Published by Walker Childrens on 5 February 2013
Genres: Suspense, Young Adult
Pages: 336
Source: Netgalley
Buy on Amazon
Summary from Goodreads:
Mallory killed her boyfriend, Brian.
She can't remember the details of that night but everyone knows it was self-defense, so she isn't charged. But Mallory still feels Brian's presence in her life. Is it all in her head? Or is it something more? In desperate need of a fresh start, Mallory is sent to Monroe, a fancy prep school where no one knows her . . . or anything about her past. But the feeling follows her, as do her secrets.
Then, one of her new classmates turns up dead.
As suspicion falls on Mallory, she must find a way to remember the details of both deadly nights so she can prove her innocence-to herself and others.
*I received a free ARC of Hysteria from Walkers Children via Netgalley in exchange of an honest review*
Hysteria surprised me! The suspense was well done, and I never knew what would happen next.
Hysteria was the first book I read by this author, and I got a very good surprise! Mallory is a very confused and scared young woman. She knows that she killed her boyfriend, that he was threatening her and she felt like she had no choice, but she can’t remember all that happened that night. Her parents want to send her to boarding school – supposedly to help her by getting her away from the house – where it happened. However, Mallory’s mom is having trouble even looking at her, and Mallory has horrible dreams. On top of her dreams and knowing she is going to be sent away, Brian’s mom is stalking her, even after her parents got a restraining order against her.
Between what is happening in Mallory’s head, and the strange things that happen in school, it is difficult to know what is real and what is not, both for Mallory and for the reader. The first day in school, she meets a boy she knows from before, he’s the son of one of the boys who went to the same school with her dad. They are more or less friendly towards each other, but he seems to be interested in more. Mallory has no idea what she wants, and when she starts having worse nightmares than ever, or coming back to her room to find all her clothes cut to pieces she is wondering if she is truly going mad.
As the story moves forward, more strange things happen, some nights Mallory is afraid to take her sleeping pills, as she feels like someone is coming into the room while she’s sleeping. To make herself feel more secure, she steals a knife from the kitchen and hides it in her drawer… The same knife that is used to kill the boy she finds next to her bed, on the floor, one morning when she wakes up. Of course, Mallory is suspected of having done it again, and the investigation is not really an investigation at all! But the suspense continues until the very end, and the way things unfold are quite surprising.
They were wrong, though. Scarlet was not the color of blood. And despite what Nathaniel Hawthorne led me to believe, it wasn’t the color of shame either.
My steps echoed throughout the stairwell as I descended. Fresh start, like hell. Like this place could be anyone’s fresh start. Full of snotty people and arrogant buildings and way too many trees.
So I let him whisper in my ear and put his hands on my hips. And I listened to him list all the ways in which I was slowly killing him. None of which turned out to be the actual way that I killed him.
Great review. I’ll TBR this one! 😀
Thanks Liesel! It’s always so nice to get a comment from you 🙂 Have a great week!
Sounds like an interesting book!
Good, I like sharing the books I enjoyed.
This one sounds really cool!
Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment 🙂 It’s always appreciated.
Hey Lexxie! This is an awesome review. I’m looking forward to reading it!
I look forward to seeing what you think about it when you do!
You’ve been nominated!
http://bookshelvesofdreams.blogspot.ca/2013/01/the-liebster-award.html
Hi Barbara 🙂 I really appreciate the it, but this is an award-free blog, I hardly have enough time to write my reviews and participate in one or two memes every week. Thank you very much for thinking of me, though 🙂
It sounds very suspenseful…like you wouldn’t want to put it down until you have it all figured out. I really enjoyed reading your review! Old follower 😀 Jaclyn @ JC’s Book Haven
I actually didn’t put it down until I finished it 🙂
I love prep school books but I hate the memory loss theme!
The memory loss theme wasn’t bad, but if you don’t like that as a plot device, you might not like this book. We all have the things we really don’t feel like reading about.
Thanks for stopping by!