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stardust_priestess's review against another edition
3.0
Pretty interesting read.
Maddie a 16 year old with a unique gift that shows her the death date of everyone she sees gets entangled in a murder investigation with missing teenagers.
The book has a paranormal touch to it but is not mainly focused around the aspect of her “gift” but on the connection it has to the dead characters.
At times I felt that the book was far fetched in the way the school employees behaved. I find that extremely unlikely given the rules and regulations put in place to protect students. But this is a book so I went with it. Eventually the story arc lead to a more buyable plot where the school and its teachers/ staff were concerned.
I enjoyed the ending of the book. Great twist. I loved recalling the clock before it was even mentioned it in the recap.
It would be good to see where this world leads to as Maggie grows up and continues to see the death dates. Especially with the new things she discovers in regards to reading them towards the conclusion of the book.
I enjoyed the dogged pursuit of the FBI duo and the defense by Donny. I think one of my favorite characters was Agent Faraday.
I like that Maggie and Aiden have a chance at the end. Cute.
I am saddened by the things that happened to stubs but I am happy to see him regain himself at the end too. He seemed to get the rough end of the deal with jail and all.
Lastly: I know addiction is a horrible thing and it is a very hard battle to overcome. But I have to say it. Maggie’s mom is a tool through most of the book. Glad she got her act together. She as a character was disappointing.
Maddie a 16 year old with a unique gift that shows her the death date of everyone she sees gets entangled in a murder investigation with missing teenagers.
The book has a paranormal touch to it but is not mainly focused around the aspect of her “gift” but on the connection it has to the dead characters.
At times I felt that the book was far fetched in the way the school employees behaved. I find that extremely unlikely given the rules and regulations put in place to protect students. But this is a book so I went with it. Eventually the story arc lead to a more buyable plot where the school and its teachers/ staff were concerned.
I enjoyed the ending of the book. Great twist. I loved recalling the clock before it was even mentioned it in the recap.
It would be good to see where this world leads to as Maggie grows up and continues to see the death dates. Especially with the new things she discovers in regards to reading them towards the conclusion of the book.
I enjoyed the dogged pursuit of the FBI duo and the defense by Donny. I think one of my favorite characters was Agent Faraday.
I like that Maggie and Aiden have a chance at the end. Cute.
I am saddened by the things that happened to stubs but I am happy to see him regain himself at the end too. He seemed to get the rough end of the deal with jail and all.
Lastly: I know addiction is a horrible thing and it is a very hard battle to overcome. But I have to say it. Maggie’s mom is a tool through most of the book. Glad she got her act together. She as a character was disappointing.
mizzlroy's review against another edition
5.0
I could not put this book down. It was so good and kept me guessing the whole time. Can't wait to book talk this to my students!!!
mxharriet's review against another edition
3.0
It's the age old question: would you rather know when you die, or how you die? To which the answer never is agreed upon. In this gripping and unpredictable mystery, that will have you pointing the accusatory finger at everyone, it explores the concept of knowing when you will die, and whether given the chance to know, it is better left unanswered.
The concept of this novel is what intrigued me most. The manner in which it was handled and portrayed was brilliant, as realistic as it could be and painted in a way that one could possibly expect to be realistic. I thought Laurie tackled some interesting perspectives on the matter, and the different ways people would emotionally approach such a topic and revelation. It explored disbelief, denial, acceptance, and relief, and I feel the way in which Laurie portrayed it was really well done. It was an intriguing concept that was pulled off well.
The plot of this was brilliant; it was engaging, quick paced and mysterious. I find it quite hard nowadays to be surprised by a result of "Who done it?" novels, they are one of my favourite genres to read because of the fact that you are problem solving. However, due to the sheer amount of them I have read, I am often left unsurprised. Though, this, I was surprised by. And not in a completely random result that is completely unjustified, but a very tightly knit, and planned surprise culprit. It made sense, and I was so pleased to have that as the resulting climax of the novel. Laurie paints a great picture of the plot, you could feel the tension, the coldness of the characters, and the believability of the occurrences.
My issues mainly surrounded our protagonist Maddie. For a girl of around sixteen years old, her voice and narrative was incredibly young and childish. She seemed more like the age of a ten year old, and for a girl in her position, I would have certainly expected her voice to sound that of her age, and maybe a bit more mature. This meant that she came across as sadly a little whiney at times, and in complete disregard of what was going on around her, there were things that were obvious she should be doing, and yet she wasn't. And that left disappointment with me. She had a certain lack of maturity, and although I guess this is what caused the problems that made the plot of this novel, it just felt unrealistic for her age.
Secondly, what even was the point in including Aiden? I get it, typical teen novels will have a love interest, but it wasn't needed. The novel would switch to having these random daydreams about this guy, and how they have this 'connection' despite saying hi to one another once. And this also sparked my interest, why was his and her death dates never mentioned until the very end!? Like, their connection is because their death dates are consecutive? I just thought it was a waste of space in the novel and sort of dulled it down a little; the plot held its own without it.
The ending of this novel. Although the resulting culprit was a surprise and left the problem solver in me content, the ending was just, wrapped up too neatly. Characters went back to happy chappies after everything they went through, and everything was just wrapped up too neatly for the emotional toll what they had been through would have on them. I was left disappointed due to how unrealistic their emotions and actions were; Laurie just seemed to want to give the perfect, neatly wrapped present ending, and for a novel like this, it just did not fit.
