Alone, by Cyn Balog ~ 3.5 Stars

Tags

Family Relationships, Horror Fiction, Mental Illness, Mystery, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: November 1st, 2017

288 Pages

Synopsis: When her mom inherits an old, crumbling mansion, Seda’s almost excited to spend the summer there. The grounds are beautiful and it’s fun to explore the sprawling house with its creepy rooms and secret passages. Except now her mom wants to renovate, rather than sell the estate—which means they’re not going back to the city…or Seda’s friends and school.

As the days grow shorter, Seda is filled with dread. They’re about to be cut off from the outside world, and she’s not sure she can handle the solitude or the darkness it brings out in her.

Then a group of teens get stranded near the mansion during a blizzard. Seda has no choice but to offer them shelter, even though she knows danger lurks in the dilapidated mansion—and in herself. And as the snow continues to fall, what Seda fears most is about to become her reality…

Welcome to the Bismarck-Chisholm House—where murder is only the beginning of the fun! Stay in one of eighteen comfortable guest rooms. You’ll sleep like the dead. We guarantee it…

How bone-chillingly cool is that opening? If you think the premise sounds vaguely familiar, you’d be right. Alone pays homage to The Shining , even mentioning it during one scene, yet it has several unique twists of its own. 

Seda is an unreliable narrator and her actions kept me off guard throughout the story. She’s isolated in a creepy rundown mansion that used to be a hotel that held themed murder mysteries for their guests. Except for a general store twenty miles away there’s no other contact with the outside world as they have no cell phone service or landline. And to top things off, the father, fed up with his wife’s insistence that the house only be sold to someone who will stay true to its history, deserts the family. After four months of this, Seda seemingly goes from a once popular sixteen-year-old girl, to a socially awkward one who has a difficult time with even the most basic conversations. Part of this is explained by the secret she’s been keeping from everyone for years. I’d be sympathizing with her one moment, and left scratching my head at her puzzling actions the next. Every time I thought I had a handle on who she was, something would happen and I’d be right back at the beginning. It was infuriating yet mesmerizing at the same time. 

The rest of the characters didn’t stand out all that much, although I thought Seda’s younger siblings (two sets of twins), were adorable. The mother was a little out there and I wound up disliking her intensely. I thought her actions were selfish, neglectful and uncaring. She supposedly loved Seda and her siblings but aside from inventing entertaining games to keep them distracted, she seemed otherwise disengaged. The stranded teens pretty much fit the standard roles: romantic lead, mean girl, loner, etc. and didn’t add all that much until the end of the book.

The descriptive setting was the best part of the story. You can feel the eeriness and claustrophobic atmosphere creep off the pages and surround you. Each chapter begins with a heading that ties the crumbling ruin back to its heyday of being a popular hotel, which was an imaginative touch. The pace though, was extremely slow for about 70% of the book, and at times, I was ready to tear out my hair waiting for something, ANYTHING to happen! And then it finally did, and yikes! What a rollercoaster ride! There’s a huge twist at the end that I still can’t make up my mind as to whether I loved or hated it. Either way, I’m still thinking about it two days after I finished the book, which makes it a success in my mind. 

While Alone didn’t quite live up to my admittedly high expectations, I still enjoyed it and I think it’s a good read for teens, especially this time of year. It’s creepy and unsettling and I guarantee the ending will give you goosebumps!

 

We All Fall Down, by Natalie D. Richards ~ 3.0 Stars

Tags

Codependency, Friendship, Mental Illness, Romance, Supernatural tv series, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebook Fire for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: Available lNow

268 Pages

Synopsis: Theo’s always been impulsive. But telling Paige how he feels? He’s obsessed over that decision. And it’s time. Tonight. At the party on the riverbank, under the old walking bridge, site of so many tales of love and death.

Paige has had a crush on Theo since they first met, but she knows her feelings are one-sided. She’s trying to move on, to flirt. A party at the river is just what she needs. Except a fight breaks out, and when Paige tries to intervene—Theo’s fist lands in her face.

All Theo and Paige want to do is forget that fateful night. But strange events keep drawing them back to the bridge. Someone, something is determined to make them remember…and pay for what they did.

I have to admit We All Fall Down has left me frustrated and torn over my rating and review. The premise is original, and the two protagonists are sympathetic and likable, but there just seemed to be something missing.

Both characters have mental health issues. Theo has severe ADHD and ODD (Oppositional Defiant Disorder), and Paige suffers from debilitating anxiety and panic attacks, and sleepwalking. They were so real and believable that my heart ached for both of them. I did think that more attention was spent on Theo and his struggles with the medications that are out there to treat his disorders. There’s also the relationship between him and his Uncle Denny who also has ADHD, which brings in the genetic component, and shows how an adult lives with this illness.

When Paige is suffering from anxiety or a panic attack, it’s meticulously described, from her feelings to what the triggers are. There’s a mention of how her overprotective mother also suffers from anxiety, but there’s nothing more and I wish the author had spent a little more time exploring their relationship like she did with Theo’s and his uncle’s. 

The friendship and romance between Theo and Paige is sweet and you can understand why these two are drawn to each other, yet at the same time I found myself agreeing with Paige’s parents that their relationship is based on codependency and is toxic. 

The plot is what ultimately took away from this book. Natalie Richards chose to add supernatural elements, and a bland mystery. I’m not sure if the author included these simply to try to attract more readers, but at best it was bland and uninteresting, and at worst it was distracting and confusing. And, the ending left me scratching my head. There were some questions answered, but quite a few issues were left unresolved. Hence, my frustration.

For the last day I’ve dithered over giving We All Fall Down, 2 or 3 stars. I’ve decided to go with the higher rating because of the likability of Theo and Paige and the attention Natalie Richards gives to mental illness. This is one of the better YA books I’ve read in regards to this topic. Despite my issues with the actual story, I would recommend this, particularly to teens who struggle with these illnesses. 

 

 

The Suffering Tree, by Elle Cosimano ~ 2.0 Stars

Tags

Historical Fiction, Mental Illness, Mystery, Self-harm, Supernatural, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Disney-Hyperion for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: June 13th, 2017

368 Pages

Synopsis: Tori Burns and her family left D.C. for claustrophobic Chaptico, Maryland, after suddenly inheriting a house under mysterious circumstances. That inheritance puts her at odds with the entire town, especially Jesse Slaughter and his family–it’s their generations-old land that the Burns have “stolen”. But none of that seems to matter after Tori witnesses a young man claw his way out of a grand v e under the gnarled oak in her new backyard.

Nathaniel Bishop may not understand what brought him back, but it’s clear to Tori t h at he hates the Slaughters for what they did to him centuries ago. Wary yet drawn to him by a shared sense of loss, she gives him shelter. But in the wake of his arrival comes a string of troubling events–including the disappearance of Jesse Slaughter’s cousin–that seem to point to back to Nathaniel.

As Tori digs for the truth–and slowly begins to fall for Nathaniel–she uncovers something much darker in the tangled branches of the Slaughter family tree. In order to break the centuries-old curse that binds Nathaniel there and discover the true nature of her inheritance, Tori must unravel the Slaughter family’s oldest and most guarded secrets. But the Slaughters want to keep them buried…at any cost.

The Suffering Tree is a tough book to review. There are some good things about it, but it also has many weaknesses. First, it should definitely come with a trigger warning concerning self-harm. Tori is a cutter, and this is brought up repeatedly, yet there’s nothing in the book’s summary about this. Making matters worse is the way in which Cosimano uses Tori’s illness as the way Nathaniel is brought back to life. So, right from the beginning I was frankly appalled. In addition, no one in Tori’s life ever makes a serious effort to stop her harmful behavior. There’s no resolution and it seems to me that the only reason why it’s included in the story is to bring in Nathaniel. The book is told from three perspectives: the present, the past through Tori’s visions, and the past from Nathaniel’s POV and it was jarring to move back and forth between them. While I found Nathaniel and his historical ties to the Slaughters to be the most interesting part of the story, the rest of the characters including Tori, come across as being generally under-developed which makes it difficult to become emotionally invested in them. The mystery is interesting, and the writing itself is beautiful and at times almost poetic but these aren’t enough to save the story. To be honest, even without the issue of cutting being magically glorified, The Suffering Tree would have been just an okay read for me, but the cavalier way Cosimano treats the issue of depression, anxiety and self-harm has left me concerned for the teens that will be reading this. 

