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emily4reads's review against another edition
3.0
This book is really hard to get into but if you do it s pretty good... I didn't hate but i didn't love it.
alidottie's review against another edition
4.0
I listened to half this book and read the rest. I found the narrator a tad annoying, not horrible, but I liked reading it a lot more. My only beef is how this book ended--many unanswered questions. If this makes sense in the next book, I will feel better about it. I just hope she doesn't drag things out too long!
Also, note that these are nothing like the one Inspector Lynley novel I read (actually I think I read the first two in that series). Anyway, there is nothing British about these. They take place on an island that is part of Washington State (similar setting to Twilight, though I never till now thought of that). Though I enjoyed it, I think it is well written to appeal to teens without taking it places that disappoint me in so many books written for teens.
Also, note that these are nothing like the one Inspector Lynley novel I read (actually I think I read the first two in that series). Anyway, there is nothing British about these. They take place on an island that is part of Washington State (similar setting to Twilight, though I never till now thought of that). Though I enjoyed it, I think it is well written to appeal to teens without taking it places that disappoint me in so many books written for teens.
mhmissey's review against another edition
Raally good but the end did not wrap up things
amelia_herring's review against another edition
2.0
Clearly written by someone who doesn't know how to write teens. The language and style felt very outdated (I kept thinking I was reading a book from the early '90s). The plot was one giant hole-- the main problem from the very beginning was one that could have easily have been solved by going to the police rather than going on the run. Characters felt incredibly shallow, especially the girl who didn't understand why her boyfriend would break up with her after seeing her kiss another boy. Becca's ability to hear people's thoughts felt like a device thrown in last minute, and contributed very little to the advancement of the plot. Just a laundry list of complaints; I wouldn't have even bothered to slog through to the (underwhelming) end if this weren't a book selected for our book club. Blech.
jengirlreads's review against another edition
3.0
It was a bit slow and a little clunky to start, but once it got going, I couldn't put it down. This is classified as "young adult" fiction, but it just read like a somewhat supernatural/mystery book with teenagers as the main characters. I picked it up for two reasons: I love Elizabeth George's Inspector Lynley series, and it's set on Whidbey Island, outside of Seattle. The book ends on a cliff-hanger, so I'm really on the hook for the next in the series, though I likely would have picked it up anyway.
stella_starstruck's review against another edition
4.0
Despite reading some negative reviews of this novel, I really liked it. I will be looking for the next episode in the story of Becca.
A young girl must fend for herself when her stepfather decides to kill her. With her mother she goes on the run, but is separated from her. Becca must learn to trust the strangers around her, even though she knows she can't reveal all to them.
A young girl must fend for herself when her stepfather decides to kill her. With her mother she goes on the run, but is separated from her. Becca must learn to trust the strangers around her, even though she knows she can't reveal all to them.
yungokssss's review against another edition
3.0
As I was reading this book, mainly one thought was going through my mind - should I continue the series?
I personally enjoyed it. Although the concept of reading minds isn't exactly new, in this situation it was. It was an ordinary little town (props for being in Washington!), nothing supernatural, and then in the middle you have a mind reader. Unrealistic objects/situations in realistic settings are always interesting. Mostly, the main character was easy to relate to, despite the fact that her circumstances weren't ones I'm well accustomed to.
In this book, a girl who has the ability to read minds finds out about her mother's boyfriend criminal activities and therefor must change her identity and all to escape him. Her mom drops her off in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere, giving the girl an address of an old friend she can stay with, upon arrival to the address, the girl discovers that her moms friend died just that day, and then the girl is stuck with no way to reach her mom, given the fact that the cell-phone her mom gave her programmed with her emergency number does not work. In the small town the girl (Becca! Her name is Becca!) gets caught up in a low key "crime" and most of the story is centered on finding the person who committed this "crime".
The action was definitely slow, and everything usually kept coming back to first base. For example, one discovery was made, then depicted as false or unreliable or whatever, and everything was back to base one. However, in recovering from finals (school, why you do this to me?!?!?!?!), I didn't really mind the slow pace. From reading the synopsis, I wasn't super excited to read this book. However, I found that it had a rather enjoyable premise. Although this book doesn't really grab on to you and hang on, (meaning I didn't stay up until 3 to finish it, LOL), it certainly had appeal.
Most of the characters were likable, Becca being one of them surprisingly. I say surprisingly because of the way the author talked through Becca. In the author's description I read that she usually wrote adult books, and that was quite evident. The author tried to speak/think like a teen, and sometimes it just didn't pull through. I loved how Seth, Becca's main friend in the book, didn't end up falling for Becca in the end. He had his own love complications with Hayley, and he left Becca to invest in her love interest with Derric. Derric was awesome because he was Ugandan, and his disposition was different than the usual love interest there is in a book. I note that THE guy in a book is either an outcast (not liked by anyone because of some stupid reason), a rebel (not liked by anyone), the popular guy (liked by everyone, top of the stack), the geek (the guy next door), the girl rebel (no guy likes him, all the girls lust after him), the nice guy (everyone likes him, he's pretty chill), or the like. Derric was actually a cause of controversy - liked by some, hated by others.
