Review: See Jane Run by Hannah Jayne

Title:  See Jane Run 

Author: Hannah Jayne

Publisher:  Sourcebooks Fire
Publishing Date: January 7th 2014

Pages: 288
Genre:  YA Mystery/Thriller

Series: Stand Alone
Source:  Digital ARC 

  

I know who you are.

When Riley first gets the postcard tucked into her bag, she thinks it's a joke. Then she finds a birth certificate for a girl named Jane Elizabeth O'Leary hidden inside her baby book.

Riley's parents have always been pretty overprotective. What if it wasn't for her safety...but fear of her finding out their secret? What have they been hiding? The more Riley digs for answers, the more questions she has.

The only way to know the truth? Find out what happened to Jane O'Leary.

I love a great thriller. I really had some high hopes for this book, the summary didn’t give too much away but sounded interesting enough. The title is what really grabbed me and the cover was pretty cool too. I enjoyed the book enough to say it wasn’t a waste of time. The book did keep me interested enough to keep reading, I really wanted to know how it would end. The story was lacking a bit on the mystery and suspense for me and the I didn’t connect with any of the characters.

The synopsis pretty much covers it. Riley is junior in High School. Her class is taking a trip to a college she is interested in, one her father attended. Before going she is rummaging through boxes in her parents room for a college sweatshirt and finds a birth certificate that isn’t hers. It’s for Jane Elizabeth O’Leary. Riley starts to wonder who this Jane is and decides to figure out, Along the way she figures out secrets lie within her family and danger lurks around the corner.

I think this book had a lot of potential . The story was there but wasn’t executed well. I loved the story, but I think it was meant to be more of a mystery thriller and it didn’t quite hit that mark for me. For the most part, the mystery was pretty easy to figure out from the very beginning. The how and why were very easy to detect, the who was a bit more difficult but not enough to make the story unpredictable. There were some very thrilling and creepy parts. Those kept me going for the most part. It didn’t lack in the fast paced thrills or the creep factor.

I really liked how fast paced the book was, but I think there could have been put into the story. There were basically two mysteries to solve and for the most part it was pretty much figured out by the middle of the book. The other half of the book was a more of a long sequence of thrills. There is a fine line in writing a fast paced book without lacking in other aspects, like the character building.

I didn’t connect with any of the characters. I didn’t care much for the main character but I didn’t dislike her either. She was just there. Instead of really making an impact, she just existed for the story to be there. I rooted for her, I hoped she would figure things out and wouldn’t get herself in any danger, but I wasn’t able to really feel for her. She was a bit too dumb for my taste too. I felt all the answers to her questions were right there and any amateur detective could have been able to figure them out and if not there were people to question, such as her parents. Riley was more concerned with her parents outrage that she went through her stuff than whose birth certificate she found. Didn’t seem very logical to me.

The secondary characters lacked too, although I did like J.D. He seemed like a real caring and genuine guy, but there just wasn’t enough of him. His story didn’t even come up until the very end and it was about 2 paragraphs long. Riley’s parents really drove me nuts. They weren’t very realistic to me and I had a hard time buying into their reasoning for their actions.

A very fast read that was intriguing enough to keep me reading , but not enough to make the book memorable.

Teaser Tuesday #88 and Top Ten Tuesday #78

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Should Be Reading. Bloggers choose two

sentences out of our current read to peak others' curiosity.


Better late than Never!

Teaser: 

Oh holy eggplant. Is Marisol right? Is Steve really just a jerk, and he's here to make fun of me too?

The Dirt Diary by Anna Staniszewksi

  
  

        


After her parents' divorce, eighth-grader Rachel Lee joins her mother's new housecleaning business, which has her scrubbing bathrooms in her more popular classmates' homes and learning useful secrets.

Top Ten is an original feature/weekly meme created here at

The Broke and the Bookish that features a great bookish top ten every week.

My Top Ten Most Memorable Books of 2013

Genre Definition and Recommendation #46

Genre Definition and Recommendation is a feature where I will define a genre and a sub-genre definition and the make some recommendations.  

 Realistic Fiction- Definition found on Wikipedia

Realistic fiction, although untrue, could actually happen. Some events, the people, and the places may even be real. 

In my own words. Stories of real people dealing with real issues/problems in real life but in fiction. The issues/problems are generally extreme and there is a lot of healing going on. 

My Recommendations:

 Lovely Dark and Deep by Amy McNarmara

  

        

A resonant debut novel about retreating from the world after losing everything—and the connections that force you to rejoin it.

