Review: Wanted: Dead or in Love by Kym Brunner

Title: Wanted: Dead or in Love
Author: Kym Brunner
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Merit Press
Publish Date: June 30, 2014
Source: I received a copy from the publisher; however, this did not affect my review.

 What's the Story?:

From Goodreads.com: "Impulsive high school senior Monroe Baker is on probation for a recent crime, but strives to stay out of trouble by working as a flapper at her father's Roaring 20's dinner show theater. When she cuts herself on one of the spent bullets from her father's gangster memorabilia collection, she unwittingly awakens Bonnie Parker's spirit, who begins speaking to Monroe from inside her head.

Later that evening, Monroe shows the slugs to Jack, a boy she meets at a party. He unknowingly becomes infected by Clyde, who soon commits a crime using Jack's body. The teens learn that they have less than twenty-four hours to ditch the criminals or they'll share their bodies with the deadly outlaws indefinitely."

My Two Cents:

The premise for "Wanted: Dead or in Love" is fascinating. Monroe, a teen, who is at risk of developing a rap sheet for herself becomes inhabited by the spirit of Bonnie Parker, as in the Bonnie from Bonnie & Clyde. Her new friend, Jack, becomes inhabited by Clyde. Neither one of them are sure of what is happening to them but they realize early on that they need to put a stop to it before they get in more trouble. This is a highly imaginative young adult read that will have you flipping the pages quickly.

I really liked how the author split up the narrative. Part belongs to Monroe and part belongs to Clyde. I thought it was a really interesting choice to only have one member of the present duo and one member of the past duo narrate. It was interesting to see their take on each other's times and stories. I especially liked reading how Clyde was seeing things from within Jack's body. It was a really interesting perspective.

This book is a lot of fun. The story line is very different and will appeal to many different kinds of readers. I loved that it had both a present element and a past element (you all know how I love my historical fiction). You also have an almost sci-fi/ fantasy element with the whole spiritual inhabiting. I loved how Brunner was able to capture Bonnie and Clyde's language and way of speaking. You can almost picture them saying the things that they were saying in the book. I love when characters' voices are that vivid! It really makes for fun reading!