Exposure: A Modern-Day Spin on Shakespeare's Macbeth (Twisted Lit #2) by Kim Askew & Amy Helmes

Title: Exposure

Author: Kim Askew and Amy Helmes

Publish Date: January 18, 2013

Publisher: Merit Press

Pages: 223

Other Books in the Series: Tempestuous

Buy the Book: Barnes & Noble

Rating: ★★★★★

Double, double, toil and trouble. Sometimes, the quest for high school royalty can be deadly! In this emotionally-charged twist on Shakespeare’s Macbeth, a self-conscious shutterbug named Skye Kingston navigates a treacherous school year in Alaska fraught with unspoken secrets and tragic twists of fate. Along the way she encounters three strangely prophetic BFFs; one social-climbing, sociopathic cheerleader; and a heart-stopping hottie named Craig McKenzie: the man who would be Prom King. Can Skye save the boy she loves — and herself — before they get caught in the crosshairs?

It takes a lot of guts to take on such a well known Shakespearian play like Macbeth and I don't know any people who've taken it on. Macbeth is a complex story all by itself, so I have a lot of respect for someone who can take on such a difficult story. Sure, you can distill the story down but it's hard to capture its intricacies. Kim Askew and Amy Helmes did a wonderful job of taking a huge project and making it seem so easy.

Exposure is a beautiful novel, all on it's own. It tells the story of Skye, a girl who would rather hide behind her camera than stand out, and what becomes of her life once a tragic accident occurs. The problem she faces is whether to tell the truth and hurt her best friend, Craig, or remain silent and deal with the consequences of her actions. She, along with the other people involved, faces the question of what really makes someone guilty. Is it the person who led up to the accident, the person who initiated it, or the person that kept it a secret? What really makes a person guilty?

The story was introduced beautifully through the prologue, moving forward in time beyond what happened and really starting with the end. I gained a lot of interest in the story due to how Skye was described by everyone else and the third person perspective added something different to what I had assumed would be a first person story. And it was, after the prologue and before the epilogue. I've met people who would've fit into the category that Skye fit into so I can see why people took such an interest in her. There is a mystery about her that is set up in the beginning and well, once the story really starts, you begin to understand what she really was like.

Skye reminds me a lot of me. The way she acts throughout the book would definitely be my response to the whole situation she is faced with. I admired her strengths and hated her weaknesses because I could see a lot of them in myself. She is a relatable character without coming off too ordinary or boring. From the first page, she captures your attention and she keeps it for long after the book is finished. Her character jumps out from the page as a worthwhile person to admire, an attainable dream I suppose. I love that despite all of the drama and all of the problems thrown her way, she is able to stay true to herself. She doesn't lose herself in any part of the book, she doesn't give up photography, she doesn't start an 'I hate the world' campaign although she rightfully could have, and she refuses to stand for anyone's bad treatment of her. At least most of the time. I would've slapped Craig long before she did anything about their friendship.

Craig is wonderfully written character -- a modernized Macbeth. It's hard to not sympathize with him and just love him because he's basically great. Other than being self-obsorbed and occasionally a jerk. But even with all his bad qualities, there is something innately likable about him. He comes off like a typical cocky jerk in the beginning which made me question Skye's huge crush on him and it isn't until she explains their friendship -- or should be relationship in my mind -- a little more clearly. Perhaps he isn't an all around douche most of the time, she seems to say throughout the beginning, or at least he used to be a decent person. It's after a little bit that I grew attached to Craig but it was a slow start in that department. Just to let you know, I would've slapped him and probably hurt him in various ways if he did to me what he did to Skye. Want to know what he did? You should really check out the book.

Crazy girlfriend of Craig, check. Her name was Beth and she was a... not very nice person. I wanted to know more about her than I really got to. Most of the time, nay all of the time she came off like this evil person that I just wanted to send to Siberia or as far away from me as I could get her. Her backstory wasn't as well developed as I would've liked or at least, it wasn't very well explored. I really would've loved to understand whom I have come to consider the bad guy of the story. She had so much to offer.

Again, there was a great cast of characters that played both large and small roles. They were all important and each of them played some key part to the story as it continued on. I really love that none of them are ever really forgotten or tossed to the wayside as the story goes on. Even the characters that are a little crazy made multiple debuts throughout the novel. Yeah, I can recall some characters just because of how well written they were and they didn't even have a big part to play.

Y'know what I think would be awesome? Entwining the characters from both novels which are of course standalone and making some epic book about how their stories intertwine. Just saying. It would be cool. Think of it as the Shakespeare plays collide into one fantastic novel that entangles the intense storyline of each story and somehow pulls together all of the different pieces to make a uniquely beautiful tale of love, betrayal, mystery, and just plain epic-ness.

Anyway, I am getting off topic. This story is amazing. I really enjoyed it. You should read because it was so great.