Review: The Stranger Game by Cylin Busby

Title: The Stranger Game

Author: Cylin Busby

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Publishing Date: October 25th, 2016

Pages: 288
Audio Length: 6 Hours

Genre: YA Contemporary Thriller
TW: Physical and sexual abuse

Series: Standalone

Source: Audio

 

The Stranger Game is a dark, suspenseful, and twisty young adult novel—perfect for fans of Lauren Oliver and E. Lockhart—about fifteen-year-old Nico Walker, whose sister returns home after a four-year disappearance.
When Nico Walker's older sister mysteriously disappears, her parents, family, and friends are devastated. But Nico can never admit what she herself feels: relief at finally being free of Sarah's daily cruelties.
Then the best and worst thing happens: four years later, after dozens of false leads, Sarah is found.
But this girl is much changed from the one Nico knew. She's thin and drawn, where Sarah had been golden and athletic; timid and unsure, instead of brash and competitive; and strangest of all, sweet and kind, when she had once been mean and abusive. Sarah's retrograde amnesia has caused her to forget almost everything about her life, from small things like the plots of her favorite books and her tennis game to the more critical—where she's been the last four years and what happened at the park on the fateful day she vanished. Despite the happy ending, the dark details of that day continue to haunt Nico, and it becomes clear that more than one person knows the true story of what happened to Sarah

What made me pick this book up: 

I don't really remember what made me do it. It was more than likely the cover that caught my eye. It looks creepy like something is going to attack her. 

What did I like about the cover: 

It looks so ominous. Like I said that something is about to attack her. It almost gives me anxiety just looking at it.

What made me read this book: 

I was in search of another short book, because I'm still working on getting out of this reading slump. I love a good mystery and this one sounded awesome. 

After reading the synopsis I had to find out what happened. It could go one of two ways. The person who says she's her sister really isn't, or her sister is completely messed up from whatever happened to her.

I had to know.

What did I like the most: 

Like I said, I love a good mystery. When I was reading the synopsis I had to know what happened.

The writing was pretty good, it wasn't annoying or hard to follow. I felt all the emotions they did. 

I really enjoyed the fact that it had some chapters from Sarah's point of view. At first I was confused, but it actually ended up making a lot of sense. 

The characters are written pretty well, I wanted to like them, and I really didn't find any of them annoying at all, which is always a huge feat for me.

The thing I liked the ABSOLUTE MOST was the ending. I was wanting to rate this book a 3 up until about 3/4 of the way through it, when it had me feeling so much, and I was so invested in the book I think I ended up staying in the bath for over an hour. I couldn't move or think of anything else.

What didn't I like: 

I don't think there was anything in particular that I didn't like. 

It was a good story, the writing was good, it just wasn't amazing. 

Hence the reason it's a 4 star and not 5. I would probably rate it a 4.5 to be honest.

One thing that kind of had me was that it seemed a bit rushed at parts. It was meant to be a short book but it seemed like it all happened so fast and it didn't make sense sometimes.

Would I read the rest of the series/more from this author?
I think so, if there was more.

This book ended up being so much more than I thought it would. Halfway through the book I would've rated it a 3. By then end it was a solid 4.

“I knew my sister was dead. I felt it in my body, as if my bones could tell me the truth.”― Cylin Busby, The Stranger Game

Cylin Busby is the author of several teen books and numerous articles as well as the acclaimed young adult memoir, THE YEAR WE DISAPPEARED,which was a Wall Street Journal bestseller, a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year, and a Cybils Award winner.
Her latest novel, THE NINE LIVES OF JACOB TIBBS, has earned starred reviews and was an Amazon Best Book of the Month. The former Senior Editor of Teen Magazine, Cylin now lives in Los Angeles with her family.
Website: http://www.cylinbusby.com/
Twitter: @cylinbusby
Genre: Biographies & Memoirs, Young Adult, Children's Books