I Let You Go
Clare Mackintosh
Berkley, November 2016
ISBN 978-0-425-98749-0
Trade Paperback
I Let You Go grabbed me by the lapels and pulled me into a suspenseful, fast-paced mystery with tight twists that had me paging backwards a couple of times to truly keep up. The gripping, heart-stopping story unfolds from different perspectives, revealing varying pieces of the puzzle until suddenly I saw the big picture and it was nothing I envisioned.
Two victims of a random tragedy try to piece their lives together—independently, and wholly alone. As a year stretched out, the crime remained unsolved and it seemed as if each of them may be successful. After an arrest, a trial, new information revealed and slowly, the big picture shimmers and changes.
So happy to have a new author to add to my list of favorites; I cannot wait to read more by Ms. Mackintosh.
Reviewed by jv poore, January 2017
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Endure
A Defy Novel #3
Sara B. Larson
Scholastic Press, January 2016
ISBN 978-0-545-64490-7
Hardcover
Endure is the final book in the Defy trilogy by Sara B. Larson. I didn’t realize that, going into it. Earnestly entering Antion, enchanted by Alexa and King Damien, it was evident the story did not begin here. (Yes, thus the title. I get it, now.) While I did immediately add Defy and Ignite to my To-Be- Read stack, I never truly felt late to the party.
The bond between Alexa and Rylan blatantly had background, but was too authentic to warrant doubt. Maybe that hot fudge sundae wows with whipped cream, but it’s also delectable despite the absence. Similarly, Damien’s trust in Alexa—both in her abilities as well as her commitment to him, is astounding…and unquestionable.
But this isn’t just a story of passionate people, complex choices and difficult, dangerous decisions….it’s about community, doing for the greater good, even if incurring loss. Listening and learning, evolving, even—or especially—when plowing forward.
And there’s magic! Good and bad; healing and harmful. Also, a battle! One that’s been brewing, boils over, beating down kingdoms. It is a fantastically furious, frantic, ferocious fight to a final victory. Grief and hope, strength and support, friendships and fondness bring balance to angst and action.
If you happen to know of a Middle Grader searching for good reads, the Defy trilogy may do the trick.
Reviewed by jv poore, July 2016.