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Carnival #2
Chattanooga
Volume Two
Jesse, Donny, Chad, and Dax aren’t typical small town high school students. Not only do they make their homes amidst the gauze and glitter of the carnival, each of them possesses a supernatural power. They still face adversity, though, and their lives connect in surprising ways as they struggle against it.
Facing the death of his father, Jesse needs Donny’s love and support more than ever. Jesse and Donny are tired of hiding their relationship, but Donny is afraid of losing his eccentric family if he admits to being gay. Chad might be able to help them, but everything he does comes at cost, so he won’t intervene unless he’s sure he’s doing the right thing. Dax is sick of being bullied and having nowhere he feels he truly belongs. With enough effort, he hopes to find a home among the lights, music, and magic of the carnival.
204 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 2, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 23, 2021
If you like dram action and adventure, give this book a read.
August 4, 2015
A Joyfully Jay review.
4 stars
This was a pretty good continuation to Carnival – Decatur although I did find it a bit of a challenge to get back in the swing of things since it has been quite a few months (and books) in between installments.
Of note are the roles that Chad, Rand, and Tate play in the story, Chad as a key secondary character, and has a continuing friendship with Rand and by default Tate. I felt a bit of a disconnect with the secondary characters compared to the various main characters. Now there was no doubt that Jesse and Donny were key players in the story, especially considering Jesse’s dad’s ongoing illness, but newcomer Dax and returning favorite Chad also took centre stage, perhaps to set them up for a featured role in the future.
That being said, there was a lot going on with all of these characters, and although I did not find it difficult to follow the action, it did feel scattered at times, with lots of mini points of conflict peppered throughout the book, threatening the cohesiveness of the story.
To me, it was obvious that Lynn was plotting the story with a solid big picture view because the continuity was smooth, and the world of the carnival had some solid elements to it. I am not saying that I have any first-hand knowledge of how a carnival runs, but my impression was that the world building was yet again realistic and I couldn’t help but be drawn in. The cast of secondary characters who work at the carnival also showed consistency and at times took some of the spotlight from the boys.
Read Jason’s review in its entirety here.
4 stars
This was a pretty good continuation to Carnival – Decatur although I did find it a bit of a challenge to get back in the swing of things since it has been quite a few months (and books) in between installments.
Of note are the roles that Chad, Rand, and Tate play in the story, Chad as a key secondary character, and has a continuing friendship with Rand and by default Tate. I felt a bit of a disconnect with the secondary characters compared to the various main characters. Now there was no doubt that Jesse and Donny were key players in the story, especially considering Jesse’s dad’s ongoing illness, but newcomer Dax and returning favorite Chad also took centre stage, perhaps to set them up for a featured role in the future.
That being said, there was a lot going on with all of these characters, and although I did not find it difficult to follow the action, it did feel scattered at times, with lots of mini points of conflict peppered throughout the book, threatening the cohesiveness of the story.
To me, it was obvious that Lynn was plotting the story with a solid big picture view because the continuity was smooth, and the world of the carnival had some solid elements to it. I am not saying that I have any first-hand knowledge of how a carnival runs, but my impression was that the world building was yet again realistic and I couldn’t help but be drawn in. The cast of secondary characters who work at the carnival also showed consistency and at times took some of the spotlight from the boys.
Read Jason’s review in its entirety here.
July 4, 2015
I wrote about my numerous problems with this series in my Carnival - Decatur review. At the end of the review I stated I was holding off on my decision to purchase the series until I finished reading Carnival - Chattanooga. Now that I've finished it, I can add more problems to my list and say I've made my decision.
The beginning blurb for both books mentions "four boys with special powers" which makes one think that the same four boys will be featured in all the books in the series. Wrong. Jesse and Donny from Decatur are featured in Chattanooga. The two new boys on the scene are Chad (mentioned as a internet penpal in Decatur) and Dax. Tate and Rand are mentioned but not involved in the story. Dax, Chad, Jesse each have special powers but Donny doesn't. So that makes three people in this book with special powers, not four.
Then there is the character of Dax. He is supposed to be sixteen but he is written as if he is ten-eleven. Very immature and silly. He is constantly running from one place to another and trying to stir up drama. He has sex on the brain (runs around trying to spy on people all the time) to the point that I'd expect him to giggle about it at any moment.
Jesse and Donny are still in their back and forth are we soulmates after two weeks or not quandary. Chad is a healer and without even meeting Jesse's father he decides he'll potentially give up his life to save him. Everyone is gay but in the closet, Jesse, Donny, Chad, Dax, Dax's father, Dax's father's ex-boyfriend, one of the carnival workers.
The book ends without a resolution which most likely means there will be another in the series but not one that I'll put on my to-read list.
The beginning blurb for both books mentions "four boys with special powers" which makes one think that the same four boys will be featured in all the books in the series. Wrong. Jesse and Donny from Decatur are featured in Chattanooga. The two new boys on the scene are Chad (mentioned as a internet penpal in Decatur) and Dax. Tate and Rand are mentioned but not involved in the story. Dax, Chad, Jesse each have special powers but Donny doesn't. So that makes three people in this book with special powers, not four.
Then there is the character of Dax. He is supposed to be sixteen but he is written as if he is ten-eleven. Very immature and silly. He is constantly running from one place to another and trying to stir up drama. He has sex on the brain (runs around trying to spy on people all the time) to the point that I'd expect him to giggle about it at any moment.
Jesse and Donny are still in their back and forth are we soulmates after two weeks or not quandary. Chad is a healer and without even meeting Jesse's father he decides he'll potentially give up his life to save him. Everyone is gay but in the closet, Jesse, Donny, Chad, Dax, Dax's father, Dax's father's ex-boyfriend, one of the carnival workers.
The book ends without a resolution which most likely means there will be another in the series but not one that I'll put on my to-read list.
July 6, 2015
Rating: 1.5 out of 2
* I received an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review. *
Chattanooga picks up right where Decatur left off, with Donny and Jesse on their way to the next carnival site, along with Jesse's sick father. Possibly this book suffers from "middle book syndrome", where the middle book in a series serves more as filler and back-story, but I won't know until book three comes out.
The plot of this novel was just not very interesting. Unlike Book One, which was an introduction to the characters and the relationship between Donny and Jesse (as well as the powers that the boys have), this book just dragged along. There were two new characters, Dax and Chad (who was mentioned in Book One), but neither was really worth my time, to be honest.
Dax is the weak point of this novel, for sure. He's a thoroughly unlikable character; at various times he is whiny, spoiled, selfish, cruel, and immature... and his constant desire to break up Donny and Jesse was not malicious or antagonistic so much as just annoying.
Read the rest of the review on Just Love.
* I received an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review. *
Chattanooga picks up right where Decatur left off, with Donny and Jesse on their way to the next carnival site, along with Jesse's sick father. Possibly this book suffers from "middle book syndrome", where the middle book in a series serves more as filler and back-story, but I won't know until book three comes out.
The plot of this novel was just not very interesting. Unlike Book One, which was an introduction to the characters and the relationship between Donny and Jesse (as well as the powers that the boys have), this book just dragged along. There were two new characters, Dax and Chad (who was mentioned in Book One), but neither was really worth my time, to be honest.
Dax is the weak point of this novel, for sure. He's a thoroughly unlikable character; at various times he is whiny, spoiled, selfish, cruel, and immature... and his constant desire to break up Donny and Jesse was not malicious or antagonistic so much as just annoying.
Read the rest of the review on Just Love.
December 7, 2015
Book two and must be read in order.
This one picks up pretty much when book one ends. We’ve left Decatur, Tate and Rand behind. Which brings Donny, Jessie, and Chad as three of the main four boys. We met Chad in the last book, but he was a minor character. And now we bring in Dax.
Jessie and Donny has cemented there love for each other, but because of the carnie life and Jessie father’s health have decided to keep it quiet. With only a few ppl knowing
As we get the know Chad more, we find he a likable guy but has an issue that needs resolving. Dax on the other hand was written so bad he was bad, childish, immature and just plain unlikable. Which I have to give kudos’s to the author for pulling off those writing skills.
As we pulling another town we find some of the same comforts, setting up, tearing down life in general. As well as everyone settling in to a potential life without Jessie’s dad.
The end of this, however, did set us up for a third book, lots left unresolved.
This one picks up pretty much when book one ends. We’ve left Decatur, Tate and Rand behind. Which brings Donny, Jessie, and Chad as three of the main four boys. We met Chad in the last book, but he was a minor character. And now we bring in Dax.
Jessie and Donny has cemented there love for each other, but because of the carnie life and Jessie father’s health have decided to keep it quiet. With only a few ppl knowing
As we get the know Chad more, we find he a likable guy but has an issue that needs resolving. Dax on the other hand was written so bad he was bad, childish, immature and just plain unlikable. Which I have to give kudos’s to the author for pulling off those writing skills.
As we pulling another town we find some of the same comforts, setting up, tearing down life in general. As well as everyone settling in to a potential life without Jessie’s dad.
The end of this, however, did set us up for a third book, lots left unresolved.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews