lindaunconventionalbookworms's review against another edition
4.0
*ARC received on November 5th 2012 courtesy of Netgalley*
Full review can be found on my blog (un)Conventional Bookviews.
This was a very nice surprise! The suspense was very well done, I had no idea what was real and what wasn't, and at the same time, I wanted to take Mallory in my arms and hug her and tell her everything would be OK - even if I had no idea if it would or not.
Full review can be found on my blog (un)Conventional Bookviews.
This was a very nice surprise! The suspense was very well done, I had no idea what was real and what wasn't, and at the same time, I wanted to take Mallory in my arms and hug her and tell her everything would be OK - even if I had no idea if it would or not.
belava's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Drug use, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Death of parent
mehsi's review against another edition
5.0
OMG holy wow. A boarding school murder mystery with a dash of romance and a story that will draw you in. I loved this one, it was just what I needed and what I wanted. Meet Mallory she murdered her boyfriend, but what made her do it? Through parts taking place before the now events we find out about what happened before, after, and what happened during. Who is stalking Mallory? (though I had a fast suspicion quite soon) I felt sorry for Mallory and all she went through and still was going through thanks to the new girls at her boarding school. I loved how the author wrote Mallory, how at times you were doubting her memories because of the things she did now. I loved the friendship between Mallory and her best friend. The ending holy wow! The romance.. I wasn't to sure about as it felt too soon too rushed, but in the end I was quite happy with it.
bookishnicole's review against another edition
4.0
At first when I started this book, I felt a little blah mostly because I was really lost. e started this book with this terrible thing having happened to Mallory and her boyfriend and we have no idea what it was why it happened or anything else surrounding it. We know that her mother has hidden the knife block and that her parents are shipping her off to school in New Hampshire and that she is not happy about it at all. I guess thats what you do as a parent when your daughter kills her boyfriend in self defense and his mother won't leave you alone.
Miranda's writing was a combination of present time and flashback to the night that the accident took place and other times surrounding it. A lot of the flashbacks have to do with her boyfriend Brian, and others have to do with her stellar best friend Colleen, who you cannot but help and love for her devotion to Mallory and visa versa. Right from the start you seem to find out that Brian was a shit and had no business being with Mallory, and while tragic, its a good thing that she was able to escape him while she could. While we don't know right away what happened the night that Brian was killed the facts are quickly established so you're not left hanging until the end of the book, which while it adds to the suspense, really drives me crazy.
Once we get to New Hampshire, the plot really takes off and we're introduced to a handful of other students who really matter to moving the plot forward. One of them is Reid, and my god is he one of the best book boyfriends ever. Like really, as suspicious surrounded Mallory regarding the different events that take place including the subsequent murder, he seems to never, not ever lose faith in what she told him what happened. And THAT my friends, was great because it wasn't instalove, it was based on him having known her for years and his trust in her, not that he loved her having seen her again after ages. The entire book I just wanted to take a Mallory doll and a Reid doll and smash their faces together making kissey noises. Because thats all they should do all the time.
I loved that there was a development of the relationships, I've seen in a lot of books, authors that will declare two characters best friends and back it up with some actions that show it, but in this book we really see how Colleen and Mallory were really there for one another. We saw how their relationship grew through the awful experiences they were both going through. The same thing went for Reid and Mallory as we saw flashbacks from when his father died when they were in high school. That was a relationship of substance.
I was a little confused as to the development of Mallory's problem. She seems to be having hallucinations of Brian sort of stalking her life. She feels like she keeps hearing the pounding of his heart and then she starts to develop these bruises on her shoulder and then other instances occur in her room that make you wonder who was the culprit and what was going on. It was frustrating at times because you could never be sure, and of course there isn't just one person working against her sanity.
All in all, this book just made me more excited to read Fracture which has been on my shelves for quite some time now.
