Tara Altebrando

I don't generally read YA but I couldn't pass this up (especially while in NYC). As a novel, it's a sweet coming-of-age story with themes of self-knowledge and acceptance. More than that, though, it's a love letter to Coney Island, and that is what I adored about it. I love Coney and I imagine teenage me would have been enamored of this book. There's a review farther down where the reader said she was confused as to whether we were supposed to see the old Coney attractions as fun and exciting or creepy and derelict. Yes dear, exactly. This section is where we get into grey areas, and I truly appreciate a teenage character dealing with a situation where there might not be a right or wrong answer. That's what coming of age is all about, isn't it?… (altro)

I’ve read almost all of this author’s books and they never fail to be creative and suspenseful. I really liked this one— there was so many themes to dissect and it was about so much more than these 4 kids finding this bossy device.

My one disappointment was with the ending. I expected a sinister twist that never came. I guess I just had bigger expectations for a chilling ending and that’s not where the book wanted to go. But anyway, the first 3/4ths of the book were fabulously page-turning. Definitely a big yes for me!… (altro)

This author knows how to mess with her readers' heads & I love that.

In the past few years, I've read [b:The Leaving|26073074|The Leaving|Tara Altebrando|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1464526602s/26073074.jpg|42308587] and [b:The Possible|31450942|The Possible|Tara Altebrando|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1472702681s/31450942.jpg|52153776]-- and I thought both had interesting concepts and twisty reveals. Reading this book, I could totally tell it was an Altebrando book. There's just something about the way her books flow and the way the main character isn't exactly someone who you want to like, that makes her books stand out.

Natalie is on a cruise and meets a guy-- which is exciting because she's been very unfeeling since the death of her boyfriend. Before she can even ask his name, he's gone. He stood her up after saying odd things and taking an even odder selfie. When the cruise ship starts doing a headcount, Natalie is convinced he jumped. Her friends are more skeptical. The mystery is too strong for Natalie to ignore, and as she gets deeper into the mysterious boy's life & family, things get complicated and romantic at the same time.

Natalie was one of those girls that I root for despite the fact that she got on my last nerve. She really would rather believe that a dude jumped than think that maybe he just ditched her. She was obsessed with the entire weirdo-dude thing to the point where she wasn't enjoying her vacation or being present with her friends in any way. That alone made me want to shake her. Snap out of it, mind your business, and actually BE IN THE MOMENT with your girls!!!

The friends were a whole other thing. I went back and forth from being super annoyed at them for not being supportive (and pissed at them for hiding shit), to agreeing that I would've been annoyed at Natalie too. I do think this book has some strong friendship & forgiveness messages that were heartwarming-- and I liked them!

What I loved: Holy Jesus Moly. Every single time I started to get bored with the "missing" guy, the author would drop a bomb to get me back into it. When the ending came, it felt like a completely normal ending-- better than normal even because it wasn't the typical "a guy fixed my life" ending-- but then I read the last page. And !!!!!!!!!! That last page made me remember why I love Tara Altebrando's books. She GOES for it. She made me read a whole book, feel good about it-- and then it got flipped turned upside down in 2 paragraphs making me question EVERYTHING!

OVERALL: I am in it for the twists!! The author's books rarely have any characters in them that I like, but they make up for it with PLOT. I love reading a book that tries for something different-- something shocking. I totally 100% recommend this book. It's so SUMMER and TWISTY and ADDICTING.

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… (altro)