Feeling alive is always worth the risk.

Meeting Jack on the Owl—San Francisco's night bus—turns Beatrix's world upside down. Jack is charming, wildly attractive...and possibly one of San Francisco's most notorious graffiti artists.

But Jack is hiding a piece of himself. On midnight rides and city rooftops, Beatrix begins to see who this enigmatic boy really is.



Spoiler-free review!


I wasn't sure what to think when I went into this book. I'm not the biggest fan of art, but I was definitely taken by the cover. Not just that, but the story sounded quite interesting. So I took my chances and bought it. And although this book is quite art-heavy, it wasn't enough to put off a non-artistic reader.

The story was definitely something different, which I found very refreshing. I've not read many books about graffiti artists and certainly not about the ambitions of the main character, Beatrix. She aspires to be a cadaver artist, which is basically drawings parts of the anatomy for medical books. That's very new to me, so I didn't find it gross or disturbing. It was more fascinating than anything, which is something which Bex seems to think, too. There were parts of the book where I was like 'Oh... ew, rather her than me' but it's also interesting that people actually do this. Whenever I read books like this, the main character seems to always have the same aspirations, like being a writer, an actor, a doctor. Never something like this. I really enjoyed it.

Speaking of Jack, he was such a lovely boy. I quite like him, even though he is a criminal, he has his reasons and the reasons were wonderful. I wasn't 100% sure I'd like him at the start, but I certainly grew to love him, just like Bex did. He has not had the best life either, but he doesn't use that as an excuse for any bad behavior. He does what he can with what he has, and he tries to make people happy. He's quite sweet, I liked reading about him and his life. You'll like him.
And then there is Beatrix "Bex",  our main character, who I found quite easy to read. Her backstory, family and personality I found interesting. She had a bit of a crap past but she didn't let that pull her down, which I thought was admirable (considering a lot of YA and NA books have a 'woe is me' feel to it). She knew what she had to do, and she went out there and did it. Bex also found out stuff in regards to her family, and she symapthised with particular people. And although she may have gone a little crazy upon first hearing things, she responded afterwards in a good manner. I like how she learnt from everything in the book, how it wasn't all for nothing. She really grew as a person. Her life also wasn't me me me, Jack Jack Jack all the time too, which is another bonus.

This book has some compelling and engrossing characters, new people emerging into the lives of the characters in so many different and interesting ways. Lessons are learnt, lives are changed and art is being spread around in an inspiring way.

The story itself set a great pace. I enjoyed reading about San Francisco and the artistic parts of the book. Although there is a bit of drama and some sad parts, it's certainly worth it. If you have the chance to pick it up and give it a quick read, I do recommend it. It's entertaining and I think a story I'll remember for a while.



I've not read anything by Jenn Bennett, but I might consider giving her other books a look and see what she has. Have you read anything by her, or maybe you're thinking of giving this book a try? We'd love to hear from you! Let us know via the comments below or finding us at any of the following social media: