Unapologetic Reader, Psychotic Writer

Brenna Yovanoff is a terrific writer. She has created a masterpiece with this book using the sort of talent which can rarely be seen. The book revolves around Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - but not really as a retelling. It's like the theme to the story, an anchor to keep the reader from falling too deep into the rabbit hole. It's new and thrilling and intense and creepy and beautiful and poetic and this book was perfect. I loved everything about it. In the beginning Hannah's description of their little clique and the strain in their relationship after Lillian's death reminded me somewhat of Pretty Little Liars. But I should not have worried. There are mean girls and there is bitchiness and there is romance as is the norm in YA books. But they do not rule the story. The story is about a girl who is haunted by her best friend's ghost. Who is sad, and yet does not let herself be. Until there is a guy who wants her to stop pretending and just be sad if she is so fucking sad. It's a coming of age story about the girl who realizes through the death of her friend what is important in life and why she was only deluding herself by living as she did. And this is also the story of the very same girl who is in a town where young girls are being murdered and she feels compelled to save them and assuage their ghosts unlike what she could not do for her best friend. The story is profound, moving. The characters are deep with multiple layers to their personality and a raw edge to their feelings. Though told from a first person point of view the emotions of all the characters are portrayed beautifully - which is very very difficult to pull off. The relationship between Hannah and Lillian, Hannah and Finny, Hannah and Ariel, her parents, her other friends - they all have this undercurrent to it that helps the characterization of every single character go deeper than just skin. And Finny - he is a masterpiece in himself. The nickname sound in odds - almost too childish - compared to his tough persona but somehow manages to portray his inner vulnerability and softness perfectly. A bad boy with a golden heart - it sounds so cliché, so juvenile but he is not like the dark brooding heroes we are so used to (he is dark and brooding , yes, but in a wholly different subdued manner). One can practically see him wearing his heart on his sleeve for Hannah and to see his feelings being reciprocated brought a huge grin on my face. The thrill though was there in the entire book. The ghosts and ghosty stuffs gave me goosebumps. And though the murderer was fairly predictable - the author would still throw in red herrings to keep us guessing and reguessing till the very end. Perfect. Creepy, romantic, intense. Simple Perfect. 5 Stars.