One Of Us Is Lying, by Karen McManus ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Bullying, Drugs, Dysfunctional Relationships, Mental Illness, Mystery, Social Media, Suspense, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: May 30th, 2017

368 Pages

Synopsis: Pay close attention and you might solve this. 

On Monday afternoon, five students at Bayview High walk into detention.

Bronwyn, “the brain”, is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule.

Addy, “the beauty”, is the picture-perfect homecoming princess.

Nate, “the criminal”, is already on probation for dealing.

Cooper, “the athlete”, is the all-star baseball pitcher.

And Simon, “the outcast”, is the creator of Bayview High’s notorious gossip app.

Only, Simon never makes it out of that classroom. Before the end of detention Simon’s dead. And according to investigators, his death wasn’t an accident. On Monday, he died. But on Tuesday, he planned to post juicy reveals about all four of his high-profile classmates, which makes all four of them suspects in his murder. Or, are they the perfect patsies for a killer who’s still on the loose?

Everyone has secrets right? What really matters is how far you would go to protect them.

I requested One of Us Is Lying because the mystery was appealing and it sort of reminded me of The Breakfast Club and Pretty Little Liars. To my surprise though this wildly exceeded my expectations. The story is related from the POVs of the four main characters. While at first Bronwyn, Nate, Addy and Cooper seem to fit the ubiquitous high school stereotypes, they are so, so much more. They all have secrets and issues they’re trying to deal with and they come across relatable and sympathetic. I liked every single one of them, even while it was constantly in the back of my head that one of them may be a murderer. Karen McManus does a fantastic job at capturing what modern-day high school life is like, especially with the use of social media. With this realistic setting and likable characters, I completely got distracted in regards to the actual mystery, so it wasn’t until the last couple of chapters that all the puzzle pieces began coming together for me and I guessed who the person was behind Simon’s death. The ending is perfect, but not in the way where everyone rides off happily into the sunset. While there are some positive moments, there are others where certain people have to face the consequences of their actions and there were some plot lines that were purposely left open. I was fine with all of it, because like the rest of the story, it made everything messily real. There’s just one aspect that prevents me from giving this a perfect rating, and I’m sorry that I have to be vague. I can’t really go into it too much because that would involve unveiling a major spoiler. All I can say is that it involved mental illness and I thought it was glossed over a bit. Otherwise, this book is bound to be a phenomenal hit with teens and adults who enjoy YA fiction. It would also make a terrific movie or even tv series. I honestly can’t wait to see what Karen McManus comes out with next!

 

 

Ill Will ~ By Dan Chaon – 2.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Childhood Sexual Abuse, Drug addiction, Dysfunctional Families, Mental Illness, Mystery, Satanic Ritual Abuse, Serial Killers, Suspense

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: March 7th, 2017

480 Pages

Synopsis: “We are always telling a story to ourselves, about ourselves,” Dustin Tillman likes to say. It’s one of the little mantras he shares with his patients, and it’s meant to be reassuring. But what if it’s a lie?

A psychologist in suburban Cleveland, Dustin is drifting through his forties when he hears the news: His adopted brother, Rusty, is being released from prison. Thirty years ago, Rusty received a life sentence for the massacre of Dustin’s parents, aunt, and uncle. The trial came to symbolize the 1980s hysteria over Satanic cults; despite the lack of physical evidence, the jury believed the outlandish accusations Dustin and his cousin made against Rusty. Now, after DNA analysis has overturned the conviction, Dustin braces for a reckoning.

