Riverdale: The Day Before
Micol Ostow
Amazon Summary:
Based on the massively successful CW show, Riverdale, this prequel novel explores what the gang was doing before Season One.
Why did Jughead and Archie have a falling out? What did Veronica's life look like in the Big Apple? And how long has Betty really been in love with Archie?
Told from multiple points of view, your favorite characters tell their story their way.
My Review:
7/10
Let me start by saying, thank you so much Scholastic for sending me the entire series of the Riverdale novels. The package came quickly while I was on vacation. I loved receiving this package. Now let me get onto the review:
Before you read this novel, I think it would be beneficial to watch season 1 of Riverdale. It is streaming on Netflix and is available for purchase on iTunes or google play. Season 1 was the best anyways. I watched season one of Riverdale 5 years ago, so what happened in season 1 was kind of hazy. I remembered the plot, but there were details I must have missed.
Firstly, I would like to start with the positive things about this book. I enjoyed how this whole book takes place in a single day, separated into three parts. The second reason I liked this book was because at the end of every chapter there was a little divot into something else. Whether it was a picture of a jacket or a "text strand" it always was there at the end of the chapter. The third and final reason I loved how the story was told from the four main characters' POV, keeping me on my toes. It was a nice break when I got bored of Jughead, it changed to Betty's POV.
I really enjoyed Veronica Lodge's storyline. I am a fellow New Yorker and am very familiar with the Upper East Side, places like Sant Ambroeus, designer clothing brandds, etc. Veronica's storyline was very Gossip Girl-ish.
The next perspective I would like to talk about is Betty Cooper's. Betty is off in LA at a summer internship working in journaling. I vaguely remember her telling Archie all about it in season 1 at Pop's. But this book told about an assignment Betty got from her boss, and it was to interview, none other than, Veronica Lodge. But the interview never goes through though. (Remember this for when I talk about the places where the story was lacking.)
Third up is Jughead Jones. There isn't much to say about his character in the book, because if you watch the show, he says the same thing as he does in this novel.
The fourth and final perspecive is told from Archie Andrews' POV. His storyline was all about his relationship with Geraldine Grundy, his music teacher. This explains how their relationship got started. This is the perfect segway into the negatives of this book.
It felt so wrong reading a book where one-fourth of it discusses a teacher-student relationship. I don't think I need to get into why it is wrong, but in summary, Archie was being groomed by his teacher. (shivers down my spine). But that topic is seen in the show.
The other reason I didn't love this book was that there were so many plotholes. For instance, remember how I talked about Betty getting the assignment to interview Veronica? Yeah. In the show, how come they never brought this up? And I know this book came out after season 1 was released, so it kind of threw me in a spin. I would think that Veronica being harassed by Betty over the phone, would be a major thing to have talked about in the show, but it was never brought up, once Veronica moved to Riverdale. Surely Veronica would have recognized the name, Betty Cooper. That is what I mean when I say there were plotholes in this story. That's all for this review of book #1 in the Riverdale novels.
OVERALL:
I had mixed emotions with this book. I loved Riverdale when it was in its prime, and this book took me back to that time. It helped me get to know the characters even better, despite me having watched six seasons of this show. That was the good part, but the potholes made it hard to get lost in the story. Before purchasing this book, you might want to wait and see what I have to say about book #2 before, to see if it is really worth it. Also if you as a reader can handle topics about grooming, this book should not be a problem.