Title: Hanging by a Thread
Author: Sophie Littlefield Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Publishing Date: September 11th 2012
Pages: 288
Genre: YA Paranormal Mystery/Suspense
Series: Stand Alone
Source: Digital ARC
Goodreads Summary:
Summer is the best part of the year in Winston, California, and the Fourth of July is the highlight of the season. But the perfect town Clare remembers has changed, and everyone is praying that this summer will be different from the last two—that this year's Fourth of July festival won't see one of their own vanish without a trace, leaving no leads and no suspects. The media are in a frenzy predicting a third disappearance, but the town depends on tourist dollars, so the residents of Winston are trying desperately to pretend nothing's wrong.
And they're not the only ones hiding something.
Clare, a seamstress who redesigns vintage clothing, has been blessed—or perhaps cursed—with a gift: she can see people's pasts when she touches their clothes. When she stumbles across a denim jacket that once belonged to Amanda Stavros, last year's Fourth of July victim, Clare sees her perfect town begin to come apart at the seams.
In a town where appearance means everything, how deep beneath the surface will Clare dig to uncover a murderer?
Review:
I love the cover for this book. It is so creepy! I have been in the mood for some creepy books so I decided to give this one a try after reading the synopsis. It was a great read, full of mystery and suspense with a side of romance. There were parts that made me feel like I was inside a horror movie and in a fun way.
The story is about Clare, a teenage girl with a gift to see the past when touching others clothes. Kind of creepy but very intriguing. She comes back to the small town she was once apart to become mixed up in a year old disappearance and a 2 year old murder. The town believes that the two are connected, but there is no evidence and no suspects. The town has been torn apart by these crimes and every year around the anniversary they tend to get very paranoid.
Clare loves to sew and create from old clothing and material. She receives a box with a very expensive but torn up jacket, she has some great visions of what she can do with this jacket along with a vision of the past. The strongest vision she has ever experiences leads her on a compulsion to solve the crime it’s connected too, the disappearance of the local girl. What she finds out is a shocker and one that leads her into serious danger.
Along with the mystery and suspense, there is a bit of romance. The romance is sweet, not rushed, but a little cliché. He is the local bad boy. Even with the cliché added in, it does add to the story and has a few swoon worthy moments.
I really liked Clare, she is a very determined girl, and she is smart and has a good heart. She wants to do the right thing. She has her moments where she makes the dumb choice, but quickly redeems herself. Clare was really the only character I felt I really got to know, however the other characters still brought depth into the story. The bad boy Jack and her best friend Rachel have much to do with the story.
All in all, I enjoyed the book. It was fast paced, entertaining, and a bit thrilling. Just enough to keep me reading but not enough to look under my bed and in my closet.
Rating:
I was so excited to see that you read this, Jia, as I just read this title a few days ago – and came away with about the same problems. Littlefield has an accessible style, and the fashion-descriptions were awesome for someone who likes that stuff (and I am definitely one of those people) because they felt authentic. I do agree, though, that the friendship and romance just weren’t developed enough in the story to do them emotional justice – it felt like the plot was standalone but the character arcs weren’t, and that bothered me a bit.
ReplyDeleteStill – I’m glad you enjoyed it, and look forward to seeing if you review more of Littlefield’s work at any point. :)