Meanwhile, one of Dustin’s patients gets him deeply engaged in a string of drowning deaths involving drunk college boys. At first Dustin dismisses talk of a serial killer as paranoid thinking, but as he gets wrapped up in their amateur investigation, Dustin starts to believe that there’s more to the deaths than coincidence. Soon he becomes obsessed, crossing all professional boundaries–and putting his own family in harm’s way.

Ill Will is the first book I’ve read by bestselling author and National Book Award winner Dan Chaon, and I was so excited when I was approved for this on NetGalley, but after finishing it last night, I’m left with a feeling of overwhelming frustration. While there were some parts that were complete and total genius, there are just too many issues I had with this and the bad wound up outweighing the good. I’m trying to think where to even begin. The story’s timeline alternates between the early 1980s and 2012-2014. The past focuses on Dustin Tillman, his adopted brother Rusty, and his two cousins Katy and Wave. The central mystery is who massacred Dustin’s parents and aunt and uncle. It’s set against the 80s hysteria around satanic cults and repressed memories. This mystery was definitely my favorite part of the book. The author definitely did his research into the horrible witch hunts that destroyed so many lives. Dustin and Rusty’s relationship is complicated, and even though Rusty turns out to be innocent of the murders, as an adult, he himself admits to doing some pretty horrible things to Dustin. Because of this I didn’t feel as much sympathy for him as I ordinarily would have for an innocent person being railroaded by the legal system. Dustin as a child is an extremely complex character and enigmatic one. I felt so sorry for him, but as the story of his childhood unfolds it becomes apparent that there’s something not quite right about him. Whether this is related to his and Rusty’s relationship, or the murders, or something more sinister, is the big question. As an adult, he seems to have put everything behind him. He’s a successful psychologist, with a wonderful wife and two teenage sons. But when one of his patients who’s an ex-cop brings to his attention a series of mysterious drownings of young men, he immediately partners up with him in this crazy investigation that completely crosses the boundaries of professional patient/doctor relationships. Honestly, the whole thing made absolutely no sense to me whatsoever. Adding to my confusion was Chaon’s writing style. There are sentences left uncompleted, chapters that are nothing but columns which was so bizarre, I wound up skimming the majority of them, and the choppy transition between the past and the present, as well as the different viewpoints of multiple characters. I was hoping at least the ending would answer my questions, but it didn’t. The identity of the serial killer was revealed, although I had already guessed who it was, but there were numerous plot holes that were never filled, and I was left unsure as to who really murdered Dustin’s family. Overall, this was just a convoluted mess from start to finish, and I confess I’m really annoyed because it could have been a fantastic mystery/suspense novel. However, it’s gotten some rave reviews on Goodreads, as well as from critics at the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune and Entertainment Weekly,  which has left me second guessing myself and wondering what did I miss. 

Until I Break ~ By Kara Bietz – 4.0 Stars

Tags

Bullying, Dysfunctional Families, Friendship, Gun Violence, Mental Illness, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Albert Whitman & Company for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

256 Pages

Synopsis: Two boys: One is a star athlete and top student with a deep-seated need to prove himself. The other is a chip-on-his-shoulder quarterback who will never settle for second best. When gunshots echo through the halls of Broadmeadow High School, whose finger is on the trigger? A year before the shooting, Sam North has a bright future as well as a problem that no one seems to see, Ace Quinn, his neighbor and teammate. For years, Ace has been bullying and harassing Sam, yet he’s managed to deftly conceal his actions and threats from the rest of the world. As Ace’s secret rage intensifies, Sam becomes more desperate to stop him. But how far will he go? And what if Ace takes his threats even further?

