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flarflar13's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. This story is a page turner about the realistically portrays the lasting effects on a family and other related characters following a child abduction. As a parent, it was haunting. The plot was engaging enough, a somewhat interesting twist at the end, but needed more character development. Still worth the read :)
yourbookishgamermom's review against another edition
5.0
Wow. Wow. Wow. Woooow. That was terrifyingly amazing!
** Review to come **
** Review to come **
silencia167's review against another edition
4.0
Read this review and more on my blog, The Reality of Books: https://therealityofbooks.wordpress.com/
Jessica Warman’s The Last Good Day of the Year opens in the first moments of the new year, 1986, as seven-year-old Sam and her best friend Remy watch a man break into their home and take Sam’s sister, Turtle, from her sleeping bag. Both children are to scared to stop the man, but they later claim to have recognized him as the boyfriend of Sam’s sister, Gretchen. Ten years later, Sam’s family is low on money and forced to return to the childhood home where Turtle disappeared. Being back in the house causes Sam to start remembering things, and she begins to question just what, exactly, actually happened to Turtle.
The plot of this reminded me of a combination of Jon Benet Ramsey and Elizabeth Smart’s cases. It seemed to be a realistic breakdown of what happens to a family when a child is kidnapped, from Remy being so scared that he wet himself in his sleeping bag to Sam’s mother throwing up on the floor and not cleaning it up for weeks. Sam’s parents have a “replacement child,” Hannah, but she doesn’t fill any of the holes they thought she would—yet another realistic detail. Sam’s family seems to just move forward, but they never really connect again in the absence of Turtle.
The best written character in this is Sam’s mother. In the aftermath of losing Turtle, she loses a large sense of who she is as a mother. She strikes out at her oldest daughter, and then goes on to have another daughter and get heavily involved in that daughter’s life—beauty pageant’s, dance classes, etc. Sam’s mom throws herself into the life of Hannah in order to give Hannah everything that she couldn’t give Turtle, and she is unable to admit to herself that she will never be able to make up for what happened to Turtle because it is not make-upable.
Sam is okay for me. She’s not a very reliable narrator, for the obvious reason that much of the story takes place when she is a child. However, her feelings are written well; her grief about not doing anything to stop the man from taking Turtle is apparent in even the smallest things. Her scenes with Hannah are especially powerful.
The insertions of pages from Forty Eight Minutes of Doubt didn’t really work for me. They generally contained nameless people talking about more nameless people; I really had to work to figure out who was who and what was happening, which I felt like I needed to do because the information appeared to be important.
The ending left me a bit hollow, because it was so rushed. I had a feeling that it was what was coming, but it happened in a few short pages and then was over. I wanted more pay off, both for myself and the characters. Though the fact that the family does NOT get that pay off is also realistic. But still. I wanted the closure and didn’t get it.
This book is a solid mix of mystery and thriller that will keep the reader guessing, though it has a stronger start than finish. 3.5 stars from me.
**I received The Last Good Day of the Year as an ARC from Netgalley. I was not paid to write this review. The Last Good Day of the Year is expected for publication May 19th, 2015, by Bloomsbury USA Children’s.
Jessica Warman’s The Last Good Day of the Year opens in the first moments of the new year, 1986, as seven-year-old Sam and her best friend Remy watch a man break into their home and take Sam’s sister, Turtle, from her sleeping bag. Both children are to scared to stop the man, but they later claim to have recognized him as the boyfriend of Sam’s sister, Gretchen. Ten years later, Sam’s family is low on money and forced to return to the childhood home where Turtle disappeared. Being back in the house causes Sam to start remembering things, and she begins to question just what, exactly, actually happened to Turtle.
The plot of this reminded me of a combination of Jon Benet Ramsey and Elizabeth Smart’s cases. It seemed to be a realistic breakdown of what happens to a family when a child is kidnapped, from Remy being so scared that he wet himself in his sleeping bag to Sam’s mother throwing up on the floor and not cleaning it up for weeks. Sam’s parents have a “replacement child,” Hannah, but she doesn’t fill any of the holes they thought she would—yet another realistic detail. Sam’s family seems to just move forward, but they never really connect again in the absence of Turtle.
