The Twin by Natasha Preson

The Twin by Natasha Preston
Publisher/Year: Delacorte Press, 2020
Format: ARC – paperback
Pages: 375
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Goodreads

Summary

Ivy and Iris haven’t lived together for years–when their mother and father divorced, each parent got custody of one twin. But after a tragic accident takes their mom’s life, the devastated sisters are reunited, and Iris moves in with Ivy and their dad. Ivy promises that she can share her life now. After all, they’re sisters. Twins.

It’s a promise that Iris takes seriously. And before long, Ivy’s friends, her teachers, and even her boyfriend fall under Iris’s spell. Soon Ivy begins to think there’s something wrong with her twin. It’s almost like Iris is out to get her. Ivy tells herself she’s being paranoid. It’s not like she’s in any danger from her twin…

The Twin is an unputdownable read that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end.

What I thought

Thank you to Penguin Random House and Delacorte Press for the free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

What a wicked little book! This one is a slow burn, psychological thriller that is all about the entertainment value. You know those books that you can just see being made into a movie? This is one of those. The story starts out and the tension builds oh-so-slowly, but once it ramps up, the story goes to some pretty dark and sinister places. You can’t help but feel for Ivy, but I will say it takes a good author to get me, as the reader, to have moments of doubt surrounding her reliability at times. I’ve seen other readers say this book was predictable, but I, for one, didn’t know WHAT was happening. All I know is that once this book got going, I was perpetually STRESSED trying to guess what Iris’s next move would be. And that ending! I NEVER saw it coming, and I actually really like that Preston didn’t write the “safe” ending, but went the unconventional route. (Just keep that in mind if you don’t like open endings.)

If you’re a YA reader looking for an entertaining, slow burn of a psychological thriller, this book’s for you!

Death and the Butterfly by Colin Hester

Death and the Butterfly by Colin Hester
Publisher/Year: Counterpoint, 2020
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 263
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Goodreads

Summary

A sweeping multigenerational story centered around endless heartbreak and enduring love

London, England, September 1940. Thirteen-year-old Susan McEwan and her older brother, Phillip, a pilot witness firsthand the initial Nazi bombing of civilian London. Weeks later, Phillip’s Sunderland bomber is shot down, and his family is wordlessly devastated.

Toronto, Canada, the early 1980s. As a young couple struggles to survive the Reagan recession, the husband, Alexander Polo, is forced to take a job as a paperboy. When the wife, Julie, discovers she is pregnant, Polo must now confront his future head-on with his heart open.

Montana, the first days of September 2001. His wedding day overshadowed by the tragedy of 9/11, Jack Riordan discovers a magazine story written by Polo about Susan and airplanes and her love of the poems of Pablo Neruda.

With humor and insight, Colin Hester explores how Susan, Polo, and Jack carry on–grieving the death of a child or the end of a marriage–in deeply felt and beautifully imagined prose.

What I thought

Thank you to Counterpoint for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

What an odd and yet beautiful little book! I honestly don’t know how to describe this book other than I will say that this book won’t be for everyone, but I would suggest reading a sample to see what you might think. Hester is a poet, and his prose is meandering and contemplative. It astounded me how well I felt like I knew the characters after reading about them for so short a time. I honestly think that my favorite part of this book was the interconnectedness of the characters through time. It was very thought-provoking and dreamy, and I enjoyed that Hester let his reader make connections with only the smallest of nudges. And I liked that this read like a little snippet of lives that just so happened to connect without a definite plotline, per se. It was ethereal, but also felt so real.

Easily one of the most unique books I’ve read in some time, you can feel Hester’s heart and soul through his beautiful poetry and prose. I can see that readers will be divided over this one. Read this if you enjoy language and contemplation, but don’t necessarily need a linear plot. Beautifully done–this is definitely one for poetry lovers.

You Are Not Alone by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen

You Are Not Alone by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen
Publisher/Year: St. Martin’s Press, 2020
Format: ARC – paperback
Pages: 392
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Goodreads

Summary

You probably know someone like Shay Miller.

She wants to find love, but it eludes her. She wants to be fulfilled, but her job is a dead end. She wants to belong, but her life is so isolated.

You probably don’t know anyone like the Moore sisters.

They have an unbreakable circle of friends. They live the most glamorous life. They always get what they desire.

Shay thinks she wants their life. But what they really want is HERS.

What I thought

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

You guys, this book just did NOT do it for me, and I’m so bummed about it. So, I’m going to keep this short because it seems like a lot of people really enjoy this one, and this might be a case of “it’s me, not you.”

I get that the thriller genre, in general, requires its readers to suspend their disbelief. Usually, I’m pretty good with that, but with this book, I just seriously struggled, and I’m not sure why. And I think it kept me from really connecting with Shay and this story. Don’t get me wrong, I did like this book–it certainly had a completely unique plot. The short chapters and the writing style kept me wanting to see how it would all turn out. But once I got to the end and put it down, the only thing I could think was “Meh.”

Please don’t take only my word for it. I can’t even begin to describe how bummed I am–I had heard so many great things about this author duo’s first two books. I still plan on reading them. I just think this one wasn’t for me.

Fragile Like Us (Beautiful Broken Things #1) by Sara Barnard

Fragile Like Us (Beautiful Broken Things #1) by Sara Barnard
Publisher/Year: Simon Pulse, 2017
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 403
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Goodreads

Summary

I was brave.

She was reckless.

We were trouble.

Best friends Caddy and Rosie are inseparable. Their differences have brought them closer, but as she turns sixteen, Caddy begins to wish she could be a bit more like Rosie–confident, funny, and interesting. Then Suzanne comes into their lives, beautiful, damaged, exciting, and mysterious, and things get a whole lot more complicated. As Suzanne’s past is revealed and her present begins to unravel, Caddy begins to see how much fun a little trouble can be. But the course of both friendship and recovery is rougher than either girl realizes, and Caddy is about to learn that downward spirals have a momentum of their own.

What I thought

I am a firm believer that no matter how many close friendships a person might have throughout their life, there is nothing quite like your high school best friend. At that age, you’re trying to figure out who you are and who you want to be in this weird thing we call life. And when you find the person who GETS you, all while going through their own weird stuff–it’s really something special. This book perfectly exemplifies that kind of friendship and delivers some pretty powerful messages at the same time.

Fragile Like Us touches on some pretty serious topics: child abuse, self-harm, attempted suicide, depression, and mental health issues. But it brings light to these topics in a way that’s authentic, showing not just the way that Suzanne is struggling, but also the effect of her struggles on those around her. I wanted to scream at Caddy, but that’s easy for me to say as a 30-year-old adult. Barnard’s use of Caddy as the narrator was so smart. As a teenager who is, for the first time, being exposed to someone whose life has been a struggle, of course Caddy would be naive and not know what to say or do, as frustrating as she could be at times. The thing is she, despite her mistakes, was just trying to love her friend through it.

As you can probably tell, this book has A LOT going on, despite feeling like the plot was dragging on at times, but it was all handled authentically and sensitively. I did ultimately feel like the friendship between these girls was written beautifully, and it had me reminiscing on my high school friendships. Plus, it was very refreshing to read a contemporary YA WITHOUT a romance, focusing instead on the love and relationship among friends. I’d definitely recommend this one (if you’re feeling okay with regards to the previously mentioned CW), and I’m looking forward to the follow-up to this one.