Until I Break is a timely and unsettling book about a completely normal and nice kid, Sam, whose psyche, after years of what amounts to psychological torture at the hands of Ace, finally starts to disintegrate during their senior year, from the unimaginable stress. The story is told in alternating timelines from the present to back to the beginning of the school year. Although it’s not difficult to ascertain what’s going to happen, going back and looking at the events that lead up to the violent outcome, was a brilliant plot device by the author because it’s both incredibly intense but also insightful. I could literally feel Sam’s building anxiety and agony and seeing him unravel after years of psychological abuse at the hands of Ace was just heartbreaking. Sam’s not a loner. He has family. He has friends. He’s an athlete and is well liked, but no one seems to understand what Ace is doing to him, not even his best friend who thinks he just over reacts to Ace. Sam is already vulnerable because of the death of his father and his mother’s struggle with depression. Stepping in as a father figure, is his grandfather who loves him but bonds over football and taking Sam to the shooting range. He has the whole “Men stand on their own two feet!” mentality and doesn’t see what’s happening right under his nose. I have to say I grew quite frustrated at times during the book because no one noticed that Sam was deteriorating both mentally and physically. I think that perhaps the author put so much time and effort into making Sam a sympathetic and relatable character, that she skimped a little on others, especially the adults in his life. The story also features a somewhat twisted love triangle between Sam, Marnie and Ace. I’m just going to say flat out I absolutely DESPISED Marnie. She’s a shallow little flirt who delights in playing Sam and Ace against each other. Honestly, there’s not a single nice thing I can say about her except that she was supportive of Sam when his dad died. Beyond that, she’s an absolute horror show and I honestly couldn’t understand why Sam loves her so much. Ace is pretty much your stereotypical bully: an overachiever who never lives up to the expectations of his demanding father. I ordinarily would have a certain amount of sympathy for someone like Ace, but what he does to Sam is so heartless and cruel, well, I couldn’t summon up one iota of pity for him. I’m not a trained psychologist but if I had to guess, I’d say that at the very least, Ace has sociopathic tendencies. The way that he charms everyone while at the same time secretly torments Sam is truly frightening. The ending gives both Sam and the reader a sense of hope. With the help of a therapist/advocate, he’s given a second chance at turning his life around, which is as it should be. Although Until I Break has quite a few flaws, there are two reasons why I’m giving it a high rating. The first being Sam, who it’s obvious that the author poured her heart and soul into creating. Because of his situation and his wanting to please the people in his life, I think teens will completely relate to and become emotionally invested in him. I know other reviewers have criticized that his not reaching out more to adults isn’t believable, but I respectfully disagree. Growing up with an abusive mother, as well as being bullied in school at one point, I know all too well that feeling of being alone and trapped and not knowing who to trust—who to reach out to. And I think sadly, too many kids will get this also. The second reason I’m giving this 4 stars is because of the important messages this book imparts. Bullying doesn’t have to take on physical form to do the most damage. Those inner wounds left by verbal and psychological abuse can be even more damaging and lasting. Worse yet, someone can be surrounded by friends and family but still feel lost, afraid and alone. One very important part of friendship is listening to and looking out for one another, and I think even as adults we sometimes lose sight of this. I would definitely recommend this book for classroom reading and teen book discussion groups. It’s not an easy read, but I think it’s one that has merits in being shared. 

 

Unnatural Deeds ~ By Cyn Balog – 3.5 Stars

Tags

Mental Illness, Mysteries, Suspense, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: November 1st, 2016

288 Pages

Synopsis: Victoria Zell doesn’t fit in, but she’s okay with that. All she needs is the company of her equally oddball boyfriend, Andrew. She doesn’t care what anyone else thinks…until magnetic, charming, mysterious Z comes into her life, and she starts lying to everyone she knows in an effort to unravel his secrets.

And then something terrible happens. Someone is dead and it’s time for Victoria to come clean. Interspersed with news clippings, and police interviews, Victoria tells her story to Andrew, revealing her dark, horrible secrets…secrets that have finally come back to haunt her.

I’ve read every book by Cyn Balog, and what I’ve learned is that she can be counted on for storytelling that is like no other. Unnatural Deeds is an eerie and haunting tale that kept me guessing right up until the end. The story is told in the second person by Victoria as she narrates what has happened to her boyfriend Andrew. Kudos to Balog just for pulling this complicated technique off successfully. I’m not generally fond of second person narration but honestly, Balog is such an accomplished writer that this was done seamlessly. I did however run into problems with the characters. While I liked that Victoria was an unreliable narrator, I thought she came across as too one-dimensional. From the very beginning while she somewhat intrigued me, I was never able to connect with her. Andrew was much more sympathetic, but there was a distinct lack of character development. Surprisingly, the one I liked the most was the sleazily charming Z who ended up being a much more complicated character then I originally thought. There were so many secrets and lies between these characters that most of the fun came from trying to unravel them all. And best of all was the huge twist at the end which I did not see coming. So, despite my issues with Victoria and Andrew, Unnatural Deeds is still a worthwhile read that older teens and adults who are fond of twisty mysteries with unexpected endings, will enjoy. Cyn Balog is one of my favorite YA authors and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next!

 

 

The Binding ~ Nicholas Wolff – 2.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Haiti, Historical Fiction, Horror, Mental Illness, Mystery

Thank you NetGalley and Gallery Books for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: June 28th, 2016

Synopsis: Convinced that evil spirits have overtaken his daughter, a desperate father introduces her to Nat Thayer, a young psychiatrist in their sleepy blue-blooded Massachusetts college town. Thayer quickly diagnoses the girl with Cotard Delusion, an obscure condition sometimes described as “walking corpse syndrome”. But Thayer soon realizes his patient–and many of the local families–are actually being targeted by a malignant force resurrected by the town’s wicked history. Thayer must discover the source of the spreading plague…before there is no one left to save.

As soon as I read the premise for this book I knew I had to read it. A horror tale set in the state where I live, and what sounded like a neat twist on zombies. What could possibly could go wrong? Sadly plenty. In fact, so much so that I struggled to finish this. The first problem are the characters, in particular Nat who I found not only unlikable but creepy as well. He’s in his mid-thirties yet lusts after one of his patients who’s nineteen. Yes she’s of legal age, but barely. Plus he’s her doctor for goodness sake! She’s either mentally ill or possessed by an evil spirit. Either way, his romantic feelings toward her leave much to be desired. His best friend John, who’s a police officer comes off marginally better, but as a whole is flat and uninspiring. His six-year-old son Charlie was my favorite character in the story, but in my opinion Wolff didn’t do nearly enough with him. What really almost made me stop reading though was this scene in a morgue of an attendant fondling a dead co-worker he had just found. If this had any meaning behind it, or some kind of connection to the rest of the story, I wouldn’t have had a problem with it. Instead, it seemed as though it was written for pure shock value, which annoyed and disgusted me. I settled on the 2 star rating because I did like the part of the book which takes us back to Haiti in the early 1900s (through the reading of a journal), where the actions of certain Northam natives, who are soldiers there, set into play the evil which is taking so many lives. I thought the author did a good job capturing the time period, but it just wasn’t enough for me. When I finally dragged myself to the end, the outcome was both predictable and unsatisfying. While The Binding wasn’t my cup of tea, it has received some positive reviews on Goodreads. So, if you’re a fan of horror that features unique twists on zombies and voodoo, I encourage you to try this. Hopefully you’ll have a better reading experience than I did.

 

 

The Girls In The Garden ~ By Lisa Jewell – 4.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Dysfunctional Families, Mental Illness, Mystery, Psychological Suspense

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis: Imagine that you live on a picturesque communal garden square, an oasis in urban London where your children run free, in and out of people’s houses. You’ve known your neighbors for years and you trust them. Implicitly. You think your children are safe. But are they really?

On a midsummer night, as a festive neighborhood party is taking place, preteen Pip discovers her thirteen-year-old sister Grace lying unconscious and bloody in a hidden corner of a lush rose garden. What really happened to her? And who is responsible?

Dark secrets, a devastating mystery, and the games both children and adults play all swirl together in this gripping novel, packed with utterly believable characters and page-turning suspense.

