In which I create immense confusion!

Hey guys, it’s Amy! Yesterday was the beginning of the COYER challenge, and I’ve already finished my first book! I also decided to make a page listing all of the books I’ve read/reviewed for this COYER Challenge, and I’ll link to that in every review I do for these books. You can see that page here! Alright, let’s get started, shall we?

Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary/Mystery

Publish Date: January 3rd, 2017

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

A teenage misfit named Hawthorn Creely inserts herself in the investigation of missing person Lizzie Lovett, who disappeared mysteriously while camping with her boyfriend. Hawthorn doesn’t mean to interfere, but she has a pretty crazy theory about what happened to Lizzie. In order to prove it, she decides to immerse herself in Lizzie’s life. That includes taking her job… and her boyfriend. It’s a huge risk — but it’s just what Hawthorn needs to find her own place in the world. (Goodreads)

I don’t know what I was expecting from this book, but it definitely wasn’t what I got. I started reading it on my iPod at midnight on the 17th (which was when COYER started) and I immediately noticed that it read very quickly. I was able to get 12% in a short amount of time… On my iPod… While very tired… Without my glasses or contacts. Yesterday, I was able to get through nearly all of it, and I finished it this morning. It was simply a fast read, and I think that’s just the writing style. I actually looked it up on Goodreads when I got halfway through the book to see how long of a book it was, and I was surprised again when I learned that it was nearly 400 pages.

Elaborating on the “quickness” of the book, the writing style was just very… personal. It was like something Hawthorn would just walk up to you and say. It feels like a conversation, and that just contributed to my overall confusion about the book.

As for Hawthorn, I didn’t really “get” her. She didn’t really have any friends, she wasn’t very personable, and she basically thought the whole world was out to get her. When something went wrong or she wanted to talk to someone or do something, she didn’t go do it. She would wait for someone else to come up and tell her what to do. Hawthorn just didn’t seem to realize that she had to do things for herself. That being said, even though I didn’t understand her and sometimes her motives seemed nonexistent, I did relate to her. She wants to fit in at high school and have friends, but she’s socially awkward, so she envies the people who do. Including Lizzie Lovett. Hawthorn has developed strong hate and love for Lizzie, and never even knew her. So when Lizzie goes missing, Hawthorn doesn’t pity her. She thinks Lizzie is perfect, and her life is perfect, and the entire universe caters to her needs, so nothing bad could possibly happen to Lizzie.

Oh, and the romance! I totally hated Enzo from the start. Hawthorn developed this little crush on Lizzie’s boyfriend, creating this fantasy in her head that never really existed, and ignoring the romance right under her nose (which, for the record, was adorable).

I had no idea what had happened to Lizzie. Hawthorn came up with a somewhat outrageous idea for what happened to Lizzie, and I actually wondered if that might be true. I didn’t expect the ending, and it was interesting to come up with new ideas for what actually happened.

Overall, this book was just so intriguing. Judging by my review, I completely hated this book! Definitely not the case. This book was light and quick, but it addressed one major topic- facing reality. Hawthorn frequently mentions how she reads and watches TV to escape reality, and it’s always a disappointment when she has to return. I’d like to think that I read to get a different view on reality, and it makes the real thing so much more magical when I apply what I’ve read to my life. Hawthorn has this view in her head that Lizzie is almost intentionally aggravating her, and that she will just pop up one day as the same old Lizzie. But in the real world, that fantasy isn’t true, and Hawthorn eventually has to face the fact that no one is exempt from the truth of life, not even people like Lizzie. I enjoyed watching Hawthorn grow as a character and a person, and I think she was quite realistic. Being inside her head for a while was both a treat and chaos, and I don’t think I quite minded that!

Agh, this review is so conflicting! That’s exactly how I feel about this book, so hopefully I did get my feelings across. 😉 Have you read this book? Thoughts? Do you plan to? Let me know down in the comments; I love talking to you guys! Toodles! 🙂

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