The best written character in this is Sam’s mother. In the aftermath of losing Turtle, she loses a large sense of who she is as a mother. She strikes out at her oldest daughter, and then goes on to have another daughter and get heavily involved in that daughter’s life—beauty pageant’s, dance classes, etc. Sam’s mom throws herself into the life of Hannah in order to give Hannah everything that she couldn’t give Turtle, and she is unable to admit to herself that she will never be able to make up for what happened to Turtle because it is not make-upable.
Sam is okay for me. She’s not a very reliable narrator, for the obvious reason that much of the story takes place when she is a child. However, her feelings are written well; her grief about not doing anything to stop the man from taking Turtle is apparent in even the smallest things. Her scenes with Hannah are especially powerful.
The insertions of pages from Forty Eight Minutes of Doubt didn’t really work for me. They generally contained nameless people talking about more nameless people; I really had to work to figure out who was who and what was happening, which I felt like I needed to do because the information appeared to be important.
The ending left me a bit hollow, because it was so rushed. I had a feeling that it was what was coming, but it happened in a few short pages and then was over. I wanted more pay off, both for myself and the characters. Though the fact that the family does NOT get that pay off is also realistic. But still. I wanted the closure and didn’t get it.
This book is a solid mix of mystery and thriller that will keep the reader guessing, though it has a stronger start than finish. 3.5 stars from me.
**I received The Last Good Day of the Year as an ARC from Netgalley. I was not paid to write this review. The Last Good Day of the Year is expected for publication May 19th, 2015, by Bloomsbury USA Children’s.
angelreads's review against another edition
3.0
I received a review copy of The Last Good Day of the Year by Jessica Warman from Bloomsbury Australia in exchange for a review, this has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.
I picked up The Last Good Day of the Year on a whim. I had heard nothing about it and had never read anything by the author, and I had no idea what to expect. Overall, I liked it the book, but I did have some problems with it.
The Last Good Day of the Year follows protagonist Sam 10 years after the kidnapping of her young sister Turtle when she and her family return to where it all happened. The kidnapper was caught, but as she starts to re-evaluate the weeks leading up to the disappearance and those around her – she starts to think that maybe the kidnapper is still out there.
I love mystery/thriller novels, they are probably one of my favourite books to read apart from fantasy, so I was looking forward to see where The Last Good Day of the Year took me. I loved where it was going until the last 50 pages or so where I didn’t even understand what was going on. I had to re-read it a couple of times and still I don’t know what happened. However, nearly everything leading up to that I enjoyed.
I loved the mystery element of The Last Good Day of the Year. It was captivating and interesting to read. I wanted to know what happened, how everything came to par. I didn’t know what was going to happen next and I was on the edge of my seat. Everyone was unreliable and that is perfect for this type of novel. I was intrigued.
I wasn’t a massive fan of protagonist Sam, I cannot pinpoint why exactly, and there was just something about her that didn’t fit right with me. I wanted to see more character development as well, at times I felt like she was 12 years old. However, by the end, I was quite happy with who she becomes.
The family is another story – I pretty much disliked them all the way through. The mother, I understand that she lost a child – but the way that she treats some of her kids – you would think that after losing one child she would treasure the rest. The father was kind of ‘not there’ for me, I didn’t feel him as a character.
I also wasn’t a massive fan of how the book was set out. Most of the book was set in the present day, however there was quite a few chapters set in the year of the kidnapping and it wasn’t as strong as the rest of the book. Those chapters could have easily been done as flashbacks or summaries. I felt that it jolted the flow of the book being pushed back in time.
Another thing that I did enjoy was the romance, it might have seemed quick. But Sam and Remy have known each other quite a long time and it felt ‘right.’ They had already built a friendship and even though it was rocky, it all worked.
Overall, The Last Good Day of the Year was a compelling read. The tension was perfect and convinced me to feel anxious and on the tip of my toes wanting to find out more. However, I wanted more from the protagonist and author.
I picked up The Last Good Day of the Year on a whim. I had heard nothing about it and had never read anything by the author, and I had no idea what to expect. Overall, I liked it the book, but I did have some problems with it.
The Last Good Day of the Year follows protagonist Sam 10 years after the kidnapping of her young sister Turtle when she and her family return to where it all happened. The kidnapper was caught, but as she starts to re-evaluate the weeks leading up to the disappearance and those around her – she starts to think that maybe the kidnapper is still out there.
