Author(s): Gina Damico
Edition: Hardcover, eBook, 368 pages
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication Date: August 2, 2016
Source: Rockstar Book Tours
Buy: Amazon - Barnes & Noble - iBooks - Book Depository
Tour Schedule
Week One:
7/25/2016- Two Chicks on Books- Interview
7/26/2016- Eli to the nth- Review (ME!)
7/27/2016- BookHounds YA- Guest Post
7/28/2016- Lisa Loves Literature- Review
7/29/2016- The Cover Contessa- Interview
Week Two:
8/1/2016- Here's to Happy Endings- Review
8/2/2016- Ohana Reads- Guest Post
8/3/2016- A Dream Within A Dream- Review
8/4/2016- YA Book Madness- Interview
8/5/2016- A Gingerly Review- Review
The Summary
Paraffin, Vermont, is known the world over as home to the Grosholtz Candle Factory. But behind the sunny retail space bursting with overwhelming scents and homemade fudge, seventeen-year-old Poppy Palladino discovers something dark and unsettling: a back room filled with dozens of startlingly life-like wax sculptures, crafted by one very strange old lady. Poppy hightails it home, only to be shocked when one of the figures—a teenage boy who doesn’t seem to know what he is—jumps naked and screaming out of the trunk of her car. She tries to return him to the candle factory, but before she can, a fire destroys the mysterious workshop—and the old woman is nowhere to be seen.
With the help of the wax boy, who answers to the name Dud, Poppy resolves to find out who was behind the fire. But in the course of her investigation, she discovers that things in Paraffin aren’t always as they seem, that the Grosholtz Candle Factory isn’t as pure as its reputation—and that some of the townspeople she’s known her entire life may not be as human as they once were. In fact, they’re starting to look a little . . . waxy. Can Poppy and Dud extinguish the evil that's taking hold of their town before it’s too late?
My Opinion
If you're looking for a laugh-out-loud, twisty, crazy, murdery romp, well by golly, look no further! Wax by Gina Damico delivers all of the above and more. A weird contemporary/supernatural story, Wax is sure to have you guessing until the last wick burns out!
The thing that Damico does the best, and I mean the absolute best, is take a really strange premise and make it actually plausible. The characters are so dynamic, the setting is so detailed, and the series of events happen in such a natural way, you find yourself thinking, "This could've really happened!". This is the trend through all of her books, but I think that Wax really exemplifies this.
Poppy is an excellent protagonist. She's funny, smart, a little bossy, and really cares about her town. A good candidate for a hero. Plus her cast of weirdos, also known as the Giddy Committee (her school's Drama club), lend a helping hand by being their true weirdo selves. There's a whole thing with a flamethrower that had me crying I was laughing so hard. Poppy, even in the midst of her seemingly unending crap storm of a year, has a sense of optimism--which may just be a coping mechanism, but hey we all gotta get through life somehow. Of course to off-set this beaming optimism, is Poppy's partner-in-crime, Jill, who is just over the line of too snarky and I absolutely adore her.
There are so many shenanigans during this book, and plot twists I didn't see coming. Super fun, going a mile a minute at all times, I was very sad when it was all over. I don't dare give away plot points because half the fun of Damico's books is going "Holy sh*t! Did that just happen?". And trust me, there are a ton of those. But I will say, if you hear the insult gutbag, you'll be instantly on guard!
Uproariously fun, Wax by Gina Damico is one of those books you don't want to miss! If you want a chance to win your own copy, check out the giveaway below! And be sure to pick up Wax when it comes out, August 2, 2016! You want to miss this one!
Final Rating
About the Author
Gina Damico is the author of Croak, Scorch, and Rogue, the grim-reapers-gone-wild books of the Croak trilogy. She has also dabbled as a tour guide, transcriptionist, theater house manager, scenic artist, movie extra, office troll, retail monkey, yarn hawker and breadmonger. A native of Syracuse, New York, she now lives outside Boston with her husband, two cats, and one dog, and while she has never visited hell in person, she has spent countless waking hours at the Albany Regional Bus Terminal, which is pretty darn close. Visit her website at www.ginadami.co.
