A review by the_lady_reads
Hysteria by Megan Miranda
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.