This is not a book I was originally planning on reading this year, but I came across it and could not resist.
For those of you that have not been following my reading journey on Instagram, I read my very first ebook last year. As a library assistant (& lover), I felt like I was committing treason. I did, however, like it more than I thought I would. I still prefer the weight and smell of an actual book, but I now keep an ebook on my phone to pick up when I am bored.
Have you guys heard of BookBub? I highly recommend it. They send you an email each day of ebook bargains, tailored to your reading preferences. If you are wondering where I am going with this, it is how I came across this book. Snagged it on iBooks for $2.99 after being tipped off by BookBub of the deal. I want to clarify: This is NOT a sponsored post, I truly just enjoy their service. Oh, and did I mention it is free?
A little background:
This is the story of a hardworking single mom (Kate) and her very responsible teenage daughter (Amelia). Kate is called away from work when her daughter is shockingly suspended from school. Unfortunately by the time Kate travels from her law firm to Amelia's exclusive private school, Amelia is dead after falling from the roof of the school.
The story she is told by both the school and police is that Amelia jumped after getting caught cheating on an English paper. Despite her knowing that English was Amelia's best (& favorite) subject, Kate is so overcome with grief that she forces herself to believe it. Kate is still struggling to come to terms with Amelia's supposed suicide weeks later, when she begins receiving anonymous texts claiming that it was not suicide after all.
What I thought of it:
Seriously, I could not stop reading. By the time I finished, my eyes were so tired that I couldn't even see straight. Who am I kidding? I had to stop a couple of times while I was reading just so my eyes could focus long enough to finish the book. Downside to ebooks, I suppose.
This story is like an onion, it has so very many layers.
While I was touched by Kate's commitment to getting justice for her daughter, it was Amelia who stole the show for me. At such a young age, she was so...together. She was responsible and level-headed, much unlike most teenagers. Did she do stupid things? Of course (hello, Magpies), who didn't at that age? But most of the time she handled herself so well.
I said it in my last review and I will say it again, the key to a good book (for me, anyway) is character development and this one went above and beyond. I was delighted to watch Amelia grow and discover new parts of herself that she otherwise may not have explored, if not for the Magpies. I despise that organization (if you can call it that), though I have been intrigued by secret groups since Rory went to Yale and managed to get involved in the Life & Death Brigade (sorry, I digress...Gilmore Girls is in my blood). And Kate, oh how she grew through this journey also. Everyone did, really.
Side note for those of you familiar with the book -- I always knew there was something weird going on with Ben, but I had no idea it was that.
I don't know if I am slipping this year, but I did not guess where this story was going until the end either. I thought whatever happened on that rooftop had to have been way more nefarious than that. And Amelia's father!? Yeah, I didn't see that coming either. Or that stupid broad (I don't want to give anything else away, sorry).
Bottom line: all of the characters were whack in their own way, but that was part of what made is so incredibly interesting.
What can I say? It was so SO good. I did not love it in the way I loved Girl on the Train or Behind Closed Doors, but I liked it A LOT.
Have you read it?
Tell me, what did you think?
For those of you that have not been following my reading journey on Instagram, I read my very first ebook last year. As a library assistant (& lover), I felt like I was committing treason. I did, however, like it more than I thought I would. I still prefer the weight and smell of an actual book, but I now keep an ebook on my phone to pick up when I am bored.
Have you guys heard of BookBub? I highly recommend it. They send you an email each day of ebook bargains, tailored to your reading preferences. If you are wondering where I am going with this, it is how I came across this book. Snagged it on iBooks for $2.99 after being tipped off by BookBub of the deal. I want to clarify: This is NOT a sponsored post, I truly just enjoy their service. Oh, and did I mention it is free?
A little background:
This is the story of a hardworking single mom (Kate) and her very responsible teenage daughter (Amelia). Kate is called away from work when her daughter is shockingly suspended from school. Unfortunately by the time Kate travels from her law firm to Amelia's exclusive private school, Amelia is dead after falling from the roof of the school.
The story she is told by both the school and police is that Amelia jumped after getting caught cheating on an English paper. Despite her knowing that English was Amelia's best (& favorite) subject, Kate is so overcome with grief that she forces herself to believe it. Kate is still struggling to come to terms with Amelia's supposed suicide weeks later, when she begins receiving anonymous texts claiming that it was not suicide after all.
What I thought of it:
Seriously, I could not stop reading. By the time I finished, my eyes were so tired that I couldn't even see straight. Who am I kidding? I had to stop a couple of times while I was reading just so my eyes could focus long enough to finish the book. Downside to ebooks, I suppose.
This story is like an onion, it has so very many layers.
While I was touched by Kate's commitment to getting justice for her daughter, it was Amelia who stole the show for me. At such a young age, she was so...together. She was responsible and level-headed, much unlike most teenagers. Did she do stupid things? Of course (hello, Magpies), who didn't at that age? But most of the time she handled herself so well.
I said it in my last review and I will say it again, the key to a good book (for me, anyway) is character development and this one went above and beyond. I was delighted to watch Amelia grow and discover new parts of herself that she otherwise may not have explored, if not for the Magpies. I despise that organization (if you can call it that), though I have been intrigued by secret groups since Rory went to Yale and managed to get involved in the Life & Death Brigade (sorry, I digress...Gilmore Girls is in my blood). And Kate, oh how she grew through this journey also. Everyone did, really.
Side note for those of you familiar with the book -- I always knew there was something weird going on with Ben, but I had no idea it was that.
I don't know if I am slipping this year, but I did not guess where this story was going until the end either. I thought whatever happened on that rooftop had to have been way more nefarious than that. And Amelia's father!? Yeah, I didn't see that coming either. Or that stupid broad (I don't want to give anything else away, sorry).
Bottom line: all of the characters were whack in their own way, but that was part of what made is so incredibly interesting.
What can I say? It was so SO good. I did not love it in the way I loved Girl on the Train or Behind Closed Doors, but I liked it A LOT.
Have you read it?
Tell me, what did you think?
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