Since the night of the crash, Wren Wells has been running away. Though she lived through the accident that killed her boyfriend Patrick, the girl she used to be didn’t survive. Instead of heading off to college as planned, Wren retreats to her father’s studio in the far-north woods of Maine. Somewhere she can be alone.

Then she meets Cal Owen. Dealing with his own troubles, Cal’s hiding out too. When the chemistry between them threatens to pull Wren from her hard-won isolation, Wren has to choose: risk opening her broken heart to the world again, or join the ghosts who haunt her.

The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider 

 

        

Golden boy Ezra Faulkner believes everyone has a tragedy waiting for them—a single encounter after which everything that really matters will happen. His particular tragedy waited until he was primed to lose it all: in one spectacular night, a reckless driver shatters Ezra’s knee, his athletic career, and his social life.

No longer a front-runner for Homecoming King, Ezra finds himself at the table of misfits, where he encounters new girl Cassidy Thorpe. Cassidy is unlike anyone Ezra’s ever met, achingly effortless, fiercely intelligent, and determined to bring Ezra along on her endless adventures.

But as Ezra dives into his new studies, new friendships, and new love, he learns that some people, like books, are easy to misread. And now he must consider: if one’s singular tragedy has already hit and everything after it has mattered quite a bit, what happens when more misfortune strikes? 

Robyn Schneider’s The Beginning of Everything is a lyrical, witty, and heart-wrenching novel about how difficult it is to play the part that people expect, and how new beginnings can stem from abrupt and tragic endings.

Review: The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Title:  The Naturals 

Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Publisher:  Disney Hyperion
Publishing Date:  November 5th 2013

Pages: 304
Genre:  YA Psycological Thriller

Series: Stand Alone
Source: Audio

  

Seventeen-year-old Cassie is a natural at reading people. Piecing together the tiniest details, she can tell you who you are and what you want. But it’s not a skill that she’s ever taken seriously. That is, until the FBI come knocking: they’ve begun a classified program that uses exceptional teenagers to crack infamous cold cases, and they need Cassie.

What Cassie doesn’t realize is that there’s more at risk than a few unsolved homicides— especially when she’s sent to live with a group of teens whose gifts are as unusual as her own.

Sarcastic, privileged Michael has a knack for reading emotions, which he uses to get inside Cassie’s head—and under her skin. Brooding Dean shares Cassie’s gift for profiling, but keeps her at arm’s length.

Soon, it becomes clear that no one in the Naturals program is what they seem. And when a new killer strikes, danger looms closer than Cassie could ever have imagined. Caught in a lethal game of cat and mouse with a killer, the Naturals are going to have to use all of their gifts just to survive. 

I was so very excited to get my hands on this book, it excited me even more to see it was on audio. I love audio books. I love books about serial killers, murders, and amateur investigators. This sounded like a perfect book for me. I did love it. I enjoyed it from first sentence to last and I can't wait to read more. The book was filled with great characters, thrilling moments, and disturbing moments. 

Cassie has an ability, she can naturally profile any person as soon as she meets them. She is what they call a natural and the FBI want her. They know that her ability can be a real asset one day so they offer her a position her their special training for natural teens. Cassie doesn't care much about helping solve crimes, except for her mother's. Her mother was murdered years ago and that day haunts Cassie. She needs to know the truth about what happened. Singing up for this special training just may get her a bit closer. So she goes. She meets other naturals. One who is a human lie detector. Another has the ability to read emotions, and one is a natural at knowing any statistics. There is even one that can profile just like herself. Fitting in is a bit of an issue. Two boys fight for her attention, one girl is jealous, and the other is just a little nuts. Getting along with all the other naturals isn't her main problem. Soon Cassie finds herself in a quite a pickle. She has nosed herself right into the path of a serial killer and now he is after her. 

This book was amazing. A true mystery thriller. I loved the twists, the red herrings, the romance, the characters, the murders. It was all just perfect to fit into a nice mystery thriller. The story really had me going. I am a huge fan of serial killer stories and the when it is done well, keeps me guessing, I am completely satisfied. This one had me guessing until the very end. The author did a wonderful job with the details to make me believe it was a particular person then had me changing my mind in the next chapter. It wasn't easy to figure out until right before it all blew up. 

The pacing was also exceptional. The book was very fast past from the very beginning but never to quick to build the characters and the back stories. Heart racing fast at the right moments and a slow build when needed. I for sure was never bored and I was never lost. 

The character building was a huge part in this book. I love great character building and I wasn't disappointed. Each character was set apart from the others, they had very distinctive personality traits and their own back story to help build their character. They were set apart so well, I could easily tell who was speaking before it was made known. I liked and disliked each one equally. Cassie was a great main character. She had her issues, she didn't trust easily and she was a bit obsessed with her mother's murder. She was really nosey and had a knack for finding trouble. She had some good qualities too. She was determined, smart, and for some reason, very likable. 