I must say that the ending was worth the whole book because it was super unexpected. Although I did feel like it was a bit rushed, like it was added in five minutes before it was turned in.
So, in answer to my beginning question, because of the ending I'll definitely continue the series.
I personally enjoyed it. Although the concept of reading minds isn't exactly new, in this situation it was. It was an ordinary little town (props for being in Washington!), nothing supernatural, and then in the middle you have a mind reader. Unrealistic objects/situations in realistic settings are always interesting. Mostly, the main character was easy to relate to, despite the fact that her circumstances weren't ones I'm well accustomed to.
In this book, a girl who has the ability to read minds finds out about her mother's boyfriend criminal activities and therefor must change her identity and all to escape him. Her mom drops her off in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere, giving the girl an address of an old friend she can stay with, upon arrival to the address, the girl discovers that her moms friend died just that day, and then the girl is stuck with no way to reach her mom, given the fact that the cell-phone her mom gave her programmed with her emergency number does not work. In the small town the girl (Becca! Her name is Becca!) gets caught up in a low key "crime" and most of the story is centered on finding the person who committed this "crime".
Spoiler
Which actually ends up being an accident... *smh*The action was definitely slow, and everything usually kept coming back to first base. For example, one discovery was made, then depicted as false or unreliable or whatever, and everything was back to base one. However, in recovering from finals (school, why you do this to me?!?!?!?!), I didn't really mind the slow pace. From reading the synopsis, I wasn't super excited to read this book. However, I found that it had a rather enjoyable premise. Although this book doesn't really grab on to you and hang on, (meaning I didn't stay up until 3 to finish it, LOL), it certainly had appeal.
Most of the characters were likable, Becca being one of them surprisingly. I say surprisingly because of the way the author talked through Becca. In the author's description I read that she usually wrote adult books, and that was quite evident. The author tried to speak/think like a teen, and sometimes it just didn't pull through. I loved how Seth, Becca's main friend in the book, didn't end up falling for Becca in the end. He had his own love complications with Hayley, and he left Becca to invest in her love interest with Derric. Derric was awesome because he was Ugandan, and his disposition was different than the usual love interest there is in a book. I note that THE guy in a book is either an outcast (not liked by anyone because of some stupid reason), a rebel (not liked by anyone), the popular guy (liked by everyone, top of the stack), the geek (the guy next door), the girl rebel (no guy likes him, all the girls lust after him), the nice guy (everyone likes him, he's pretty chill), or the like. Derric was actually a cause of controversy - liked by some, hated by others.
I must say that the ending was worth the whole book because it was super unexpected. Although I did feel like it was a bit rushed, like it was added in five minutes before it was turned in.
Spoiler
Like really? No warnings, no previous signs, no NOTHING, and her evil stepdad (or whatever he is. Mom's boyfriend?) finds her? Come on! Her mom & her traveled across like half the country!So, in answer to my beginning question, because of the ending I'll definitely continue the series.
donnereads's review against another edition
4.0
I am so excited to have finally read an Elizabeth George novel :) And I very much enjoyed it! Her writing is pretty unique and so are the setting and story. I will definitely read the rest of the series (because that cliffhanger, wowww)
tasharobinson's review against another edition
3.0
I was a little dubious about this YA novel, given that the protagonist is a teenage girl with mind-reading powers that no one else seems to have, which falls into a major current cliche of young-adult books, where the main character is the most special-est snowflake with amazing unique powers. But I ended up enjoying this a good bit; the telepathy thing sets up the action, when the character overhears something that puts her life in danger, and it adds a little flavor to the story, as the protagonist tries to fit in after moving to a new place, and ignore what she overhears from other people. Mostly, the story is about her adapting to a new community, trying to solve a mystery there, and suffering the envy and wrath of another resident. Just as compelling—it's also about the residents of her new home, Washington State's Whidbey Island, and the prejudices and connections and backstories they had years before she came along. Her story is mildly compelling, but what makes this worth reading is the way she's dropped into a rich environment in which everyone seems to be hanging onto the past — onto a relationship that's already failed, a childhood trauma, guilt over an accident, a bad upbringing, a hastily made and wrongheaded impression of another person — and it affects everyone's lives. It's good the setting is so complex, because this is the first in a series, and the end of the book isn't entirely satisfying, with multiple side plotlines left dangling, along with the overplot that sent the protagonist to the island in the first place. I'd be interested in seeing where this series goes from here.
trisha_thomas's review against another edition
3.0
"There are always answers to questions. To Jenn, to Derric, to Seth, to everything. The point of struggling through the questions is to recognize the answers when you see them and not give up until you find them."
an interesting mystery with an added "running from a scary step dad" and "I can hear thoughts" twists kind of added in. But for as fascinating as pieces of the story were, it did drag quite a bit in the middle. And the mystery felt a bit like a letdown when I finally got the answers.
an interesting mystery with an added "running from a scary step dad" and "I can hear thoughts" twists kind of added in. But for as fascinating as pieces of the story were, it did drag quite a bit in the middle. And the mystery felt a bit like a letdown when I finally got the answers.