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readingjag's review
2.0
It seemed really dated already, with the main character talking about blogging all the time. I couldn't get into this one at all.
onecheesetoasty's review against another edition
3.0
This book was a fun, single day read-- but nothing more.
The story line was overdeveloped and the writing was a bit heavy-handed. Some of the small details I found hard to believe; like a high school senior who suddenly finds his romantic side while his sister is missing/presumed dead; like how the entire plot hinges on the fact that the protagonist hears every single witness statement; like how the "surprise angel" of the story kills herself knowing full well she was not under suspicion and that her rapist would be caught; like how the rapist is a relative who is clearly in poor physical condition.
Don't get me wrong, some of the details got me by surprise and I WANTED to know how it ended. This would be a solid B+ summer blockbuster, and they do have a time and place.
The story line was overdeveloped and the writing was a bit heavy-handed. Some of the small details I found hard to believe; like a high school senior who suddenly finds his romantic side while his sister is missing/presumed dead; like how the entire plot hinges on the fact that the protagonist hears every single witness statement; like how the "surprise angel" of the story kills herself knowing full well she was not under suspicion and that her rapist would be caught; like how the rapist is a relative who is clearly in poor physical condition.
Don't get me wrong, some of the details got me by surprise and I WANTED to know how it ended. This would be a solid B+ summer blockbuster, and they do have a time and place.
librariann's review against another edition
3.0
Ages 12+
No severe language or explicit sexuality, but deals with pregnancy, incest, and suicide. Similar to but with less mystery than some of Plum-Ucci's previous books. Details the events of one night on a small barrier island, when Kurt Carmody's sister goes missing and old secrets are revealed.
No severe language or explicit sexuality, but deals with pregnancy, incest, and suicide. Similar to but with less mystery than some of Plum-Ucci's previous books. Details the events of one night on a small barrier island, when Kurt Carmody's sister goes missing and old secrets are revealed.
dgodek's review
3.0
Love Plum-Ucci for her local (to me) settings and her use of suspense and plot twists.
ellisakay's review
5.0
It's one of those books where you think you know how it's going to end and as you read, you change what you think. Then, once you reach the end, it turns out none (or very few) of you're theories were correct.
nerfherder86's review
3.0
Very suspenseful mystery, that takes place all in one night! Kurt tells the story of what happened on the town pier during a summer night party, as he waits in the police station to learn if his missing sister has been found, dead or alive. She was at the party on the offlimits pier when a gun was passed around among the teens, and someone fired it, and his sister fell (or dove?) into the ocean. Kurt learns a lot of town secrets that night as he listens in to the interrogations of his friends and enemies from high school. Lots of twists and turns in the plot as more info is revealed as you go along in the story.
ifthebook's review
5.0
In a short book, Carol Plum-Ucci manages to pack quite a punch. She has a strong set of individualized characters, who - through a series of police interviews - paint a picture of a small beach-front town and its secrets in stunning detail. The thing that always gets me about this book is how tightly constructed the narrative is. Everything goes together, starting from the first scene. There's nothing superfluous at all, and the reader is carried along from start to finish logically, but shockingly.
sentunderscore's review
4.0
Leave it to one of my favorite authors to remind me of the joy of reading. :D
howifeelaboutbooks's review
1.0
The description on the back cover and rave review excerpts made me think this book would be suspenseful, but it was pretty boring. Kurt Carmody is at a party when his younger sister, Casey, is shot by a gun most party-goers thought was a toy. She fell from the pier - or did she dive, being such an athletic prankster? Everyone heard and saw different things, and there are crazy rumors going around about the gun owner, Stacy. The story was too jumbled and didn’t have a clear focus. None of the characters were developed enough to feel anything for. This book should have been drastically shortened and used as a jumping off point (no pun intended) in a longer, different novel.