The Girls In The Garden is one of those books whose pace might be a little slow, yet is no less mesmerizing. The setting of this communal-like neighborhood is beautifully and somewhat chillingly detailed. From the moment I read the synopsis I was fascinated by the idea of this little community in the center of busy London. It harkens back to a more innocent time when parents could let their children outside to play without feeling the need to constantly supervise them. But as it is so often in life, all is not as it seems, and it quickly becomes obvious that something sinister has invaded this little garden of Eden, and disturbed it’s idyllic nature. There are actually two mysteries in play here. The current day one pertaining to young Grace and who assaulted her, and an earlier mystery involving the death of a young girl which was never solved to everyone’s satisfaction. The story is told from the multiple viewpoints of the adults and the children involved. I think Lisa Jewell was brilliant in choosing this format because it made everything so much more personal. Especially the chapters that are related by the kids. After reading the first couple of them, I was reminded a little of The Lord of the Flies. These are kids that despite being surrounded by adults, receive very little supervision. None of them are “bad”. They’re all products of dysfunctional families, and they deal with their issues as best as they can. They’re so richly drawn, that when I finished the book I felt as though I had actually met them. My favorite though was Pip, the younger sister of Grace. First there’s her beautiful letters to her schizophrenic dad who’s been institutionalized after burning down the family home. Her love for him just pours off the pages and there were so many times I wanted to reach in and give her a hug. While only twelve-years-old, she also possesses a wisdom far beyond her years, and she recognizes the growing menace before anyone else, including the adults. This brings me to the one criticism I have. While the children literally kept off the pages, the adults, at least for me, did not. I really didn’t care for any of them, especially Leo who while being attractive to practically every woman he meets, just gave me the creeps. To be perfectly frank, except for Rhea, the kind elderly neighbor who befriends young Pip, they all gave off an air of immaturity and self-involvement, which made it difficult for me to connect to any of them. Despite this, I remained captivated right up until the very end. Lisa Jewell’s writing is so lush and descriptive, that you really can’t help but be pulled into the story. The Girls in the Garden is the first book I’ve read by her, but it’s made me want to go back and read some of her previous novels. If you like character-driven stories and psychological suspense, I highly recommend this.

Frayed ~ By Kara Terzis – 2.5 Stars

Tags

Mental Illness, Murder, Mystery, YA Fiction

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: June 7th, 2016

Synopsis: Dear Kelsey,

My therapist tells me I should write you a letter. Like flushing all my thoughts and feelings out of my system and onto paper. I tell her it’s a stupid idea.

But here I am, writing a letter to a dead girl. Where do I start? Where did our story begin? From the moment you were born…or died?

I’ll start with the moment I found out about you. Your lies and my pain. Because it always begins and ends with you. And that end began when Rafe Lawrence came back to town…

Ava Hale will do anything to find her sister’s killer…although she’ll wish she hadn’t. Because the harder Ava looks, the more secrets she uncovers about Kelsey, and the more she begins to think that the girl she called sister was a liar. A sneak. A stranger.

And Kelsey’s murderer could be much closer than she thought…

I had a difficult time coming up with a rating for Frayed. While there were some genuinely good moments in it, in the end the bad outweighed the good which is why I wound up going with a lower rating. This is one of those stories where no one can be trusted, which in some respects I liked. Everyone seems to have hidden motivations and it’s intriguing discovering each one. I found Ava to be a difficult character to relate to though. While I sympathized with her circumstances, I found her incredibly annoying at times, particularly in regards to her relationship with her boyfriend. Her constant letting him off the hook really got on my nerves. As did her allowing herself to be used and walked on by just about everyone in her life. The secondary characters are all unlikable and have no real depth, and I found myself thinking on more than one occasion that I wouldn’t wish to meet any of them in real life. The identity of the murderer caught me completely by surprise, which ordinarily would be a good thing, but in this instance, the shock came because of a complete lack of foreshadowing. Just to make sure I hadn’t missed something, I went back and re-read a few chapters, but nope–not a hint. When the big reveal came it was totally out of the blue and made little sense to me. Ultimately I think Frayed could have been a much better book if more time had been spent on developing both the characters and the plot. It has received many positive reviews on Goodreads, so if the premise interests you, I definitely advise trying it. Personally though, this just wasn’t for me.