4/5 stars
HarperTeen, 2014
380 pages
YA Contemporary Thriller
Scheduled to release January 7, 2014
Source: Received an ARC through Amazon Vine in exchange for an honest review.
Before reading this book, I had seen a few reviews that mentioned its quirkiness and how that would impact people's enjoyment of the book. Though several of my blogger friends were not able to get through it, I was pleased to realize I did like it and found it to be an intriguing read.
Kippy Bushman's best friend Ruth is found murdered in a most gruesome fashion. Though a culprit is quickly identified, Kippy ends up unconvinced of his guilt and starts investigating uncovering a host of suspects all of whose out there personalities left me confused about who might have done it. As Kippy came closer to unraveling the mystery, I found myself on the edge of my seat hoping it wasn't who I was starting to suspect only to discover in fact that it was.
So let's talk about that quirkiness. It's set in the small town of Friendship, Wisconsin where everyone pretty much knows everyone and greets them by saying their full name; additionally Kippy's father has all sorts of special nicknames for her like "Pickle." I mostly blipped past these but did notice them. Kippy also has a bit of an obsession with Diane Sawyer, which some people found weird but which makes complete sense to me. I'm more of a Brian Williams girl but if Diane aired at 5, I'd totally watch her first. Taxidermy and hunting also get a lot of page time as popular pastimes in the town with a support group for violent people making several humorous appearances especially as the book continues.
I think it helped that I approached this book expecting some level of quirkiness. If I had anticipated a straight read, I might have been upset but because I knew some of what was to come, I was able to prepare myself and hopefully help to prepare you if you decide to pick up this book!
Cover: I love the sweater-like texture of the front while the hanged moose is appropriate if super creepy to me on a personal aesthetic level.
I haven't read it yet, but the mix of wonderful and hateful reviews have me a little scare. Obviously, I now have to read it to see for myself...
ReplyDeleteDitto what Lectus Read said!
DeleteI started reading this but I didn't get very far. I'm glad you enjoyed it though and maybe I will give it another try next year if I'm in the right frame of mind. :)
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed this! Some of the quirk didn't really work for me but I appreciated the uniqueness!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely sounds like something you NEED to know is quirky. I think I'd like it though! Thanks for the review.
ReplyDeleteGood to hear that the quirky spoke to you and you enjoyed
ReplyDeleteThis sounds cute. I like quirky books and I'll definitely expect that when giving this book a shot. Great review!
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you really liked this one, sweetie! I'm glad to hear that. Like you, I've read several reviews where people didn't like the quirkiness. So, maybe I'll give this one a shot after all! Kippy sounds like an interesting character, and who doesn't like some level of quirk? Awesome review, girly! :)
ReplyDeleteOh I'm glad you enjoyed this one too! I liked the quirkiness and just the all around strange characters. While I didn't really figure out who it was (it had occurred to me, but that's about it) it was fun to watch it unfold.
ReplyDelete