Friday, July 15, 2016

Book Review: The Telling

The Telling by Alexandra Sirowy

Released: August 2, 2016
Read: July 2016
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Format: ARC, 400 pages
Series: Stand-alone

Description on Goodreads:

    Lana used to know what was real.
    That was before when her life was small and quiet.
Her golden step-brother, Ben, was alive, she could only dream about bonfiring with the populars, their wooded island home was idyllic, she could tell the truth from lies, and Ben’s childhood stories were firmly in her imagination.
    Then came after.
    After has Lana boldly kissing her crush, jumping into the water from too high up, and living with nerve and mischief. But after also has horrors, deaths that only make sense in fairy tales, and terrors from a past Lana thought long forgotten: Love, blood, and murder.

Review:
  This isn't a spoiler, no matter what you may think, but I am a committed member in the Alive-until-literal-body-is-proven-dead club. As soon as Ben's death was described, and I learned that he fell off a cliff into the water below, I believed that he was alive. I've watched waaaay too many of my favourite characters on TV shows die then come back to life. There's always a loop hole or a small detail that someone missed, that proves the person isn't dead. So for the majority of THE TELLING, I searched for Ben. But what happens, I will not say.
    Ben and Lana share a complex relationship, considering their horrible childhood ( before meeting each other). The stories Ben tells Lana bond them and make them closer siblings. These stories, although quite morbid, are unique and really interesting. Beakless black birds and  rosary peas, an odd combination. Also in these stories, Lana and Ben are the common protagonist, always killing the villain the same way the villain killed its victims. Lana the Brave is outgoing and fearless, unlike her current realistic self.
    Lana's relationship with Josh Parker is short and not really there. Of course they're good friends, but if you're looking for a strong romance, this is not the book for you. They act nervous and semi-casual around each other, but you can't feel their connection. It's as if she doesn't like him and is awkward around him just because he's a guy. In short: not very lovely dovey.
    The mystery was kept alive during the entirety of the novel, and made me switch between many suspects. I couldn't figure out who had the right motive and how each murder was pulled off. Why did Maggie hide where she did? Why does everyone suspect it was Fitzgerald Moore? And what did any of this have to do with Lana and Ben?
    By the end of this thriller, Lana finds out the true nature of many of the people around her. Many are not who they seem to be, and each of these discoveries is even more captivating than the one before.

Quotes:

  • " I was an earthworm dreaming of being a python."
  • " The good and bad are indistinguishable in the dark."
  • " You can't go back in time any more than you can regrow a lung once you've lost it. The only thing to do is learn to breathe with just one."
  • "Gant, the idyllic island where the millionaires of Seattle flock with their 2.4 kids, labradoodles, and trophy wives. Gant, where shit doesn't stink and bullshit is recyclable, where everyone gets to be white, rich, and an asshole."
  • " Perception is nine-tenths of everything, and you only need to appear okay for them to think you are."
  • " People wear sadness like they wear hats."
  • " I'm tired of hearing what anyone but me thinks I should be. I want to define myself. If I am small, it's my choice. If I'm daring, it's because it's who I am. If I'm good, fine. If I'm bad, that's on me."

Rating: 9/10

Recommended if you like: thrillers, high school drama, reading about bullying, family drama, murder mysteries, the Creeping by Alexandra Sirowy, books about story telling, obsessions.

Keep flipping pages,
Lauren

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