Try Not to Breathe by Holly Seddon: A Review

November 20, 2015 Rebecca Nolen 1 Comment

27793667 After I finished reading Try Not to Breathe by Holly Seddon, I sat stunned from some time absorbing the feelings I had about the story. There aren’t many stories that I can say that about. You may even say this story left me breathless.

The story begins with a series of flashbacks from a then, fifteen-year-old Amy Stevenson. Then flash forward about fifteen years to more present day and the reporter who is trying desperately to get her life back after a series of disasters and struggles with addiction. Alex Dale, the reporter, is a believable and sympathetic character. Alex is the same age as Amy who is now what we might consider a vegetable because of a brutal attack that left her in that condition when she was fifteen.

As the story unfolds we jump from Alex’s increasingly fragile existence to the POV of Amy who flashes through “wake” and “sleep” periods as do some “vegetative” patients. The suspense builds as we readers try to figure out who did it and why we need to worry that whoever did it is about to do something equally horrifying. There are many layers and folds as this story pivots and twists into what it becomes – a complex story with believable characters who left me rooting for them.

I won’t ruin the story for you by telling any more than that but just know this – if you are privileged to get this book as soon as it comes out, do so. You won’t regret it.

I was fortunate to receive the book from Net galley for a fair and honest review.

Five Big Stars for a lovely engaging read.

reviews

Tumbled Graves by Brenda Chapman: A book review

November 15, 2015 Rebecca Nolen Leave a comment

cover72279-medium I’m fortunate to be able to get books before they are published through Netgalley. Tumbled Graves by Brenda Chapman is one of those books.

The novel has a creepy beginning that pulls the reader in: Catherine Lockhart is a neighbor of Adele Delaney’s. She and her son go to Adele’s house to find out why Adele and her daughter didn’t turn up at a scheduled play date for their children. She finds the house’s front door open, the breakfast on the table uneaten, Adele’s purse and keys and car are still at the house. Catherine calls the police. The police search and don’t find Adele or her child. They do find the child’s coat and shoes strewn haphazardly in the woods behind their house, along the path that leads to the half-frozen river.

The author expertly takes the reader through the search experience using different points of view, first Catherine’s, then the police investigators, Paul Gundersund’s and Kala Stonechild’s. The characters don’t leap off the page, but do, over time, become likable. Each of the lead investigators have believable flaws, Gundersund – a soon-to-be-ex-wife who is also the chief medical examiner, and Stonechild has a past she would rather not talk about or have anyone find out about.

Every time the reader thinks the story is going in a certain direction there is a twist. I will not disclose these as they are good for the shock value. Each one is believable and leads to the story turning on it’s “head” and going in a different direction. The ending is certainly not predictable at all. There are things the reader is privy to and the detectives are not, but then there are things the reader can not imagine and must discover just as the detectives do.

I give the story 4 out of 5 solid stars. Recommended for people who love mysteries and suspense set in Canada.

reviews

Thirteen Reasons Why: A Book Review

November 8, 2015 Rebecca Nolen Leave a comment

Jay Asher has created a masterpiece of writing with his novel Thirteen Reasons Why, a Young Adult novel about a girl who has recorded thirteen things that may or may not have led to her suicide.

41zlOSzTsuL._SX331_BO1,204,203,200_[1] Young Clay, one of the recipients of her recorded tapes is torn between guilt over something he may have done, and horror that he may not have done enough. His very “teen” voice sounds so authentic it’s hard to believe that Mr. Asher did not follow some teen boys around with his own tape recorder.

Really. I am so impressed.

This book deserves its international best-seller status. It speaks not only to angst-torn teens but to those who genuinely have contemplated or are contemplating suicide. But it isn’t a “how-to” book, or a cautionary tale. It is a beautifully crafted tale of sorrow from a girl who believed she would never ever have a good reputation again, despite the fact that she had done nothing. Nothing. Every human on the planet who has experienced being wrongfully accused would empathize with and appreciate the main character Hannah Baker. The cautionary message is this: “Be Kind-everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.”