Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick by Joe Schreiber

Publisher: Electric Monkey

Format: ARC

Published: 5^th March 2012

Number of Pages: 240

Book: For Review*

Genre: Contemporary, Thriller, Suspense, Humor, Action-Adventure, Mystery, Realistic-Fiction, Romance, YA

Recommended Age: 13+

Contains: Rather a lot of Violence and Death (She IS an Assassin), Mild Swearing, Alcohol References

No Drug References

Author's Blog: The Scary Parent

“You shot him.  You totally just shot that guy back there.  I think I’m gonna throw up.”

One ordinary guy.

One female assassin.

Five targes by daybreak…

When Gobi lands in Perry’s life, she rips it apart like a bombshell.

Fasten your seatbelts for a quirky, rapid-fire joyride through the streets of New York…  This is the most entertaining thriller you’ll read this year.

                                                                   Review:

"You shot me."

Perry's mom thought having a foreign exchange student would be enriching for all of them. Perry though it could lead to a hot chick in his house. Instead, they got Gobi. Perry made sure to be nice to her, to help her, and was fine about being teased for it. Until his mother tells him that he has to take the frumpy, constantly surprised-looking Gobi to prom. She's been there almost a year, and Perry is sure that Gobi is geeky and boring and he does not want to go to prom with her.

Turns out, Gobi isn't as dull as she's been making out. In fact, she is very interesting, very dangerous, very hot and very much armed.

Gobi is an assassin, and she has five targets before morning. Perry is caught up, trapped, as Gobi pulls him along for the ride, for her killing spree.

I don't know what I was expecting when I picked Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick up. I've never read anything by the author, or with this kind of story line. But what I wasn't expecting was a book that made me laugh out loud, hooked from the first sentence and unable to put it down 'til I found out what happened. As I said before, I've never read anything like it, and the uniqueness made it all the more awesome!

Perry Stormaire was someone I liked straight away. He was snarky and funny and brave and sweet. He was just an ordinary kid who was desperate to please his dad and play in his band.  Therefore his freaking-out reaction at who Gobi really is was both believable and totally hilarious!  And I kinda loved him. Just a little! He was so cool and so clever and brave and sweet and funny...  Yeah. Just a little bit loved him!

Gobi Zaksauskas was a very, very unusual and complicated character. She seemed dull at first... until she went and called this guy a "ball-licker". She was full of surprises; defiant and stubborn and brave. And dangerous! A bad-ass, gun toting, dangerous chick. She was confident and charming and unexpectedly, strangely, I found myself liking her, ruthless assassin though she was. She has earned a place in my Kickass Wall Of Fame (currently occupied by Rose Hathaway and Katniss Everdeen).  She may have been a killer, but she was more than she seemed. She was... brilliant. Absolutely, freaking brilliant.

Gobi and Perry's relationship was equally brilliant, more so because they were complete opposites. Gobi was a kick butt, confident assassin. Perry was just a normal kid, who was scared of not pleasing his dad. But as the night went on and the body count went up, they got close, and Gobi had a huge (but positive) impact on Perry. Their relationship and the chemistry between them felt 100% real to me, despite the rather unusual circumstances!

The other characters were brilliantly padded out – I especially loved the relationships in Perry's family. This wasn't because they were amazing and so close. It was because they were so unusual, and not like many I've read about. I just liked the family dynamics and how they evolved as the book went on. They weren't perfect, but they all loved each other.

Utterly addictive, action packed, killing sprees, loads of laughs, believable characters, a dash of romance and break neck speed, Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick was amazing - it totally blew me away! A word of warning: if you read this, make sure you have a whole day free 'cause you will NOT be able to put it down!

The writing was brilliant - totally teen, totally Perry and totally laugh-out-loud funny. The action was just non-stop from the word go, the writing sucked me in from the very first line. So many of the books I read are written from the girls' POV, so I loved being inside the boy's head for once. And I just loved that college application questions were used at the start of each chapter, and that all tied in with the events that followed.  The plot was equally amazing: full of action, totally unexpected, it twisted and turned as the body count speedily went up! From the first chapter, I was hooked and the action only picked up from there! Shoot outs, murder, car chases, "only a little" bomb(s) and just nonstop action. The plot was just amazing and surreal. I will point out that it's probably very unlikely these events will happen, but I believed them anyway. Schreiber made them really and funny and addictive!

With two lead characters I loved to bits, non-stop action, unrelenting humor and just pure awesomeness, Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick is one of the most original and addictive books I've read in a long time. I loved every second! I can't wait for the movie! Or for whatever Schreiber brings out next.  I want another about these characters please! Hint hint, Mr Schreiber!

Star Rating:
4½ Out of 5

Read this book if you liked:

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Cold Fury by T.M. Goeglein

Medusa Project by Sophie McKenzie

Challenges It's Taking Part In:

100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge 2012 (Hosted by Book Chick City)

Happy Reading

Megan

* This book was received from Egmont in exchange for an honest review