The concept of this novel is what intrigued me most. The manner in which it was handled and portrayed was brilliant, as realistic as it could be and painted in a way that one could possibly expect to be realistic. I thought Laurie tackled some interesting perspectives on the matter, and the different ways people would emotionally approach such a topic and revelation. It explored disbelief, denial, acceptance, and relief, and I feel the way in which Laurie portrayed it was really well done. It was an intriguing concept that was pulled off well.
The plot of this was brilliant; it was engaging, quick paced and mysterious. I find it quite hard nowadays to be surprised by a result of "Who done it?" novels, they are one of my favourite genres to read because of the fact that you are problem solving. However, due to the sheer amount of them I have read, I am often left unsurprised. Though, this, I was surprised by. And not in a completely random result that is completely unjustified, but a very tightly knit, and planned surprise culprit. It made sense, and I was so pleased to have that as the resulting climax of the novel. Laurie paints a great picture of the plot, you could feel the tension, the coldness of the characters, and the believability of the occurrences.
My issues mainly surrounded our protagonist Maddie. For a girl of around sixteen years old, her voice and narrative was incredibly young and childish. She seemed more like the age of a ten year old, and for a girl in her position, I would have certainly expected her voice to sound that of her age, and maybe a bit more mature. This meant that she came across as sadly a little whiney at times, and in complete disregard of what was going on around her, there were things that were obvious she should be doing, and yet she wasn't. And that left disappointment with me. She had a certain lack of maturity, and although I guess this is what caused the problems that made the plot of this novel, it just felt unrealistic for her age.
Secondly, what even was the point in including Aiden? I get it, typical teen novels will have a love interest, but it wasn't needed. The novel would switch to having these random daydreams about this guy, and how they have this 'connection' despite saying hi to one another once. And this also sparked my interest, why was his and her death dates never mentioned until the very end!? Like, their connection is because their death dates are consecutive? I just thought it was a waste of space in the novel and sort of dulled it down a little; the plot held its own without it.
The ending of this novel. Although the resulting culprit was a surprise and left the problem solver in me content, the ending was just, wrapped up too neatly. Characters went back to happy chappies after everything they went through, and everything was just wrapped up too neatly for the emotional toll what they had been through would have on them. I was left disappointed due to how unrealistic their emotions and actions were; Laurie just seemed to want to give the perfect, neatly wrapped present ending, and for a novel like this, it just did not fit.
droffig's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Satisfying ending
vanessaqd's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
ladymeleys's review against another edition
4.0
No recuerdo como llego a mi TBR este libro y cuando leí las primeras páginas realmente no esperaba mucho, pero resultó siendo un libro que superó expectativas. Es fácil de leer y la historia te atrapa completamente
Nunca vi venir al asesino (nunca lo hago), está lleno de suspenso y no es predecible. La autora usa como centro del argumento que alguien puede ver la fecha de las muertes de los demás, lo cual me resulta escalofriante y a la vez te pone a pensar en la muerte… en todo lo que aprovecharíamos del tiempo si supiéramos que nos queda poco, creo que haríamos muchas cosas diferentes; para bien y para mal. La historia en ningún momento se me hizo pesada y te mantiene con la intriga, me lo terminé en 3 horas y ni yo misma me esperaba que el tiempo pasara volando, la lectura es ligera y para nada me pareció ni lenta ni predecible.
Nunca vi venir al asesino (nunca lo hago), está lleno de suspenso y no es predecible. La autora usa como centro del argumento que alguien puede ver la fecha de las muertes de los demás, lo cual me resulta escalofriante y a la vez te pone a pensar en la muerte… en todo lo que aprovecharíamos del tiempo si supiéramos que nos queda poco, creo que haríamos muchas cosas diferentes; para bien y para mal. La historia en ningún momento se me hizo pesada y te mantiene con la intriga, me lo terminé en 3 horas y ni yo misma me esperaba que el tiempo pasara volando, la lectura es ligera y para nada me pareció ni lenta ni predecible.
sharonsm_28's review against another edition
4.0
This was an intriguing story. It is a story about a girl with the ability to see the dates when people die. Maddie was a great character. I thought she was sweet and I felt really bad for her because she was accused of murdering a child. I think the school and the FBI treated her very badly. They all just assumed it was her and that was not right. I did think the story got boring at times, and the pace was a little bit slow. The ending was great. I liked how everything turned out well. I am happy that Maddie got a happy ending to her story. Overall, a great paranormal read.
bluebeereads's review against another edition
3.0
Istyria book blog ~ B's world of enchanted books
3.5 stars
When was a very good book, but I think I just wasn't completely in the right mood for it, otherwise it would've been a five-star book for sure. It still was great and un-put-downable.
When is about Maddie Fynn. She's cursed with an eerie intuitive ability, she sees a series of unique numbers hovering above the foreheads of each person she encounters. These mysterious numbers are death dates and just like birthdays, everyone has one. Maddie is forced by her mother to use this ability to make extra money. When she identifies the quickly approaching death date of a client's young son, the boy goes missing on that exact date and law enforcement turns to Maddie.
I think I need something less tense to read. I wasn't in the right mood to read a book like this that just doesn't let you go, with a hundred twists and turns that make your head spin. I love mystery/thriller books, but I need to be in the mood for them to really enjoy them. There also isn't really a romance to speak of, which could have made it easier for me. There's a crush, but no real romance.
Overall I did like the story and the characters and if you love Mystery/Thriller books and you are in the mood for a good one, read this! Seriously! If I read this again another time, I'll probably rate this book higher.
This review is also (or -soon- will be) posted on Istyria book blog
nhi_nguyen's review against another edition
4.0
Definitely a very unique concept. The beginning was a little slow, but the pace definitely picked up and the ending was too good to put down.