Reading Level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 256 pages
Publisher: Balzer + Bray (March 27, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0062077902
ISBN-13: 978-0062077905
Series: Yes!
Source: Finished copy provided by publisher
Cover: I think this cover is interesting. I'd definitely pick it up in a bookstore but I'm not sure I understand what it has to do with the book. I like the deep blue color a lot!
First Sentence: I'm slumped at my desk, fighting to keep my eyes open.
Mini-Review: Slide is an awesome mystery with one heck of a heroine you aren't likely to forget!
Summary:
Vee Bell is certain of one irrefutable truth—her sister’s friend Sophie didn’t kill herself. She was murdered.
Vee knows this because she was there. Everyone believes Vee is narcoleptic, but she doesn’t actually fall asleep during these episodes: When she passes out, she slides into somebody else’s mind and experiences the world through that person’s eyes. She’s slid into her sister as she cheated on a math test, into a teacher sneaking a drink before class. She learned the worst about a supposed “friend” when she slid into her during a school dance. But nothing could have prepared Vee for what happens one October night when she slides into the mind of someone holding a bloody knife, standing over Sophie’s slashed body.
Vee desperately wishes she could share her secret, but who would believe her? It sounds so crazy that she can’t bring herself to tell her best friend, Rollins, let alone the police. Even if she could confide in Rollins, he has been acting off lately, more distant, especially now that she’s been spending more time with Zane.
Enmeshed in a terrifying web of secrets, lies, and danger and with no one to turn to, Vee must find a way to unmask the killer before he or she strikes again.
Review:
Slide into the mystery indeed. I've spent the past few weeks talking up this book because I was lucky enough to beta for it. I could have written a review on what I read before but I would have missed a lot about this book. Vee is one of those unforgetable characters with her bravery and kind heart, the relationship between Vee and her sister is moving and the mystery element will have you racing through the pages.
I liked Vee from the second she started talking. Her point of view felt different to me and I appreciated it. Though she's in an odd situation, I felt like she respected not only what she could do but that she respected the person she slide into as well. She knew that what she was seeing were the parts of life meant to be secret and didn't try to use those secrets to her advantage. I love that she has pink hair but I love even more is that she has a reason for having pink hair. Nothing about Vee felt forced or improvised. She is fiercely loyal to the ones she loves and will do anything for them. Plus, she isn't scared to put herself in danger if it will help. Her fearlessness is endearing and her in struggle figuring out how to put her family back together after her mother's death truly make Vee and unforgetable character.
Speaking of Vee's loyalness, one of the best parts of this story was the realistic portrayal of Vee's family. She and her sister didn't always get along but when her sister needed her, Vee dropped everything to be there. Even though times were rough for them, it truly made the novel special to see how they bonded together and struggled to get through their struggles. Vee's Dad was equally complex and the author did an amazing job portraying him. I could really see how much he wanted to be there for his daughters but he just didn't know how. Watching them all learn to become a family again was awesome!
If the tender family moments aren't your thing, then the mystery will be. The author does an awesome job painting everyone as a suspect. Just when you think someone is cleared, more evidence is thrown their way to cast them in an entirely new bad light. I'm not sure I'd have guessed this time around who was doing the killing and I liked it. The ending brought the story to a statisfying close and I was happy to see Vee gain control over her ability to slide so she can learn to cope with it in the future.
Hathaway's writing didn't feel green. Vee's voice flowed smoothly and confidently through the pages and it felt like each new sentence brought something unique to make her whole. I think my experience reading this was amplified because I was reading for all the differences from the first draft I read. I have to say, I couldn't be more statisfied with the way things went, the changes and the final outcome (and also that one of my favorite lines made it into the book--I'll mark it in favorite lines).
If you're into deeply statsifying mysteries with unique and fearless leads then Slide is for you. If you like contemporaries, I think you could get into this one too because Slide balances something a little supernatural with the realistic world perfectly. Basically, if you like to read, I suggest Slide to you. I really don't think it's going to disappoint!
Favorite Lines:
Mrs. Winger's voice is snippy, cutting me into tiny pieces she can easily brush into the trash.--Pg. 3 of "Slide" by Jill Hathaway
If she's the pink glitter on your valentine, I'm the black Sharpie you use to draw mustaches on the teachers in your yearbook.--Pg. 5 of "Slide" by Jill Hathaway
...It's wrong that death is a loss. It's something you gain. Death is always there, whispering in your ear. In your memories. In everything you think and say and feel and wish.--Pg. 18-19 of "Slide" by Jill Hathaway
On Friday, Sophie was here in the flesh, and now she is only words carved into red paint.--Pg. 74 of "Slide" by Jill Hathaway
"Jelly doughnuts. They're like an instant orgasm for your tongue."--Pg. 134 of "Slide" by Jill Hathaway
I know what it is. A Sharpie. Rollins's sword to tear the world apart, (This is sentence I loved so much! Glad it made it in!)--Pg. 195 of "Slide" by Jill Hathaway
...Maybe the part he showed to me was the only part of him that was real...--Pg. 236 of "Slide" by Jill Hathaway
Also, I was listening to this song in the car a few nights ago and it really reminded me of Rollins and Vee so I wanted to share it. Let me know what you think!
Leg 4-
4/3 Kimberly Derting at Confessions of a Bookaholic
4/5 Jill Hathaway at Down the Rabbit Hole
4/10 Kimberly Derting at Confessions of a Bookaholic
4/12 Jill Hathaway at Down the Rabbit Hole
4/17 Dan Wells at Bookalicious
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