Miranda's writing was a combination of present time and flashback to the night that the accident took place and other times surrounding it. A lot of the flashbacks have to do with her boyfriend Brian, and others have to do with her stellar best friend Colleen, who you cannot but help and love for her devotion to Mallory and visa versa. Right from the start you seem to find out that Brian was a shit and had no business being with Mallory, and while tragic, its a good thing that she was able to escape him while she could. While we don't know right away what happened the night that Brian was killed the facts are quickly established so you're not left hanging until the end of the book, which while it adds to the suspense, really drives me crazy.
Once we get to New Hampshire, the plot really takes off and we're introduced to a handful of other students who really matter to moving the plot forward. One of them is Reid, and my god is he one of the best book boyfriends ever. Like really, as suspicious surrounded Mallory regarding the different events that take place including the subsequent murder, he seems to never, not ever lose faith in what she told him what happened. And THAT my friends, was great because it wasn't instalove, it was based on him having known her for years and his trust in her, not that he loved her having seen her again after ages. The entire book I just wanted to take a Mallory doll and a Reid doll and smash their faces together making kissey noises. Because thats all they should do all the time.
I loved that there was a development of the relationships, I've seen in a lot of books, authors that will declare two characters best friends and back it up with some actions that show it, but in this book we really see how Colleen and Mallory were really there for one another. We saw how their relationship grew through the awful experiences they were both going through. The same thing went for Reid and Mallory as we saw flashbacks from when his father died when they were in high school. That was a relationship of substance.
I was a little confused as to the development of Mallory's problem. She seems to be having hallucinations of Brian sort of stalking her life. She feels like she keeps hearing the pounding of his heart and then she starts to develop these bruises on her shoulder and then other instances occur in her room that make you wonder who was the culprit and what was going on. It was frustrating at times because you could never be sure, and of course there isn't just one person working against her sanity.
All in all, this book just made me more excited to read Fracture which has been on my shelves for quite some time now.
bkmckown's review against another edition
3.0
This was an easy read, it had some good plot twists but the unreliable narrator is not my favorite. Overall though, it was predictable.
alifromkc1907's review against another edition
4.0
Read more at http://rainbowreviews.wix.com/reading free or on Instagram @RainbowReviewsKC
Gut Instinct Rating - 4
Story Line - 4.5
Writing Style - 3
Characters - 4
Excitement Factor - 4
Believability for type and topics - 3
Similarity to other books - 5
Cover art - 5
Title Relevance - 3
Goodreads users gave this book a 3.66. I think it was more deserving of a 3.94.
When Mallory kills her boyfriend, Brian, her parents send to her a boarding school, Monroe. But when trouble ensues at Monroe, will Mallory's troubled past come back to bite her?
You may like this book if you like the following sub-genres:
YA Fiction
Crime
Boarding School
This book wasn't horrible... but there were certainly points of improvement. Overall, it was a pretty good book. It was entertaining, easy-read, and mostly well-written. But I wasn't a fan of some components.
The characters were well illustrated, if you like one-sided, basic, YA characters. Which isn't a negative thing. Some people enjoy YA books because the YA characters are easily read and pretty relateable. However, there were 14 characters (that I counted...), and I felt like some of the characters from Mallory's past weren't well defined, so I wasn't really sure of the importance of their involvement. The dad's character - it was incredibly hard to remember that he was actually involved in the family matters. For majority of the book, I truly did forget that he was alive. And considering he was a Monroe alum, I really thought there would've been more of a presence from him, so I was a bit disappointed by his continued absence. I saw a few parallels between Brian and Jason as far as their personalities go, but I'm not sure why. It's that inside feeling that you could easily confuse the two individuals, so I was a bit annoyed with Jason's character, as was I with Brian's character - in particular, how the author just brushed over a 15/16 year old dating a 19 year old. While it's a common event, I wasn't entirely pleased with how this topic was brushed over entirely. In most states, this is illegal - and Bryan and Dylan's mom even hinted at her age... and he reassured her that Mallory was 18. So this was a bit of a strange story line that looked like it was going to go somewhere, that went absolutely nowhere. I'm not sure if this has more or less to do with the character or if it has to do with the story line.
It wasn't all that believable, honestly. A 16-year old who was murdered and in a matter of weeks shipped off to boarding school in another state, completely cleared of all charges? Seems too good to be true, for one. In addition, how was the second case that Mallory was involved in solved in a matter of weeks? It was all just so unbelievable. But the story itself was pretty decent. It was entertaining, it was especially twisted towards the end. I kind of felt like I need a bit more closure on Reid, on Colleen especially, on Dylan... I mean, all of these things that happened, it just felt absent at the end.
The writing style was really annoying. I'm not a huge fan of flashbacks, because I often think they're done poorly. And these were. I'm not sure why they were italicized. I would much rather hear about the past via "That summer... xyz..." or something. In addition, I hated that there were "chapter" breaks within the chapter. I think a chapter should be about one moment, not extended periods of time. I think it influenced the excitement factor of the book. It was just so broken up that you'd get geared up for a big moment, and then you'd be taken back a year or so. The flow just wasn't consistent, and it was a bit of a letdown.
Gut Instinct Rating - 4
Story Line - 4.5
Writing Style - 3
Characters - 4
Excitement Factor - 4
Believability for type and topics - 3
Similarity to other books - 5
Cover art - 5
Title Relevance - 3
Goodreads users gave this book a 3.66. I think it was more deserving of a 3.94.
When Mallory kills her boyfriend, Brian, her parents send to her a boarding school, Monroe. But when trouble ensues at Monroe, will Mallory's troubled past come back to bite her?
You may like this book if you like the following sub-genres:
YA Fiction
Crime
Boarding School
This book wasn't horrible... but there were certainly points of improvement. Overall, it was a pretty good book. It was entertaining, easy-read, and mostly well-written. But I wasn't a fan of some components.
The characters were well illustrated, if you like one-sided, basic, YA characters. Which isn't a negative thing. Some people enjoy YA books because the YA characters are easily read and pretty relateable. However, there were 14 characters (that I counted...), and I felt like some of the characters from Mallory's past weren't well defined, so I wasn't really sure of the importance of their involvement. The dad's character - it was incredibly hard to remember that he was actually involved in the family matters. For majority of the book, I truly did forget that he was alive. And considering he was a Monroe alum, I really thought there would've been more of a presence from him, so I was a bit disappointed by his continued absence. I saw a few parallels between Brian and Jason as far as their personalities go, but I'm not sure why. It's that inside feeling that you could easily confuse the two individuals, so I was a bit annoyed with Jason's character, as was I with Brian's character - in particular, how the author just brushed over a 15/16 year old dating a 19 year old. While it's a common event, I wasn't entirely pleased with how this topic was brushed over entirely. In most states, this is illegal - and Bryan and Dylan's mom even hinted at her age... and he reassured her that Mallory was 18. So this was a bit of a strange story line that looked like it was going to go somewhere, that went absolutely nowhere. I'm not sure if this has more or less to do with the character or if it has to do with the story line.
It wasn't all that believable, honestly. A 16-year old who was murdered and in a matter of weeks shipped off to boarding school in another state, completely cleared of all charges? Seems too good to be true, for one. In addition, how was the second case that Mallory was involved in solved in a matter of weeks? It was all just so unbelievable. But the story itself was pretty decent. It was entertaining, it was especially twisted towards the end. I kind of felt like I need a bit more closure on Reid, on Colleen especially, on Dylan... I mean, all of these things that happened, it just felt absent at the end.
The writing style was really annoying. I'm not a huge fan of flashbacks, because I often think they're done poorly. And these were. I'm not sure why they were italicized. I would much rather hear about the past via "That summer... xyz..." or something. In addition, I hated that there were "chapter" breaks within the chapter. I think a chapter should be about one moment, not extended periods of time. I think it influenced the excitement factor of the book. It was just so broken up that you'd get geared up for a big moment, and then you'd be taken back a year or so. The flow just wasn't consistent, and it was a bit of a letdown.
the_lady_reads's review against another edition
4.0
As seen on Ed and Em's Reviews!
After reading Megan Miranda's debut title, Fracture, and loving it, I looked forward to seeing how her writing would progress. When the cover for Hysteria was released, I knew I would enjoy this book. No, it's not the best book of all time, but it really is a exellent and eery tale.
Mallory can't remember the night she killed her boyfriend, Brian. She wasn't charged with a crime, since it was ruled self-defense, but her parents still decide to send her off to Monroe, her father's old prep school. She isn't happy with the idea, but is willing to go to get away from Brian's memory, which is haunting her. When a student at Monroe is killed, all eyes are on Mallory and people really start to question her. Was Brian's death really just self-defense?
Hysteria has some obvious plot twists, and the climax fell a bit flat, but what leads up to them is what kept me reading. I found myself captivated by Mallory's story. Even though more often than not, I didn't agree with her actions, it was impossible for me not to be drawn into her world. Mallory can be a difficult character. For me, at least, she's not a character that I immediately fell in love with. She's pretty selfish and immature. As the story progressed, my feelings towards her fluctuated, but my enjoyment of the story, did not.
The characters in this story had a lot of flaws, and not very much kindness. For the most part, the characters are stereotypical. You've got the mean girls, cruel boys who want into everyone's pants, and parents who don't know what the heck they are doing. Colleen and Reid were the only characters that I really liked. Reid's faith and the way he cares about Mallory are the two major reasons I liked him so much. Mallory's best friend, Colleen, and I didn't always get along. For the most part, I believe she is a good friend, but there were times in this book where I wanted to yell at her. That being said, there were also many times in this novel where I felt Mallory needed a good talking-to.
The plot was extremely creepy. We see flashbacks of Mallory's relationship with Brian, how the relationship started and… how it ended. The prose, the unstable main characters and the occurrences within the school pull together to make a truly spooky tale.
We also are introduced to a setting that is perfect for this thrilling story. The boarding school is perfect for this novel. The outside layout of the school, the forest, the ghost stories surrounding the school all made Hysteria that much darker. Miranda did an excellent job at creating a novel that was suspenseful in every nook and cranny.
I'm not sure what it is about Megan Miranda's work, but she knows just how to hook me. If I had to pick one thing that really sticks out, it's her compelling, haunting prose. She has a serious knack for it. I'm not all that into thrillers, but Ms. Miranda dispels my hesitancy and sucks me into her stories.
Miranda's sophomore novel is as compelling and darkly fascinating as her first. Hysteria will provide its audience with a thrill ride that will keep them reading from start to finish. I cannot wait for the author's third book. It will definitely be one that I pick up immediately!
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via Netgalley.
After reading Megan Miranda's debut title, Fracture, and loving it, I looked forward to seeing how her writing would progress. When the cover for Hysteria was released, I knew I would enjoy this book. No, it's not the best book of all time, but it really is a exellent and eery tale.
Mallory can't remember the night she killed her boyfriend, Brian. She wasn't charged with a crime, since it was ruled self-defense, but her parents still decide to send her off to Monroe, her father's old prep school. She isn't happy with the idea, but is willing to go to get away from Brian's memory, which is haunting her. When a student at Monroe is killed, all eyes are on Mallory and people really start to question her. Was Brian's death really just self-defense?
Hysteria has some obvious plot twists, and the climax fell a bit flat, but what leads up to them is what kept me reading. I found myself captivated by Mallory's story. Even though more often than not, I didn't agree with her actions, it was impossible for me not to be drawn into her world. Mallory can be a difficult character. For me, at least, she's not a character that I immediately fell in love with. She's pretty selfish and immature. As the story progressed, my feelings towards her fluctuated, but my enjoyment of the story, did not.
The characters in this story had a lot of flaws, and not very much kindness. For the most part, the characters are stereotypical. You've got the mean girls, cruel boys who want into everyone's pants, and parents who don't know what the heck they are doing. Colleen and Reid were the only characters that I really liked. Reid's faith and the way he cares about Mallory are the two major reasons I liked him so much. Mallory's best friend, Colleen, and I didn't always get along. For the most part, I believe she is a good friend, but there were times in this book where I wanted to yell at her. That being said, there were also many times in this novel where I felt Mallory needed a good talking-to.
The plot was extremely creepy. We see flashbacks of Mallory's relationship with Brian, how the relationship started and… how it ended. The prose, the unstable main characters and the occurrences within the school pull together to make a truly spooky tale.
We also are introduced to a setting that is perfect for this thrilling story. The boarding school is perfect for this novel. The outside layout of the school, the forest, the ghost stories surrounding the school all made Hysteria that much darker. Miranda did an excellent job at creating a novel that was suspenseful in every nook and cranny.
I'm not sure what it is about Megan Miranda's work, but she knows just how to hook me. If I had to pick one thing that really sticks out, it's her compelling, haunting prose. She has a serious knack for it. I'm not all that into thrillers, but Ms. Miranda dispels my hesitancy and sucks me into her stories.
Miranda's sophomore novel is as compelling and darkly fascinating as her first. Hysteria will provide its audience with a thrill ride that will keep them reading from start to finish. I cannot wait for the author's third book. It will definitely be one that I pick up immediately!
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via Netgalley.
jeneessa's review against another edition
5.0
I read this book in 1 night, stayed up until 4am to finish because I was on edge and excited to know the ending! I love all of Megan Miranda's books and absolutely devoured this story!
anniedelsignore's review against another edition
3.0
**Review from http://books-anovelidea.blogspot.com/**
Boy, is this book a psychological thriller and then some. It really has something for everyone: complicated characters, creepy scenes, literary symbolism, and a plot that'll leave you wondering what the actual heck is going on.
Short and sweet synopsis:
Mallory killed her boyfriend (though it was in self defense) and gets shipped off to prep school where everyone seems to know her story. After that traumatic experience, it's no wonder she can't sleep, and you expect her to have terrifying nightmares. But you don't expect her to have these nightmares when she's not sleeping and then when she does wake up, she has the physical scars from last night's dream. Also, she has a really hard time fitting in at school, especially considering how snobby and mysterious her class mates are. Basically, the school operates under the idea that secrets are currency, and those with the best secrets to share are the most popular.
So, this story is crazy and scary and confusing, but really wonderful at the same time. Am I making any sense? No? That's okay, neither does the plot line sometimes. But really, you spend most of the novel trying to figure out what's wrong with Mallory. You get clues in the form of flashbacks to the night that Mallory killed Brian, along with other flashbacks that kind of clue you in to their relationship. But I like the fact that you're kept guessing until the end, that's what good books do after all.
So here are the things I really liked. I love Mallory and how resourceful she is. Like if she doesn't want to be somewhere, she will literally do everything in her power to not.be.there. She also doesn't really care that none of the girls at school like her, she's too busy concentrating on her own problems and that's totally okay. Another thing I liked was the role that Lord of the Flies played into this book. There's a really cool discussion on it in one of the classroom scenes and you can see how much that theme stays throughout the book and influences it. Yay for classic literature shout outs!
Here are the things that I would have liked to see different, and I phrase it that way because they didn't make the book a disappointment, I was just expecting it to go in a different direction. I wish that the secondary characters would have played a bigger role. And when I say secondary characters, I really mean Chloe and the other nice people at Monroe. They existed, and I wish there was some kind of friendship developed between Mallory and Chloe at least. Though I understand that it wouldn't have exactly forwarded the plot, I just like nice people. I also kind of expected the ending to be a bit more dramatic considering how the climax panned out, but I did like the way it was all tied up and I think it's a satisfying ending for readers.
Basically, if you like psychological thrillers, this is the book for you. There were definitely times where I was reading at night and might have heard noises that weren't really there because I got that into the story. Don't read this in the dark (if you get scared like I do), and you'll be all good!
-Annie
Boy, is this book a psychological thriller and then some. It really has something for everyone: complicated characters, creepy scenes, literary symbolism, and a plot that'll leave you wondering what the actual heck is going on.
