Daniel's father dragged him to Leisure World for a little holiday--something to do after Daniel caught his mom cheating. The sports-averse Daniel would rather be nearly anywhere else, until he meets Lexi. Lexi is beautiful, and smart, and troubled: every day, her wounds get a little worse. She won't talk about it, until Daniel gets caught in the same loop: 2 years ago, she was dragged into the woods and killed; now she lives each year in reverse until that one Daylight Saving hour, when the clocks get turned back and she relives her attack. The only thing in Daniel's future is changing Lexi's past.

Creepy and atmospheric, though predictable. (Maybe if I were in the target demographic and didn't have ~30 years of Reading Creepy Stories under my belt I'd have felt differently.) I cared about the characters and wanted to see things work out for all of them--even the background characters, the neighbors and the father, are people and not just cutouts. It's creepy but not outright scary, with some gory descriptions of wounds, but nothing the average 14-year-old can't handle. ( )

Drama, mystery, romance and a ghost wrapped up in a hokey vacation spot. This was a quick "everyone" read, with good characters and an all too believable setting.

This one just wasn't for me. The story line is very ambiguous and muddled with side plots. The main story (what I think is the main story) was very confusing until right at the very end. Is it a ghost story? Is he crazy? Is she real? It was hard to tell. In addition to the mysterious girl who causes all sorts of odd happenings, the main character, Daniel, has body issues associated with extremely low self esteem and is dealing with the divorce of his parents while living with his drunken dad. Oh, and they are on a vacation to a type of sportplex and Daniel hates sports. So basically, everyone is miserable. There was just too much going on to concentrate on one aspect of the story.

The aspect of the writing that turned me off initially was not the plot, but rather the characters. Everyone is just so broken . There is not one good, solid character. None of them have anyone to look up to or some idea of normalcy to strive for. In addition, the main character and his father seem rather prejudice (mostly his father). There are multiple homophobic comments that seemed unnecessary. I mean, I understand it for a character's point of view, but it did not add to the story at all. It made me dislike the characters from an early point.

This book just was not for me. ( )

When I requested this one on Netgalley, I totally must have missed the part of the summary that said it was a ghost story. So, imagine my (pleasant) surprise when I went in expecting a contemporary novel and wound up reading something that was definitely more than I expected -- in a good way.

When Daniel's father drags him to a sports complex for a father/son getaway, Daniel's expectations are low. He hates sports, and there's no possible way for him to enjoy himself, especially when his father -- the only person he knows at the complex -- is drunk 90% of the time, wallowing in depression after discovering his wife was having an affair. When Daniel discovers Lexi swimming in the lake at the complex, things begin to look up. Lexi is a bit of a smart ass, but totally the type of girl Daniel could get into. But, Lexi has a secret, and the closer Daniel gets to her, the less things make sense. Why does Lexi's watch run backwards, and why are the cuts and bruises that cover her skin getting progressively worse as the days go by? The more Daniel is drawn to Lexi, the crazier his life becomes. When he begins finding cuts on his own body, he realizes he needs to find out who -- or what -- Lexi really is.

As I said earlier, I totally wasn't expecting a creepy, twisty, ghost story when I started this one, and you know how I love my creepy books. I found the story to be very rich and decently paced. It's a short read, but I didn't feel like it moved too quickly, or that anything was lacking in the overall development of the story. The writing flows well, though there wasn't anything overly distinct about the voice (which isn't necessarily a bad thing). I was really drawn to Daniel's character and the journey he takes. Daniel is a normal guy that I think a lot of reader's can relate to. I was also drawn to Lexi, and I found her backstory, and the overall ghost story to be very original. While the book is dark and deals with bullies and murder, I think anyone over the age of 15 could handle it. While I wasn't surprised at the ending, I didn't hate it. I've read these types of books for most of my reading life, so I have a pretty good eye for figuring things out. With that said, I think most readers will find the final "twist" fitting.

Creepy, atmospheric and very original, Daylight Saving is a book any fan of thrillers and creepy, ghost stories should add to their shelves. ( )