#7 Payback

A lifelong rage...
"Yana was my best friend - and Yana wanted me dead. I should hate her for what she tried to do. But the people who stole what she loved most - they did the same to me. Yana still wants revenge, and she doesn't want my help. Can I really let her walk into a trap?"

Brief Synopsis
Yana has escaped from Aiden and no longer wants revenge on Rae. Instead, Yana decides to go after the agency that did the tests on her mother. Meanwhile, Rae and Anthony help Mandy to help her sister.

Quotes
- His eyes--his melted-Hershey's Kiss brown eyes--opened a second later. (pg. 4)

- Note to self, she thought. Sleeping on a wooden bench sucks. (pg. 23)

- "I've got a whole collection of Zeke skankobilia," Mandy answered. (pg. 31)

- "That doesn't sound so terrible," Anthony commented.
"I got some fingerprint info before," Rae explained. "It looks like Mandy's sister might drop out of school and elope with the guy."
"Huh," Anthony muttered. "That's not so good." (pg. 43)

- "Dentist office. Good cover. No one would wonder why there was screaming," Anthony joked. Aiden didn't crack a smile or even give a forced "ha." (pg. 61)

- Anthony was everything she could ever want in a boyfriend - even though he was nothing like the perfect guys she used to imagine. She just hadn't known what perfect was back then. (pg. 71)

- "So, what next?" Mandy asked. She grabbed a napkin and leaned toward Jesse, going for the streak of ketchup on his chin. Then she froze and reached for her Dr. Pepper, like that's what she'd been doing all along. A blush was working its way up her neck. Anthony glanced at Jesse. He was blushing, too. (pg. 77)

- Anthony stood up. "See you back here," he told Rae. Like by saying it, it would absolutely be true. Like the words would actually make it absolutely impossible for anything bad to happen to her. Like freakin' magic. "See you back here," he repeated. He couldn't stop himself. Then, before he could say it five or ten or a hundred times, he strode out of Chick Filet, Jesse right behind him. (pg. 79)

- "Yeah. I met a guy. He's really cute. And he's the same age as me. And he rides a skateboard," Mandy said in a rush. She's talking about Jesse, Rae thought. She would have known that even if Mandy hadn't mentioned the skateboarding part. She'd seen the way Mandy was looking at Jesse at the Chick Filet. (pg. 96)

- "When I'm with him, I don't know, it's like there's a heat lamp switched on inside me. And when I'm not, the lamp's off and everything is grayer and colder." (pg. 97)

- Aiden's okay, she told herself. He's been trained to take care of himself. Maybe he just fell...and knocked himself out, and that is why he isn't answering the phone. (pg. 107)

- Should I slap her like they do in the movies? Rae wondered. No. Somehow she didn't think it work that well in real life. (pg. 148)

- "I like [eating grass]. But maybe you have a sophisticated palate." (pg. 153)

- Sam plucked another blade of grass, put it between his lips, and blew, producing a high, thin whistle. "Tastes great and plays music." (pg. 155)

- "Knowing your dying, it changes the way you think." He started chewing his piece of grass. "Maybe the reason I like this stuff so much is because soon I'll be lying under it."
The green taste in Yana's mouth started to taste like rot. She turned her head and spit. The taste didn't go away. (pg. 155)

- Jesse's a lifesaver, Anthony thought. Whenever he talked, Mandy calmed down a little. (pg. 159)

- His heart started to flail around, like it wanted to get out of his chest. This was so friggin' hard. What if she laughed. Or said she's only been kidding when she said it to him. Or-
"Rae," he began again. He pulled in a deep breath, hoping it would open up his throat a little. "Rae, I love you, too." (pg. 179)

- "Hey, let's go to Chick Filet or someplace," Jesse said. "I'm starving." And you're not ready to end your Mandy time, Rae thought. (pg. 189)

Have a favorite quote from this book? Email me and I'll add it.

Review
Remember! Reading this threatens serious spoiler content. Also, please be prepared: these reviews were written when I was in high school and, as such, read like a high schooler's ramblings. I intend on keeping the reviews as they are, as the opinions of a teenager are probably more relevant to this series than my older perspective.

The first time I read this book I was very discouraged. After rereading it, I've come to realize that the book is more of a disappointment than a failure. The overall plot of Pay Back is not bad. It's well developed and even believable. I don't think, as a whole, the book was bad. It was well planned and well written.

While I thought the wedding-break-up of Zeke and Emma was a little over-dramatic, I didn't hate the plot line. I liked the scene where Anthony told Rae that he loved her. That was extremely well written.

I'm glad to see so much character development between Jesse and Mandy. Their relationship is interesting and new. It's also great to finally learn why Jesse was in group therapy. I wondered that from book one, and learning that he was a pyromaniac is nice exposition, even if the information is late.

I didn't have much of a problem with Anthony getting a stun gun. I did think it was a little convenient, but it fits with his character and makes sense that he knew where to go to buy it given his past. Still, it seems a little ridiculous for Yana to also have a stun gun. After all, it's not like there is a high demand for them on the black market. And despite Yana's human-side-is-revealed characterization throughout the novel, Yana would have been more in character if she had taken a gun into the agency. She is after all, going to burn them all to death--why would she take the time to bother with a stun gun?

I loved Sam. His character was so interesting. Too bad we hardly got to meet him.

I was disappointed in how Metz ended the series. I think she left too many loose ends. This being the last book, the reader will never discover who the "one G-2" the agency was particularly interested in was. I don't understand why an author would bring up such a relevant fact and then never develop it.

I also don't understand the note that was left in Aiden's mouth. First of all, why would the agency shove a note in his mouth? Wouldn't it have made more sense to leave it on his body? How could they be so sure that Rae would be brave enough to even touch him? Secondly, the content of the note was not rational. The agency had every intention of eventually capturing Rae anyway, so why would they bother warning her? I think perhaps the note left in Aiden's mouth could have been left by Sam, but Metz makes no indication that it was, and there is no reason for Sam to know of Rae's involvement with Aiden. The whole note thing irks me.

Another thing that irked me is that Metz used the same sentences to describe an action verbatim. She had Anthony swiveling in a chair, and she had Sam swiveling in a chair. It was as if she copy-and-pasted the sentences and moved them from one chapter to another. It's not even as if Sam and Anthony can be mirroring each other in any way--so the repetition could not have been symbolic.

Other than that, I am sorry to know that Metz stopped after book seven. I would have liked to read more about her characters and to see how they win against the agency. A lot of potential is left with plots. Rae and Co. could track down the other G-2's since Sam had all their names, and the group could go after the agency...

But the end is left to our imagination. And that's not always a bad thing.

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