Dark Song Review

Marc said he heard the dark song when he creeped houses. The song the predator's heart sings when it hears the heart of the prey. I heard it now. Marc said it had always been in me. Lurking. Waiting for me to hear.
Ames is not the person she was a few months ago. Her father lost his job, and her family is crumbling apart. Now, all she has is Marc. Marc, who loves her more than anything. Marc, who owns a gun collection. And he'll stop at nothing--even using his guns--to get what he wants. Ames feels her parents have betrayed her with their lies and self-absorption, but is she prepared to make the ultimate betrayal against them?
Taken from GoodReads.

In Dark Song, we meet Ames. She’s a golden girl with the world at her feet. Born into a life of privilege, cushy mansions, and excess, Ames doesn’t know the first thing about loss until the rug is pulled out from under her feet. When her father is fired from his job, details emerge revealing him for what he truly is, and Ames feels betrayed. Lost and confused, her perfect world starts to unravel, and suddenly she’s thrust into a new town with new lies and new losses. But Marc offers her an out. He offers her protection and a sense of stability…but how much is Ames willing to give up for him?

Before I say anything else, let me state that Dark Song is NOT a feel-good book. If you are looking for something light and fluffy, this is not the book for you. I didn’t really know what I was in for when I started Dark Song, but I was intrigued, and I’ll admit that I devoured this book in about four hours. It’s a quick and fast-paced read that sends you on a dark and enthralling ride as a good girl goes bad. Gail Giles strings you along with Ames and her family, hooking you with a plot that won’t let you go.

I was amazed by just how dark Dark Song really was. I had a general idea where it was going, but wow…it dips into some pretty dark and messy material – stuff that I’m not usually used to or want to read. That said, I think Gail Giles handled the issues with due tact. I will, however, state that while I found the characterization of Ames, her family, and Marc to be superb, I was really, really disappointed in the secondary characters at the beginning like Kim. Her first introduction is as “the anorexic girl,” and her descriptions that followed were stereotyped and a bit crass. Furthermore, her cronies were the stereotypical mean girls that I loathe so much. I wished those characters broke the mold like Emily. I also had some trouble stomaching the actual relationship between Marc and Ames. It’s very…graphic, shall we say. I think, however, that was the point of Dark Song.

All in all, if you’re looking for a no-holds-barred take on one girl’s downward spiral from good to bad, Dark Song is a really great read. It’s very dark though, so if you do read, be prepared for the content to be rather heavy. I give this a very strong 4 out of 5, and I’d recommend it to fans of YA, contemporary fiction, and I think an adult audience would appreciate it, as well, as it’s a very poignant story.

This ARC was given to me free of charge from the publisher, Little Brown Books for Young Readers, in exchange for an honest review. This, in no way, affected my opinion or review of this book.