Review: The Green-Eyed Queen of Suicide City

The Green-Eyed Queen of Suicide City by Kevin Marc Fournier
Release Date ~ April 24, 2012
Great Plains Teen Fiction
ISBN13: 9781926531267
Review copy received from publisher for review
Goodreads Synopsis:
Bethany, a beautiful and popular teen hangs herself the night before Halloween. Her devoted sister follows her into a frozen death, and a city where trees bleed along the banks of a river of blood. Meanwhile, Addy is visiting from Montreal, determined that Natalie’s mother will give birth to her baby while she is there. Consider a baby born in a snowstorm, one girl who never sleeps and another who craves blood, ghostly footprints and dangling corpses, New Year’s fireworks and an unexpected kiss, all tied to a legendary queen who lives in the hidden center of Suicide City.
Green-Eyed Queen of Suicide City has such an extensive, fascinating description that I was extremely curious to see which direction Kevin Marc Fournier would take it in. I was surprised to find that this book follows two perspectives; the first deals with Natalie's present life and the events in her life during the time between Bethany's suicide and Rose's suicide. The second perspective is told from Rose's point of view after her suicide, and what happens to her after her death.

Unfortunately, I found the execution lacking especially in comparison to the potential I thought this book had, although Kevin's talent as a writer came shining through the story.

1. A truly unexpected and unique novel:
   I was expecting Green-Eyed Queen to be more of a contemporary reading which focused on social issues; instead, there is a certain element of fantasy with its other-worldliness and the curious tale of what happens to Rose after she dies. As it progresses, it becomes more bizarre and I started to put the pieces together for how the two perspectives are connected... yet I also never expected it to become as horrifying as it proved itself to be by the end of the book. I can honestly say that I had no real appreciation for what I was getting myself into by reading it, and that I've never read anything like it before. At all, ever.

But this was also where the book fell short for me; by the end of it, I had a very hard time trying to decipher how all the details and side stories connected to one another and even more importantly, I was unclear as to what the main plot of the book was. I was left with the impression that the story was convoluted with far too many irrelevant details that were seemingly disconnected from one another.
Kevin's writing, however, was also graphic and fascinating. But I did feel as if he failed to appropriately capture the voice of teenagers, particularly in regards to Addy and Natalie. They often had such strange reactions or responses that I didn't find them believable as characters whatsoever. The world he describes is so unknown and alien to me that I couldn't help but be intrigued by the ideas presented. However, it ultimately failed to meet my expectations and I was disappointed with the unclear result.
This is one book I'd love to read more reviews on, because I'm curious if the problems I experienced with the book were personal to myself as a reader of the book; yet this one is so unknown that I haven't found much information on it. If anyone has reviewed it or read it, feel free to get in touch with me so I can hear your thoughts on it!

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