Monday, November 4, 2013

Find Me

Find Me by Romily Bernard
3.5/5 stars
HarperTeen, 2013
307 pages
YA Contemporary Thriller

Source: Received an ARC through Amazon Vine in exchange for an honest review.

This wasn't originally on my radar until I saw some reviews that left me intrigued. I *hate* the main character's name (Wicket, abbreviated to Wick) but I love her hacking prowess and the fact that she is motivated to find a killer by love of her younger sister. I'm always down for a protective older sister (see also Everdeen, Katniss) so I requested this one.

Wick knows she doesn't fit in. How could she with a mother who committed suicide and a father on the run from police charges? Where could she belong? But she does learn she's important when the journal of her former now deceased best friend shows up on her foster family's doorstep with a note saying, "Find me." Her skills as a hacker may make her uniquely qualified to discover the identity of her killer. Though initially Wick resists, the discovery that the man who tormented the best friend in her final months is eying Wick's younger sister Lily motivates her. Can Wick discover the killer and protect her sister?

Honestly I still can't get over the name. I mean, isn't wicket a term used in both cricket and croquet? It's not a name! And then it becomes Wick, which is part of a candle! Her sister's name is Lily (Harry Potter flashback), which is a lovely name and the other characters have names I recognize but Wick is just horrid to me.

Wick as a name is horrid to me, I mean. The person is difficult at times but also quite captivating. I say she's difficult for a few reasons. One is her attempts to investigate this killer, which seemed to veer off-course sometimes. Most notably is via her romance with fellow computer geek Griff. I was not upset that she didn't immediately jump into a romance with him no matter how much he made her weak in the knees; it was perfectly understandable to me that she would be hesitant and not trust his words as hardly anyone has shown her even a scrap of kindness. But at one point, he announces that he can get the IP address and her excitement about this is derailed into flirtation and other stuff before they go back. It made me question her commitment to solving this case.

I was very impressed with myself because I pinpointed the killer almost right away with Wick also thinking it might be him early on before following other potential leads. Then we find out for sure who it is and things get intense. Even though I was anticipating a confrontation with this person, I was not sure exactly how it would play out. Those final pages are filled with tension and were more unpredictable than  As for her other investigations, it was a little choppy. She is still involved with her on the lam father's con operations due to various threats and this sometimes interferes with her other sleuthing but we didn't get much insight in to that area. I also mentioned her lack of logical investigation into the case itself; yes, it was her first of this kind but she's conducted others before and thus I would have assumed she had more skills for laying out a plan than are demonstrated here.

Overall: A predictable mystery that is lifted by compelling personalities and a final confrontation filled with suspense, leading us into a possible sequel that I would certainly be interested in reading.

Other Opinions:
Curling Up With a Good Book
Jen Ryland/YA Romantics
Rather Be Reading
Realm of Fiction

26 comments:

  1. Great review :) I'm glad you managed to mostly love this book. I just ended up hating it :\ Thank you for sharing your honest thoughts. <3

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    1. Sorry it didn't work for you-I guess I was just in the mood for some thrills and the writing sparked for me.

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  2. I love sister-sister relationships :D I'm not such a fan of the name either. It's awesome to read a book about a female hacker! It's a shame that it was so predictable though.

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    1. Isn't Wick just kind of weird? I had so much trouble concentrating with it there. I loved every instance of her hacking abilities and hope for more in the sequel.

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  3. I so much want to read this one. I will, I will, as soon as I'm finished with the batch on my Kindle.

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  4. I'm just not super interested in this one because hackers are almost always unrealistic.

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    1. Do you know a lot about hacking? I'm pretty uninformed so realism isn't something I feel I can rate effectively.

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  5. This is the second review I've read where you guess the killer correctly but still enjoy the book anyway--which means it's a book I want to pick up! Thanks for the review, it sounds like a great book.

    Wendy @ The Midnight Garden

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    1. It seems that most people were able to figure out the twist-it was frustrating that Wick didn't have the same ability to figure it out.

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  6. Wick and Griff...yeah, that would put me off too. It's great that you enjoyed this one even if you predict some things about it. I really like well done YA thrillers.

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    1. Not my favorite names-what happened to Stephanie? Such a lovely name ;)

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  7. Wick? Her nickname has to be Wicked. Anyway, predictable isn't nice, but it seems like a cool book anyway. I'm interesting in learning about the characters and hackers are always cool.

    -P.E. @ The Sirenic Codex

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  8. Agree about the name and I also guessed the killer immediately, but I liked the set-up of this and I hope there is another book!
    Jen @ YA Romantics

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    1. I think I read that there will be a sequel-hope its mystery is a bit more complicated!

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  9. I can't stand the name Wick either... it's totally part of a candle! :P It sounds like this was an okay read, but I don't particularly like it when mysteries are predictable. I'm glad that you liked it, though! Awesome review. ;)

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    1. Thank you for agreeing with me about Wick! I don't think I've seen anyone who thought that was a good naming choice.

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  10. Wicket is also the name of the Ewok who befriends Princess Leia in Return of the Jedi. Yes I am a Star Wars geek...

    I enjoy suspense novels and that part of the story would appeal to me so I might pick this up sometime from the library. I don't like it when I figure out who the killer is early on though. I much prefer it when it is hard to know who the killer is. Probably why I love Agatha Christie...

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    1. I knew that but didn't connect it to this girl. Man Agatha Christie mysteries are hard. I'm still proud of myself for figuring out Five Little Pigs even if I've solved hardly any others.

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  11. I've read some mixed reviews of this, but I'm a bit curious. I'm not the biggest fan of the name, but I don't think it would be a real hindrance to the enjoyability. I'm going to watch for this at the library.

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    1. I just wish it had been more challenging to suss out the perpetrator-I think that would have made it even more thrilling!

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  12. I've heard a lot of things about this book, but none of them are 5 stars... I'm curious, though. I think I'll give it a chance someday!
    Lis @ The reader lines

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    1. It seems like most people like but not love this book; it's one that could be skipped if not easily accessible.

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