And Then There Were Four by Nancy Werlin-- Don't read the official summary!!

And Then There Were Four

Caleb, Saralinda, Antoine, Evangeline (Evan), and Kenyon all get a text that they were chosen for the Student Leaders Club at Rockland Academy.  The things is-- the meeting is being held in the broken down carriage house in the woods, and when they actually go to this meeting, the building collapses nearly killing them all.

Just barely escaping from a major catastrophe has them all questioning why they were told to meet there-- and when the Principal tells them the texts weren't sent out by the school, they know someone is trying to hurt them, but why??  The five that were chosen barely know each other and have little in common, but now they must join together to take-down the enemy before it takes them.  The problem: the enemy is MUCH closer to home than is expected.

When I first started this book I wasn't sure-- I mean, it's over 400 pages and getting used to the voice the characters narrate in didn't come natural.  BUT-- I flew through this book.  Once I got used to the way Saralinda thinks inside her head, it was smooth sailing.

So, Saralinda-- she's our main character.  The one you root for.  But the girl doesn't like commas.  Her sentences just run and run and run, and sometimes it was hard for me to figure out what the heck she was getting at.  She definitely blabbers-- a lot.  It took some getting used to, but once I did, I was fine, and she grew on me.

Next we have Caleb.  He narrates the other half of the book and does it in second person, so it also takes getting used to because of the change.  Caleb was interesting because he didn't trust himself, therefor, I didn't trust him-- and you have to have untrustworthy people in a mystery!!

I think the reason I clicked with this book so much was that I didn't read the synopsis very closely, so I didn't know where the story was headed.  I don't know why they decided to tell the first big twist in the summary, and I think had I known that twist, I wouldn't have been so intrigued.  You see, the first big twist was what made this book interesting.  And not knowing it was coming was what hooked me. (I write my own synopsis's, so if you want to get spoiled, you'll have to head over to Goodreads).

There is a little bit of a drop-off in the middle of the book-- but then it picks right back up-- and there is a little bit of teenage romance that I didn't think was necessary (I mean, do we need everyone to have a romantic interest??), but I still super recommend this book to mystery-lovers out there, because the mystery was twisty and fun to unravel!!

OVERALL: After I got used to the narration, I was INTO this book.  I'm a slow reader and I finished this FAST.  I totally recommend it-- but don't read the Goodreads or jacket summary (it's sort of spoilery).  Just know it's about 5 kids who are being targeted for an unknown reason.

Date Published: 6/6/2017
How I got this book: Thanks to Dial Books for sending me an advance copy to read and honestly review.
Publisher: Dial Books/ Penguin Random House


Add it to your To-Read List!!

My Rating: 4/5

Character: Caleb Colchester
Book: The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis

• Because Caleb would like the way the meaning of heroes and villains are questioned in this book.