Short and sweet synopsis:
Mallory killed her boyfriend (though it was in self defense) and gets shipped off to prep school where everyone seems to know her story. After that traumatic experience, it's no wonder she can't sleep, and you expect her to have terrifying nightmares. But you don't expect her to have these nightmares when she's not sleeping and then when she does wake up, she has the physical scars from last night's dream. Also, she has a really hard time fitting in at school, especially considering how snobby and mysterious her class mates are. Basically, the school operates under the idea that secrets are currency, and those with the best secrets to share are the most popular.
So, this story is crazy and scary and confusing, but really wonderful at the same time. Am I making any sense? No? That's okay, neither does the plot line sometimes. But really, you spend most of the novel trying to figure out what's wrong with Mallory. You get clues in the form of flashbacks to the night that Mallory killed Brian, along with other flashbacks that kind of clue you in to their relationship. But I like the fact that you're kept guessing until the end, that's what good books do after all.
So here are the things I really liked. I love Mallory and how resourceful she is. Like if she doesn't want to be somewhere, she will literally do everything in her power to not.be.there. She also doesn't really care that none of the girls at school like her, she's too busy concentrating on her own problems and that's totally okay. Another thing I liked was the role that Lord of the Flies played into this book. There's a really cool discussion on it in one of the classroom scenes and you can see how much that theme stays throughout the book and influences it. Yay for classic literature shout outs!
Here are the things that I would have liked to see different, and I phrase it that way because they didn't make the book a disappointment, I was just expecting it to go in a different direction. I wish that the secondary characters would have played a bigger role. And when I say secondary characters, I really mean Chloe and the other nice people at Monroe. They existed, and I wish there was some kind of friendship developed between Mallory and Chloe at least. Though I understand that it wouldn't have exactly forwarded the plot, I just like nice people. I also kind of expected the ending to be a bit more dramatic considering how the climax panned out, but I did like the way it was all tied up and I think it's a satisfying ending for readers.
Basically, if you like psychological thrillers, this is the book for you. There were definitely times where I was reading at night and might have heard noises that weren't really there because I got that into the story. Don't read this in the dark (if you get scared like I do), and you'll be all good!
-Annie
andimontgomery's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. I like Megan Miranda's writing style - her stories are engaging and quick and easy reads. But I didn't completely connect with Mallory in this one, and I was confused as to why her parents didn't immediately find her a counselor to work through the missing fragments of her memory from killing Brian. I don't think the sleeping pills helped, either.
The pacing really sped up about a third of the way into the story. And while Mallory wasn't very likable, her friend, Colleen, was just about the best friend she could have ever asked for in a situation like this. I loved that she always supported Mallory, no matter what.
Her parents send Mallory to boarding school to get away from the kids who are harassing her in school. The problem is, it's very easy to find out about someone's past in this day and age. Someone--or something--is tormenting Mallory at night, causing her to doubt her sanity and question what actually occurred the night Brian died. She has a few new friends on her side, such as Reid and to a lesser extent, Chloe, but Mallory has to remember what happened that night if she's ever going to move beyond this incident.
The final reveal was not entirely a surprise, and not everything that occurred was fully explained. But overall, the book was still satisfying.
The pacing really sped up about a third of the way into the story. And while Mallory wasn't very likable, her friend, Colleen, was just about the best friend she could have ever asked for in a situation like this. I loved that she always supported Mallory, no matter what.
Her parents send Mallory to boarding school to get away from the kids who are harassing her in school. The problem is, it's very easy to find out about someone's past in this day and age. Someone--or something--is tormenting Mallory at night, causing her to doubt her sanity and question what actually occurred the night Brian died. She has a few new friends on her side, such as Reid and to a lesser extent, Chloe, but Mallory has to remember what happened that night if she's ever going to move beyond this incident.
The final reveal was not entirely a surprise, and not everything that occurred was fully explained. But overall, the book was still satisfying.