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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
That was fun! Twisty and dark, page-turning, and utterly unputdownable. Really loving this explosion of YA mysteries and thrillers.
This is terrific as an audio book (I’m not sure I would rate it as well as a paperback). The overall premise reminded me of Girl on the Train (Ana is a heavy drinker, blackouts frequently, struggles to know if her memories are real or not) but is a far better story imho.
In addition to a full cast (excellent performances all around), several chapters are podcast episodes (true crime podcast) complete with sound clips and recordings you’d expect to hear in a podcast.
The endings and wrap up almost knocked this down a star for me, but then I remembered how much I enjoyed and devoured the book until the resolutions at the very end. (Plus I tend to always be disappointment by resolutions unless I’m actually surprised). I looooved this for 85%
SUMMARY: Zoe Spanos has been missing for almost a year when her body is found and Ana admits to killing Zoe, saying it was an accident.
However, Ana’s confession doesn’t match the evidence. For example, she says Zoe fell off a balcony when they were dancing together, but there are no injuries to Zoe’s body. Plus, everyone in Zoe and Ana’s life insists the girls never knew each other/never met.
The story then flashes to a few weeks before the confession, the start of the summer, when Ana starts her job as a nanny in the Hampton’s (she’s from Brooklyn). A few people in town make comments such as “oh I thought you were someone else” and “wow you look like...” which leads Ana to learning about Zoe and her disappearance.
Ana also finds herself literally in Zoe’s shoes—Zoe was the previous nanny, Zoe’s longtime boyfriend lives next door, the girls she made friends with were Zoe’s, etc.
Slightly weirded out and very curious about her doppelgänger, Ana googles about Zoe, listens to a true crime podcast “missing Zoe” by Zoe’s friend Mariana, and more or less starts to investigate herself.
As the summer goes on, memories of being in the Hamptons start coming back to Ana, including specific memories about Zoe. Ana also Remembers/knows things about Zoe, which is impossible—they’ve never met right?
After verifying some of her memories/information recalled are correct—for example, her memory of Zoe’s indoor pool is spot-on and she knew Zoe’s favorite icecream flavor (chocolate popcorn), Ana starts to wonder if she knew Zoe after all.
Plus, Ana had been drinking and blacking out for the past year, including the day Zoe disappeared.. so it’s possible she knew her? Her blackouts could explain how she knows things...
Eventually Ana has the memory of Zoe falling and dying, which leads her to confess... only once she does, the police realize Ana could not have killed Zoe, so who did and how can you explain Ana’s memories? The answers are clever and surprising.
In addition to a full cast (excellent performances all around), several chapters are podcast episodes (true crime podcast) complete with sound clips and recordings you’d expect to hear in a podcast.
The endings and wrap up almost knocked this down a star for me, but then I remembered how much I enjoyed and devoured the book until the resolutions at the very end. (Plus I tend to always be disappointment by resolutions unless I’m actually surprised). I looooved this for 85%
SUMMARY: Zoe Spanos has been missing for almost a year when her body is found and Ana admits to killing Zoe, saying it was an accident.
However, Ana’s confession doesn’t match the evidence. For example, she says Zoe fell off a balcony when they were dancing together, but there are no injuries to Zoe’s body. Plus, everyone in Zoe and Ana’s life insists the girls never knew each other/never met.
The story then flashes to a few weeks before the confession, the start of the summer, when Ana starts her job as a nanny in the Hampton’s (she’s from Brooklyn). A few people in town make comments such as “oh I thought you were someone else” and “wow you look like...” which leads Ana to learning about Zoe and her disappearance.
Ana also finds herself literally in Zoe’s shoes—Zoe was the previous nanny, Zoe’s longtime boyfriend lives next door, the girls she made friends with were Zoe’s, etc.
Slightly weirded out and very curious about her doppelgänger, Ana googles about Zoe, listens to a true crime podcast “missing Zoe” by Zoe’s friend Mariana, and more or less starts to investigate herself.
As the summer goes on, memories of being in the Hamptons start coming back to Ana, including specific memories about Zoe. Ana also Remembers/knows things about Zoe, which is impossible—they’ve never met right?
After verifying some of her memories/information recalled are correct—for example, her memory of Zoe’s indoor pool is spot-on and she knew Zoe’s favorite icecream flavor (chocolate popcorn), Ana starts to wonder if she knew Zoe after all.
Plus, Ana had been drinking and blacking out for the past year, including the day Zoe disappeared.. so it’s possible she knew her? Her blackouts could explain how she knows things...
Eventually Ana has the memory of Zoe falling and dying, which leads her to confess... only once she does, the police realize Ana could not have killed Zoe, so who did and how can you explain Ana’s memories? The answers are clever and surprising.
3.75! The lead-up was pretty good, but the ending itself wasn't great. This was a really good audiobook, however, and I think I wouldn't have liked it as much in text.
I am a little on the fence on how to review this book, so I will try to make it brief and as honest as I can after all the target audience is for teens so that can also be why it wasn't a 5 star for me.
It is a mystery and it is true to that genre, however at some points it did kind of drag for me but I think it's more so to the writing style. Now don't misunderstand I think the author did a good job in her writing style and keeping the mystery going but for my personal preference it was not exactly top tier for me. The aspects of the podcast portion of the book sometimes was distracting and pulled me away and other times it made me keep wanting to find out what happened to Zoey and absolutely how Anna is connected to the whole thing. I give it a 4 out of 5 star for it's mystery, story line and the intrigue of the characters.
If you enjoy crime, mystery, and podcast this book is definitely for you and if you like audiobooks definitely check that out as well I read the physical book but I also listened to the audiobook and the narrator did a great job.
It is a mystery and it is true to that genre, however at some points it did kind of drag for me but I think it's more so to the writing style. Now don't misunderstand I think the author did a good job in her writing style and keeping the mystery going but for my personal preference it was not exactly top tier for me. The aspects of the podcast portion of the book sometimes was distracting and pulled me away and other times it made me keep wanting to find out what happened to Zoey and absolutely how Anna is connected to the whole thing. I give it a 4 out of 5 star for it's mystery, story line and the intrigue of the characters.
If you enjoy crime, mystery, and podcast this book is definitely for you and if you like audiobooks definitely check that out as well I read the physical book but I also listened to the audiobook and the narrator did a great job.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thanks NetGalley for the arc of this title. YA and thriller are my favorite genres, so I was really excited when this book had both. My students are always asking for murder mysteries and there are so many great ones that I can’t give them. This is an awesome thriller but still appropriate to have in a classroom library.
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The book could’ve been more fast paced.
Tightly written, interesting characters, compelling story.
When recent high school graduate Anna takes a summer nanny job in an upscale Hamptons town, she expects a summer hanging by the pool and saving money for college. Instead, she finds the town reeling from the disappearance of Zoe Spanos, a young woman that she feels an inexplicable connection to.
The story takes us on turns, some predictable and some very much not in a read that’s well worth your time.
When recent high school graduate Anna takes a summer nanny job in an upscale Hamptons town, she expects a summer hanging by the pool and saving money for college. Instead, she finds the town reeling from the disappearance of Zoe Spanos, a young woman that she feels an inexplicable connection to.
The story takes us on turns, some predictable and some very much not in a read that’s well worth your time.