Bang by Lisa McMann [Review]

4 out of 5 Robots!

  

Bang by Lisa McMann
Series: Visions #2
Genre: YA Paranormal
Release: October 8, 2014
Hardcover: 256 Pages
Publisher: Simon Pulse
My Copy: Purchased
Reviewer: Shannon
Buy the Book: Amazon

Book Summary:

Jules should be happy. She saved a lot of people’s lives and she’s finally with Sawyer, pretty much the guy of her dreams. But the nightmare’s not over, because she somehow managed to pass the psycho vision stuff to Sawyer. Excellent.

Feeling responsible for what he’s going through and knowing that people’s lives are at stake, Jules is determined to help him figure it all out. But Sawyer’s vision is so awful he can barely describe it, much less make sense of it. All he can tell her is there’s a gun, and eleven ear-splitting shots. Bang.

Jules and Sawyer have to work out the details fast, because the visions are getting worse and that means only one thing: time is running out. But every clue they see takes them down the wrong path. If they can’t prevent the vision from happening, lives will be lost. And they may be among the casualties…

(Courtesy of the Publisher)

Shannon's Thoughts:

Bang is the follow up to Crash and begins shortly after the final events in the first book.  Jules find herself the hero after saving Sawyer and his family's restaurant from a horrible fate.  She and Sawyer are finally together, albeit in secret due to the feud between their families.  She is no longer seeing visions, but she quickly discovers that Sawyer is now the one with visions.  They are both a little reluctant to put themselves in harm's way, especially since Jules was gravely injured in her rescue of Sawyer.  But they also realize they can't just leave people to die.  And so they set off to follow the clues in Sawyer's vision to see if they can stop the shooting.  Jules and Sawyer also have a lot of family problems to deal with.  Jules and her siblings find themselves rebelling more and more against their strict parents, especially when it comes to their father's mental illness and temper.  There is also the lingering effects of Jules' father's affair with Sawyer's mother.  Jules is the only one who knows of the affair out of Sawyer and her siblings, but she has a lot of anger towards her father and the feud that developed between the families as a result of the affair.  This feud is what keeps her from being able to openly date Sawyer.  Things are not easy for Sawyer either.  He really struggles with the visions and has family issues as well.

One thing I really I like about this series is the complex relationships between everyone.  I thought they were even more authentic in this sequel and I thought the pain, anger, and love were very well done.  I absolutely adore the relationship Jules has with her brother and sister.  They may bicker, but I love that they ultimately have each others' backs.

I also found Bang to be a little less angsty than Crash.  It also got to the point rather quickly and the plot seemed to flow better.  It is a bit darker than the first book.  I just found it to be better balanced all around.

The only thing I found a little off-putting was that Bang is told from Jules' perspective still.  Sometimes I thought it worked out since we didn't have to go into the vision a gazillion times like we did when Jules had the vision.  But at the same time, it was frustrating to only get the vision through Jules' perspective.  I would have also liked to learn more about Sawyer, especially where his family problems are concerned.  I would have definitely been interested in reading from Sawyer's perspective.

Overall, a short, fast-paced and intense novel.  It isn't perfect, but it flies by quickly.

Other books in this series in the order that they should be read:
1. Crash
2. Bang
3. Gasp (expected publication June 2014)