Pretend She’s Here by Luanne Rice

Posted on by lynndellwatson
Suspenseful, crazy, thought provoking;
5 stars!

Emily lost her best friend Lizzie and now she’s been kidnapped by Lizzie’s family to be her replacement. Lizzie’s mother has gone insane with grief. She’s tried to turn their younger daughter Chloe into Lizzie but that didn’t work because they’re still missing a child and have an empty seat at the kitchen table. Chloe is used as bait to get Emily to the van and convince her to go for a ride. They drug her and kidnap her. Emily is taken from everything she knows and loves and she sees that Lizzie’s mom is twisted in justifying the kidnapping. Emily’s hair is dyed black and she’s forced to wear contacts the colors of Lizzie’s eyes. Little by little, Emily is allowed tiny freedoms and eventually can attend school, if she agrees to send an email to her parents telling them that she ran away. She only agrees to send the email because her mother’s life is threatened if she doesn’t. Trauma, abuse and manipulation are parts of Emily’s daily life now and to keep her family safe, she agrees to be Lizzie.
Suspenseful, crazy, thought provoking; 5 stars!

The Last to Vanish by Megan Miranda

Posted on by lynndellwatson
Appalachian Trail Mystery!

Abby works at the Passage resort that sits next to the beginning of the Appalachian Trail. This resort is known for the disappearance of a group of four men twenty five years ago. Since those four friends went missing, three separate disappearances have happened, two women and a man. The latest disappearance, Landon West, occurred four months ago and his brother Trey just came to stay at The Passage. He wants to search for information about his brother and hopes to find answers. Abby and Trey both end up finding items that belonged to missing people. This makes her suspicious and a little creeped out. The story of the missing fraternity four is interesting and eerie but I would have liked more details of the last three crimes. I do feel that the ending was somewhat rushed. 4 stars!

The Rumor Game by Dhonielle Clayton and Sona Charaipotra

Posted on by lynndellwatson
A cautionary tale!

A prime, fictional example of the harm rumors can do.
Bryn caused an accident out of anger and jealousy. The high school students have treated her harshly in person and online. She’s relieved when rumors start online about other students and their lives because it takes the attention off of her. She wants to use this chance to make things better. The story has much to learn from, such as never accepting food or drinks from anyone at a party because others might not be trustworthy; stay aware and alert at a party so you know what’s happening; photos can be taken out of context just like words, so don’t trust everything you see online; and there’s more than one side to every story. Full of diverse characters and very realistic, The Rumor Game is a cautionary tale. 4 stars!

The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward

Posted on by lynndellwatson
Morbidly fascinating!

Weird. Psychologically twisted. Wow… This story is a mystery in itself because of the narrators. As I read, I was unsure if I could trust any of the narrators. They all seem unreliable in some way. Ted, the man with extremely odd behavior and lifestyle, Olivia, Ted’s cat, and Dee, a woman who moved into Ted’s neighborhood who’s secretly looking for her younger sister that’s been missing for years. Ted supposedly has a daughter, Lauren. It’s difficult to decipher her age and maturity. Also, it seems that Ted’s mother handicapped Lauren so she’s unable to walk. It took me a few chapters to get into the story but then I needed to finish it to figure it all out. By the time, I read the entire book, I was fascinated, albeit a bit morbidly. I completely appreciate the author’s notes at the end of the book, explaining everything and making sense of it all and her spoiler alert at the beginning of her notes. So, don’t read her notes until after you’ve finished reading the book. She shares her research also, which is impressive! I want to read more of Catriona Ward’s books now. She wrote an intricate and complicated story, The Last House on Needless Street, showing the fragility and capabilities we all have within us. 5 stars!

The Fire Keeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley

Posted on by lynndellwatson
Strong characters!

Daunis is looking forward to college and her future. She’s attending with her best friend Lily. They’re both descendants of members of the Tribe Council who are Native American. She befriends a new hockey player that just moved to town. His name is Jamie and he’s good at avoiding answering questions about his personal life. When a murder-suicide affects Daunis, she’s asked to help the undercover investigation to catch and stop the drug dealing happening in their community. She reluctantly and cautiously becomes an FBI informant. Daunis worries that she’ll betray her people by not helping the FBI see the good in her community, only the drug issues. A wonderful glimpse of a piece of Native American life, language and culture. Strong characters, true character development and the surrounding mystery pulled me deep into the story and it’s still sticking with me days later. Betrayal, deception, mistrust, broken family, violence, loyalty (sometimes misplaced), and manipulative behavior are all parts of this book. 4 stars!

As Good As Dead by Holly Jackson

Posted on by lynndellwatson
Intense to the very end!

This is the best book of the series! Action packed and suspenseful enough to keep the stress level high! The author made me feel everything that Pip went through, physically and emotionally. Pip’s stubbornness exasperated me at times but her intelligence knows no bounds and makes her stubborn because she can analyze situations and outcomes that others might not see. The mysteries come full circle with intensity and full force. I don’t want to spoil the story but if you like mysteries then this series is a must-read, 5 stars!

One of Us is Lying by Karen McManus

Posted on by lynndellwatson
Interesting young adult mystery!

Five students get detention because of phones they didn’t know they had. Someone set them up. Cooper, Bronwyn, Simon, Addy and Nate arrive at detention but only four make it out alive. An allergy to peanuts kills Simon, who started and continuously posted to his online gossip site. Because of this site, many people have motive to want to hurt Simon and keep him quiet. The students in detention with Simon immediately become suspects. They’re interrogated several times but the mystery remains until one of them is arrested. The students have become somewhat tight knit after secrets about each of them are revealed. So, when one is arrested, they work together to figure out what really happened. No one is expecting the truth that they discover. An interesting young adult mystery, 4 stars!

The Smell of Other People’s Houses by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock

Posted on by lynndellwatson
Tugs at the heartstrings!

The Smell of Other People’s Houses is a historical fiction story set when Alaska was just barely made into a state of America. Young acquaintances tell their points of view of their lives and their perspective of each other’s. Ruth ends up pregnant with Ray’s baby, Alyce spends her time on the family fishing boat with her father and uncle, Dora lives with Dumpling and Bunny after their father protects Dora from her abusive father and Hank and his brothers stowaway on a ferry. Selma doesn’t know her birth parents but lives with her loving adoptive parents. All of their lives intertwine in different and unique ways. This book is a fairly quick read that pulls at the heartstrings and builds empathy, 5 stars!

Instant Karma by Marissa Meyer

Posted on by lynndellwatson
A fun, clean romance!

The story opens as the main character, Prudence, awaits her class partner for their group project presentation. Quint shows up late and acts nonchalant. She believes that she’s done all of the work but the teacher gives her the lower grade because she struggles with teamwork. She’s allowed an extra credit assignment and grade if she’ll do more research on the topic and demonstrate her ability for teamwork. She volunteers at Quint’s family owned sea animal rescue center for her research. During summer break, Prudence expands her horizons and broadens her perspective. She also helps catch an embezzler. A clean read with some unexpected happenings, 4 stars!

*I also listened to the audiobook which was fun to listen to!

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Posted on by lynndellwatson
Food for thought!

Nora feels like her life is pointless and that she’s useless. She overdoses and ends up at the Midnight Library, an in-between place where she looks at her large book of regrets and chooses different lives to try out, all from choices she makes differently in her past. As soon as she feels disappointed in each life, she’s brought back to the Midnight Library to choose a different path. A fascinating read that gave me much to ponder.

Quote- “You don’t have to understand life. You just have to live it.”

  • Matt Haig, The Midnight Library
  • character quote by Mrs Elm

Food for thought, 5 stars!