Great!
Ebeneezer Scrooge has nothing on Autumn Casterly. If he started squirreling his money away in Tampax boxes and dealing drugs to teenagers, the resemblance would be uncanny.
Imagine the classic tale with less Christmas revelry and a whole lot of teen angst. And instead of some altruistic ghosts herding the main character towards his redemption, she's on her own in between life and death as she watches the events of her disappearance unfold from limbo. Throw in a dollop of catchy, hip slang terms and Harry Potter references so the reader doesn't forget what year it is, and you've summed up a good majority of the Last Confession of Autumn Casterly.
There are two points of view in play here, and one I significantly enjoyed more than the other. Autumn is a bully and a drug-dealer and an overall mean-spirited person. She has a poor reputation as the school pill-pusher and is not above thievery, extortion and physical intimidation to get what she wants.
Her younger sister Ivy, on the other hand, is the culmination of all things "nerd culture" and has a rambunctious pack of friends to spout enough nerdy exposition at the reader until they are convinced that they are indeed the self-proclaimed niche of underdogs that they purport to be. There are some cringey moments throughout her perspective where an attempt at encapsulating the teenage manner of speech is attempted poorly. And if I took a shot everytime a modern day reference to some big name tv or movie was made, rest assured I would be too drunk to be writing this review. Needless to say, the secondary characters making up the "nerd herd" of Ivy's group of friends were default at best and indistinguishable from one another. The attempt at romance as a sub-plot for Ivy smooshed in between an epic mystery of finding her sister was just not exciting enough to warrant my interest.
Clunky exposition aside and the story became a lot more enjoyable halfway through. Even though Autumn isn't a likable character and is foolhardy enough to get herself caught up in a perilous situation, it was hard not to feel a sense of urgency when she goes missing. The supernatural element to this story is effective and refreshing. Essentially she becomes a lingering spirit that can watch and to some extent, communicate vaguely with her sister as she tries to uncover the mystery of her disappearance. In the beginning she's frantic and angry, demanding her sister stop everything to save her. As she realizes her limitations in getting her point across in the corporeal world, she starts to observe her sister's daily life and realizes that perhaps she hasn't been the best sibling or even, a decent person worth saving. It is only when she realizes how much shes lost that she can begin to pick up the pieces and move on.
Overall, a great mystery with supernatural elements that made the narrative exciting and enjoyable. Ivy's angsty teenage subplots with friends and love interests were hindrances on the narrative at best.
I received a free copy of this book from Bookishfirst and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Imagine the classic tale with less Christmas revelry and a whole lot of teen angst. And instead of some altruistic ghosts herding the main character towards his redemption, she's on her own in between life and death as she watches the events of her disappearance unfold from limbo. Throw in a dollop of catchy, hip slang terms and Harry Potter references so the reader doesn't forget what year it is, and you've summed up a good majority of the Last Confession of Autumn Casterly.
There are two points of view in play here, and one I significantly enjoyed more than the other. Autumn is a bully and a drug-dealer and an overall mean-spirited person. She has a poor reputation as the school pill-pusher and is not above thievery, extortion and physical intimidation to get what she wants.
Her younger sister Ivy, on the other hand, is the culmination of all things "nerd culture" and has a rambunctious pack of friends to spout enough nerdy exposition at the reader until they are convinced that they are indeed the self-proclaimed niche of underdogs that they purport to be. There are some cringey moments throughout her perspective where an attempt at encapsulating the teenage manner of speech is attempted poorly. And if I took a shot everytime a modern day reference to some big name tv or movie was made, rest assured I would be too drunk to be writing this review. Needless to say, the secondary characters making up the "nerd herd" of Ivy's group of friends were default at best and indistinguishable from one another. The attempt at romance as a sub-plot for Ivy smooshed in between an epic mystery of finding her sister was just not exciting enough to warrant my interest.
Clunky exposition aside and the story became a lot more enjoyable halfway through. Even though Autumn isn't a likable character and is foolhardy enough to get herself caught up in a perilous situation, it was hard not to feel a sense of urgency when she goes missing. The supernatural element to this story is effective and refreshing. Essentially she becomes a lingering spirit that can watch and to some extent, communicate vaguely with her sister as she tries to uncover the mystery of her disappearance. In the beginning she's frantic and angry, demanding her sister stop everything to save her. As she realizes her limitations in getting her point across in the corporeal world, she starts to observe her sister's daily life and realizes that perhaps she hasn't been the best sibling or even, a decent person worth saving. It is only when she realizes how much shes lost that she can begin to pick up the pieces and move on.
Overall, a great mystery with supernatural elements that made the narrative exciting and enjoyable. Ivy's angsty teenage subplots with friends and love interests were hindrances on the narrative at best.
I received a free copy of this book from Bookishfirst and am voluntarily leaving a review.