I had a bit of a harder time with the boys in the beginning. I liked them both but they really did get on my nerves at times. Michael and Dean are both very stupid boys. They are quite different but really the same. They both like Cassie and turn into the typical teenage boy around her. Entertaining more than annoying. I liked the girls in the program. Lia was just too awesome. A bit of a mean girl, very possessive over the boys, very snarky, but very real. I appreciated her part in the story and kind of really liked her. Sloane was the last teen in the program, she was just pure entertainment. She had many issues, the main one being she loved to spit out stats. Not a good thing while trying to watch television. A very awesome cast. 

There is romance but it is very teen like crushes and not "you are my world, I love you, can't live without you" romance. I liked this. I get so overloaded on insta love. This was more real. There is a love triangle but not really. Since Cassie just met both boys, she finds she is attracted to both boys, but they aren't her priority. What will happen will happen. It felt more genuine, like teen girls should be. It's far from the main plot too, so it works while it sits in the background. 

All around a very balanced and very well written book. I didn't get any paranormal feel out of the story. I think possibly the abilities the teens have may come from a paranormal background but it never really explains it. I really got more of the its just a glitch in their genes and they are very talented. Kind of like any other genius out there. If it does come with a paranormal or scientific background, if there is another book, I hope the next book explains that. 

Loved it! I really hope there is more to come. I am sure this book will remain on my reread shelf for a very long time. 

Stacking the Shelves #60

Stacking The Shelves is a hosted by Tynga's Reviews. Come join the fun and share all the book you received this week. 

Review:

The Here and Now by Ann Brashares

                                   

Follow the rules. Remember what happened. Never fall in love.

Thrilling, exhilarating, haunting, and heartbreaking, The Here and Now is a twenty-first-century take on an impossible romance. Ann Brashares’ first novel for teens since The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is about a girl from the future who might be able to save the world . . . if she lets go of the one thing she’s found to hold on to.

Meet seventeen-year-old Prenna James, who immigrated to New York when she was twelve. Except Prenna didn’t come from a different country. She came from a different time—a future where a mosquito-borne illness has mutated into a pandemic, killing millions and leaving the world in ruins.

Prenna and the others who escaped to the present day must follow a strict set of rules: never reveal where they’re from, never interfere with history, and never, ever be intimate with anyone outside their community. Prenna does as she’s told, believing she can help prevent the plague that will one day ravage the earth. But everything changes when she falls for Ethan Jarves.

And We Stay by Jenny Hubbard

     

"In And We Stay, Jenny Hubbard treats tragedy and new beginnings with a skilled, delicate hand. Her otherworldly verse and prose form a flowing monument to all the great storytellers of the past." --John Corey Whaley, author of the Michael L. Printz and William C. Morris award winner, Where Things Come Back

When high school senior Paul Wagoner walks into his school library with a stolen gun, he threatens his girlfriend Emily Beam, then takes his own life. In the wake of the tragedy, an angry and guilt-ridden Emily is shipped off to boarding school in Amherst, Massachusetts, where she encounters a ghostly presence who shares her name. The spirit of Emily Dickinson and two quirky girls offer helping hands, but it is up to Emily to heal her own damaged self.

This inventive story, told in verse and in prose, paints the aftermath of tragedy as a landscape where there is good behind the bad, hope inside the despair, and springtime under the snow.

Broken Hearts, Fences, and other Things to Mend
by Katie Finn

    

Summer, boys, and friendships gone sour. This new series has everything that perfect beach reads are made of!

Gemma just got dumped and is devastated. She finds herself back in the Hamptons for the summer—which puts her at risk of bumping into Hallie, her former best friend that she wronged five years earlier. Do people hold grudges that long?

When a small case of mistaken identity causes everyone, including Hallie and her dreamy brother Josh, to think she’s someone else, Gemma decides to go along with it.

Gemma's plan is working (she's finding it hard to resist Josh), but she's finding herself in embarrassing situations (how could a bathing suit fall apart like that!?). Is it coincidence or is someone trying to expose her true identity? And how will Josh react if he finds out who she is?

Katie Finn hits all the right notes in this perfect beginning to a new summer series: A Broken Hearts & Revenge novel.

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

     

 

A beautiful and distinguished family.
A private island.
A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.
A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.
A revolution. An accident. A secret.
Lies upon lies.
True love.
The truth.

We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from National Book Award finalist and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart.
Read it.
And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE.

AUDIO:

Gifts from Christmas: