Book Review: Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick

Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick (Perry & Gobi #1)
By Joe Schreiber
****

"'You shot me,' I said. I was lying on my stomach, wondering if I was going to pass out from the pain. Twenty feet away, she stood with the machine pistol in one hand and the sawed-off shotgun in the other, wiping the blood out of her eyes...She walked over, knelt down, and wrapped her arms around me. She pressed her lips to my ear, close enough that I could make out the words. 'Perry,' she said, 'I had a very nice time tonight.'"
 

Au Revoir is an action-packed thrill-ride. I'm sure that's what the movie byline would say, at least. And it's true. It's the night of Perry's senior prom, but he hadn't planned on going. Instead, he and the other members of Inchworm had gotten a gig in NYC and they were hoping to score a record deal. But then his parents forced him to take their awkward foreign exchange student to prom. Perry figured it would be a disaster...he had no idea how right he was.

Gobi, if that is her real name, isn't really a foreign exchange student. She isn't really geeky or awkward. She isn't even a teenager. What she is, though, is out for blood. Gobi has five marks and they're all going to be in NYC on prom night, and since she can't drive, Perry becomes her unwilling chauffeur.

Except for a few pages at the beginning and the end of this book, approximately 98% of this story takes place over the course of 12 hours. The story is fast-paced as Perry and Gobi go from one hit to the next (Perry trying valiantly to escape his crazy kidnapper...until she informs him that she planted a bomb and will blow up his house with his family inside if he doesn't cooperate). As the story goes on, you wonder if Gobi is just a hired assassin, or if there's more to this grisly quest than meets the eye.

I really enjoyed this book - I could have finished it in a day if I had more free time; as it was, it only took me two days. It was an intense, but quick read. There's a significant amount of violence (though it doesn't get as graphic as it could have), some language (if there's ever been a book where the language has been justifiable, it's this one), and some talk of sex (just talk, no action), so I would recommend this book for older teens. That being said, it was a great read and I can't wait to start Perry's Killer Playlist, the sequel to Au Revoir, which takes Perry on a dangerous trip through Europe.

Book Trailer for Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick