probably going to be a rambling
review because that's just how it goes with ones you love, you can never sit
down and focus enough to write something that says just exactly what Rites of
Passage means and is, because there's just so many things about it that I loved
and right now, sentences are popping into my head and then leave.
I have never been to a military school, but, we did have a
military course day in school once and God it was exhausting watching people
run and jump and scramble. I ran, away from
it. Nah, it was for a different year than I was in, so we didn't get a chance
anyway.
I'll start with the characters, which is easy! I wanted to
hit 95% of them. But those 5% we're just so wonderful I don't even care. I
wanted to hit Matthews so hard just to wipe that stupid smile off his face. I
wanted Sam to stand up to him (though she can't or she'll get kicked out) but
she was standing up in her own way. By taking everything they threw at her (and
it was a lot) by doing nothing but
standing her ground. She fought and scrambled, she got hurt but she was so
determined that you can't help root for her. I mean, I rooted for her in the
beginning anyway, but once you start to get to know her better throughout Rites
of Passage, she's the type of person you want on your side. Someone who's real
and funny and strong, but it doesn't mean she's a rock. She took the dare in
the first place because she can't say no to one, but she also took it because
it was the last thing she had of her brother, who'd killed himself. I just wanted to hug her.I usually don't like forbidden romances, but I totally shipped this one, not that's it's a real forbidden one in the first place, it's not a the worlds going to end if we get together or start a war , it's just that they're not allowed to date above their station. But, the tension, and the cuteness and the protectiveness and just Drill. I JUST WANTED THEM TO KISS ALREADY, OKAY?
This isn't a bad complaint, but more of a want-a-little-more
complaint. Things were realistically tied up, and not tied up neatly, it has
loose ends (not with the story, but the romance), which is why I'd love to see
the characters again. We all know Standalone's don't always stay standalones,
you see, they meet in the dark with the characters and create babies. Being
serious though, if any standalone deserves to be turned into a series, It's
Rites of Passage, and not because it's
not all tied up nicely, but because I don't want to say goodbye to the
characters or the story yet.
SERIES. NOW. PLEASE? :(
Rating: 5/5
