A review by hannahreadsadec5
Messenger of Fear by Michael Grant

4.0

I've read two other books by Michael Grant, and I can honestly say that this is my favorite. Sure, it could just be that I prefer creepy boys who put people through fear trials to creepy boys with whip hands, but that's beside the point. I sped through this entire book in about an hour, barely stopping to think about one thing before jumping on, and the cool thing was, the writing style leant itself to that type of reading. This is one of those books that you read in one sitting, and it makes you think about it days after reading.

The summary for this book is one where if I say a single wrong word, I will spoil the whole thing, so in an effort not to do that, I will have to be as brief a possible: A girl wakes up in a pool of fog with just one memory: her name is Mara. She wants nothing more than to remember what happened and go home, but soon after meeting the Messenger, she finds that she might not want to know who she is, and exactly what she has done. Instead of regaining memories, she if forced to make new ones in a life she does not want to live, and through this, Mara realizes that wickedness can not be cured in the usual ways.

In no way did I hate this book. But I did not love it either. Going back to what I said about it being a good one sitting read, I think that due to this, some parts were not detailed enough. Even though I did feel that, I think other aspects of the book made up for it. For example, there was a moment when Mara inquires what makes the wicked people he goes after worse than anyone else, and the Messenger's answer made me think for a while.

This would be the perfect book to read to get out of a slump, or any time you need a book you can finish quickly. The plot, while somewhat unrelateable, was interesting and thought-provoking, and the characters were people you easily begin to care about. More than once I worried about a visit by the Messenger, and remember: if you are wicked, he will find you.