Review ~ Rites of Passage by Joy N. Hensley

#Review ~ Rites of Passage by Joy N. Hensley | Anatea's BookshelfRites of Passage
by Joy N. Hensley
Publishing date:
September 9th 2014
Publisher: HarperTeen
416 pages

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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’s 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.


I wasn't overly excited about Rites of Passage. To be honest, I don't think I have even read the description when I first saw it. But then a few of my friends read it and loved it. Since I got an eARC copy of it, I finally read what is it about. The first thing I thought about was: "Well, this actually sounds interesting. I've never read anything with military school". Then again, I forgot about the book, and few days ago, I saw that the publication date is pretty close and I decided finally to give it a try and read it. I'm so glad I did, because, Rites of Passage is pretty damn brilliant! I devoured the book! I was reading in my 5-minute breaks even, I just needed to know what is going to happen next. You know it's an amazing book when you can't wait to finally read some more, and when the book is the only thing you can think about.

Rites of Passage starts with Sam going to the Denmark Military Academy. Until then, it was an all boys school, but that's changed because this year, there are also going to be 5 girls attending the school. To say that some of the boys are not liking it is an understatement. The first week was as bad as Sam imagined it would be, but the pressure and a killing tempo does not stop there. There are people who want her gone and they are working her a lot harder than the others. But she's holding up good, she's even better than some of the boys. But what will she do when everything becomes a lot more serious, would she be willing do endanger her life?

I loved Sam right from the start. She's an amazing character. She's one of the toughest girls I read about. She's strong, she's fierce, she's determined and I loved it. She's going to a military school, which is supposed to be hard for boys, and she's nailing it. Even if they are working her extra hard, she's proving them wrong. She's proving them, that girls deserve a place in a school like that too, and that they're not that superior.

The thing I was really surprised with is the story itself. There is much more to it than what you get just from the blurb. The whole politics, the scheming, the secrecy, it all was a great addition to the book. There were moments where I could connect it with The Skulls, and I LOVE The Skulls. The secret society, but in military. The romance itself was a great addition, even though it was in the second plan and it never really interfered much with the main plot, it was still present and sweet. *Go Drill Sergeant Stamm!*

The book ended with a kinda open ending, I guess. There were still a lot of things left that weren't clear, but I think that's what the author was aiming for. Well, it worked for me. Even if there won't be a sequel (which I am hoping there will be), I would be perfectly happy with how it ended.

So to sum it all up, Rites of Passage is one amazing book! It definitely goes straight to my 2014 debut favorites! I will be definitely keeping my eyes open for Joy N. Hensley's next books, I am sure they will be just as great as this one!



What do you think about Sam? Do you want to read this book?

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Hi. I'm Anatea, a 23-year-old Croatian girl, living in Germany. I enjoy reading books, traveling, fashion and photography. Let me show you my world.
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14 komentari:

  1. I haven't even read this book and I'm already wishing there's a sequel haha. After reading all the stellar reviews, I think it goes without saying how excited I am to get my hands on this one! I wish I had a smaller TBR!!

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  2. Haha! I'm glad you're excited about it. And I definitely get it, my TBR pile is always huge!

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  3. I'm glad you liked this one! I read it a few weeks ago and enjoyed it (and yes I totally thought this was going to be like Cadet Kelly but was surprised this one was not Disney at all!)

    In all honesty i had a few problems with it, like the romance being introduced too late into the story and the abrupt ending. I felt like the ending was one of those situations where it was like "we won the battle but not the war" but i wanted them to win the war you know? *sigh* Either way I did enjoy Rites of Passage and i'm thrilled you did too :)

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  4. Since I first read the blurb I was excited about this book. The idea is intriguing and I cant wait to read it. I love strong heroines so I am sure I will love Sam. Great review :)

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  5. I actually like when the romance is not the sole purpose of the books, as it many times tends to overshadow everything else. Yeah, I did kinda have the "We won the battle but not the war", but I'm still hoping we'd get the sequel!

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  6. I hope you like it when you get a chance to read it! x

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  7. I'm actually reading this one right now! I didn't really know what it was about at first either, but the whole "military" concept sounded really good. ESPECIALLY since I've never read a book about it. Glad to see that you enjoyed it so much! I'll have to keep reading to see what you're talking about (:


    Lisa
    www.turningpages94.blogspot.com

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  8. I'm with you girl! When I first got this one I was like this might not be for me. I mean I'm not really interested in military but this one was much more than that. I'm so so happy you loved it too! Great review, Anatea :)

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  9. It's so funny, because I had totally overlooked this one too! And then I read a few good reviews.. and then a few more. And I have yet to find one single blogger (whose reviews I read regularly at least!) who hasn't LOVED this book. I started to get more interested, and basically, on blind faith I preordered it, and it is kind of my most anticipated book of the month! I am so glad you enjoyed it, Sam sounds like such a wonderful character! Great review :)

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  10. Wow, you preordered it! I can't wait to see what you think about it!

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  11. Yes, I'm sooo happy I saw you and Zemira liked it. That's mostly why I decided to read it!

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  12. I'm excited to see what you think about it!

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  13. I am so happy you loved this book as much as I did! It really is an absolutely amazing book and I cant wait for it to come out so everyone else can read it too! I wasn't excited about the book either when I first got it, but then I heard the main character was a badass and i had to read it! It is definitely one of my favorite 2014 debuts and overall 2014 reads! I cant wait to see what Joy N. Hensley has in store for us next!

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  14. AHH! SO GLAD YOU LOVED IT. (I did too) didn't think I would either, though I was interested in the Military aspect, I just thought it wouldn't be for me, but gave it ago and couldn't stop reading either. So addicting, great characters, and especially Sam, girl is freaking tough. Never backed down, definitely a person you'd want in your corner, and loved how she turned her grief into something that made her stronger. The only thing I wanted was more Drill. ;) Obviously *cough* I was disappointed without a solid ending for them, and wanted more, even if it did end realistically, I guess. But still, want more! ;)

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