I love mystery/thriller novels, they are probably one of my favourite books to read apart from fantasy, so I was looking forward to see where The Last Good Day of the Year took me. I loved where it was going until the last 50 pages or so where I didn’t even understand what was going on. I had to re-read it a couple of times and still I don’t know what happened. However, nearly everything leading up to that I enjoyed.
I loved the mystery element of The Last Good Day of the Year. It was captivating and interesting to read. I wanted to know what happened, how everything came to par. I didn’t know what was going to happen next and I was on the edge of my seat. Everyone was unreliable and that is perfect for this type of novel. I was intrigued.
I wasn’t a massive fan of protagonist Sam, I cannot pinpoint why exactly, and there was just something about her that didn’t fit right with me. I wanted to see more character development as well, at times I felt like she was 12 years old. However, by the end, I was quite happy with who she becomes.
The family is another story – I pretty much disliked them all the way through. The mother, I understand that she lost a child – but the way that she treats some of her kids – you would think that after losing one child she would treasure the rest. The father was kind of ‘not there’ for me, I didn’t feel him as a character.
I also wasn’t a massive fan of how the book was set out. Most of the book was set in the present day, however there was quite a few chapters set in the year of the kidnapping and it wasn’t as strong as the rest of the book. Those chapters could have easily been done as flashbacks or summaries. I felt that it jolted the flow of the book being pushed back in time.
Another thing that I did enjoy was the romance, it might have seemed quick. But Sam and Remy have known each other quite a long time and it felt ‘right.’ They had already built a friendship and even though it was rocky, it all worked.
Overall, The Last Good Day of the Year was a compelling read. The tension was perfect and convinced me to feel anxious and on the tip of my toes wanting to find out more. However, I wanted more from the protagonist and author.
maryam162424's review against another edition
2.0
God this twisted with my brain so much, and i loved it!! Still a bit confused because the dots had to be connected for me to solve the mystery, there weren't many clues for me to go off of. But still a great read!
July 7,2019
I think as the years pass, my criticism towards books have changed. I don’t know why I have this book 4 stars before because it really wasn’t that great. The first half is so slow because it mainly explains people and things if the past. All the action happens in the last two chapters and there pretty much is no conclusion. I’m glad I only spent $3 on this book.
July 7,2019
I think as the years pass, my criticism towards books have changed. I don’t know why I have this book 4 stars before because it really wasn’t that great. The first half is so slow because it mainly explains people and things if the past. All the action happens in the last two chapters and there pretty much is no conclusion. I’m glad I only spent $3 on this book.
juicelina's review against another edition
1.0
This book had the potential to be good but it failed so miserably. The entirety of it was pretty much just backstory and then the plot twist was just thrown in at the end with absolutely no build up to it. I found it really stupid and disappointing. And I wasn't shocked at who the real murderer was and it wasn't because the ending was predictable cause it wasn't at all. It was because it came completely out of nowhere so I was left extremely confused. It was a big waste of my time and the main reason I finished reading was to find out the big plot twist.
honeymoonbrat's review against another edition
4.0
I was expecting this book to be incredibly corny or badly written but I was pleasantly surprised at how this turned out, especially given that it's a teen fiction book. It's about Sam, a girl who witnessed her younger sister get kidnapped from their very own basement ten years ago. She and her best friend at the time Remy told the police it was her sister's boyfriend, but now, she sees things differently. Sam starts discovering more and more about the night Turtle was kidnapped and the answers she finds are a little more than what she bargained for.
I would recommend to anyone who likes a good mystery with a neat and understandable twist at the end. The only thing I didn't like was that a lot of the characters had to say "Sam" a lot. But it was good!
I would recommend to anyone who likes a good mystery with a neat and understandable twist at the end. The only thing I didn't like was that a lot of the characters had to say "Sam" a lot. But it was good!
msethna's review against another edition
4.0
I had nightmares after I finished this book last night. I can't say that this was the best written story, but it was engaging and I did not want to put it down. The ending was definitely surprising to me and freaked me out. I know there are kids in my school who will love this story and I will be book talking this one right away!
bibrarian_'s review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
myrdyr's review against another edition
4.0
I got the book through Inter-Library Loans and didn't realize when I ordered it that it was a YA book. I really enjoyed it and think I probably rated it higher as an adult reading it than many young adults would.