Damned If You Do – A novel that reads like a movie

I picked the book Damned If You Do by Alex Brown from the Teen shelf because the red cover design caught my eye and looked really cool.

The title also seemed interesting and confusing. I didn’t know what it meant so I wanted to read it to find out.

I read the blurb and found out that the author was Filipino! This surprised me because I’ve never read a Young Adult book written by a Filipino author that’s set in America. I’ve never read a novel by a Filipino either.
The main character is also Filipino, which I’ve never encountered in all of the teen books I’ve read. The story also included Filipino folklore which is so interesting! It made me very happy that I could learn about my culture’s ancient stories so I was eager to read it.

The story is so unique. I’ve never read a novel that dealt with Philippine myths and monsters so it was very exciting to read. It’s fast paced and doesn’t have any useless filler chapters that don’t move the story forward. Every detail is relevant and has a role in the story. I liked that it didn’t have a cliché ending.

The writing is so detailed and descriptive. I felt like I was watching a movie while reading it. I was able to visualize every scene. I really love how the author makes everything feel so real, as if I’m standing right there with the characters.

This novel is gory and full of action. There are so many scenes that made my heart race. It also made me sweat as I waited to see what would happen next.

I truly felt as if I was the character experiencing all the things happening in the story. I got so caught up in the plot that when a chapter ended and I closed the book, I forgot that it was just a story.

I forgot where I was while I was reading. I was transported into the story’s world and felt I was part of the action with the other characters. So when I finished the book, I was a bit shocked to come back to reality.

This novel made me want to read more stories with the same characters because they were very well developed throughout the story. I also felt like I knew them personally. This book caused me to read Alex Brown’s other novels because of her amazing writing.

I highly recommend this book to teens and all readers who love action-packed, gory, suspenseful stories with a new, unique twist. This is one of the best books I’ve read in a very long time and is my new favorite.

— Audrey Cabaltica

Audrey is a teen contributor who studies in Silicon Valley.

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