Little Monsters
Kacey moved to Broken Falls to live with a father and step-family she's never known. She's made a few friends-- Jade & Bailey, and she's grown close to her step-siblings.When Kacey's friends start freezing her out, she's not sure how to handle it. And when they don't invite her to a party, she figures they must be mad about something. But Bailey goes missing from that party-- and even though Kacey wasn't there, people in town want to blame the new girl.
So many lies and secrets will be looked into in order to find Bailey-- and some of them make Kacey question if her place in Broken Falls was ever what it seemed to be.
YA Mystery is kind of my thing. I love them, and I'm always on the hunt for the GOOD ONES. Little Monsters wasn't perfect, but I would say it's definitely worth reading. It was page-turning, kept me guessing, and had that extra little bit of town lore that took the what-ifs to a greater level.
What I really liked: The family situation. Kacey becomes part of this family that she's never known, and they take her in like she's always been there. I really appreciated that the stepmother and step-siblings weren't the stereotypical cold-hearted meanies.
I also really liked the Red Woman story. I love a good Urban Legend, and the fact that something supernatural could have been going on added to the thrill of the mystery.
The part that saved the book: Bailey ends up narrating a few chapters and WOW. I loved seeing her secret side of the story, and her personality was so much more interesting than Kacey's.
What I wasn't a fan of: Kacey. She was okay-- but she was boooooring. I felt bad for her being suspected of something she clearly didn't do, and because she had a tough life-- but I didn't think her personality really showed through on the page.
The ending: No, I'm not going to tell you anything spoilery. I just want to say I thought that it was a little bit disconnected. It was obviously meant to shock (which I appreciate), but it didn't quite lead from A to B, if that makes sense. I ended up with a lot of questions and more than a few doubts of plausibility.
OVERALL: I say give this one a shot. It's an interesting mystery with URBAN LEGENDS and MEAN GIRLS. Although I didn't love everything about this book (mainly the main character's lackluster personality), I did love the twists and turns this book took. Also, BONUS POINTS for no romance!!
Date Published: 7/25/2017
How I got this book: Thanks to Penguin Random House and ALA for providing me a copy to read and honestly review.
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Add it to your To-Read List!!
My Rating: 4/5
Character: KaceyBook: The Lifeboat Clique by Kathy Parks
- Friend problems don't turn out too well for Kacey. Maybe it would help to read about other friends w/ issues.
Definitely sounds like I will need to get this from the library! Endings that seem disjointed really bother me... So we'll see how it goes! Wonderful review!!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this one, but I did like the author's debut a bit more. I can understand not loving Kacey - but Bailey's added POV here and there were great!
ReplyDelete-Lauren
www.shootingstarsmag.net
Oh, it's always nice to read a book with no romance. This book sounds like Pretty Little Liars. Hopefully it's not as exhausting though.
ReplyDeleteI was a fan of Thomas' last book, and this one sounds great too. The integration of the urban legend sounds interesting too.
ReplyDeleteI am trying to get more into mysteries this year and I think YA is the way to go. I know it`s stupid, but I love books with mean girls. They`re fun. I`m very intrigued by the fact that this has some urban legends. Sounds promising.
ReplyDeleteCarmen / Carmen`s Reading Corner
This is one that I have been really curious about. I haven't read too much YA thriller types but this one sounds really good to me. I've read a lot of pretty good reviews for it so I think I may have to give it a go! Great review! Glad you seemed to enjoy it for the most part
ReplyDelete