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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I am not sure I can do this book justice in a review. It was really good, and I love that it was set in my home town of Melbourne. I loved being able to picture all the locations, especially the zoo. I like the complicated relationship between Myecroft and Rachel and how complex Myecroft is. I also love Rachel, she is really smart and competent. The mystery was not particularly complex and all the clues were there so there shouldn't be any real surprises, but the real joy of this story is going on the journey with Rachel & Myecroft both solving the mystery and developing from friends into something more.
I really wanted to like this book. An Australian teenage Sherlock inspired story sounds interesting. BUT although it's supposedly narrated by an Australian teenager it doesn't sound like it, with a distinctly unteenager vocabulary and frankly American terminology like calling the principal Principal Conroy like someone out of The Simpsons. Far too much time is spent establishing the relationship between the central characters and it is a relief when the end hurtles into an over the top denouement when the momentum of the story overcomes the tedium. Exciting conclusion which probably wouldn't bear too much close examination. Romance flourishes. Maybe the second one will be better.
Australian YA is of such a high caliber. This teenage version of Holmes and Watson has a well-plotted mystery, really wonderful character development, and a slow-burn romance between the two main characters that I got extremely invested in from the very first chapter.
I'm a sucker for anything to do with Sherlock so this was an obvious read. I'm happy I did manage to eventually read it. I have read better, more engaging Sherlock retellings (but damn authors that dont finish series!), but this one still holds up.
I don't think the synopsis does this any favors. Makes it sound like your everyday blah YA romance, but the romance is just hinted at throughout the book and it only actually fully comes into at like 60%+, and its also not a Carly Rae romance. They are friends before they get into the romance, and its not just about the murder mystery. Mycroft and Watts have a lot of heavy familial issues to deal with as well and I liked that about this book. It doesn't dismiss the family nor the issues that come with living in this world. The crappy parts about life aren't brushed aside just cause they are teenagers and this is a fiction book.
So even though I knew who the killer was as soon as he was introduced, it was still a very solid read.
I don't think the synopsis does this any favors. Makes it sound like your everyday blah YA romance, but the romance is just hinted at throughout the book and it only actually fully comes into at like 60%+, and its also not a Carly Rae romance. They are friends before they get into the romance, and its not just about the murder mystery. Mycroft and Watts have a lot of heavy familial issues to deal with as well and I liked that about this book. It doesn't dismiss the family nor the issues that come with living in this world. The crappy parts about life aren't brushed aside just cause they are teenagers and this is a fiction book.
So even though I knew who the killer was as soon as he was introduced, it was still a very solid read.
I read Every Breath in the span of a weekend, and immediately rushed to buy the next two.
A great read by a talented author. I can't wait to see what else Ellie Marney comes up with!
A great read by a talented author. I can't wait to see what else Ellie Marney comes up with!
Graded By: Mandy C.
Cover Story: Sherlock Holmes, Consulting Adam’s Apple
BFF Charm: Yay
Swoonworthy Scale: 8
Talky Talk: G’day, Mate
Bonus Factors: Australia, Not a Retelling, Not Your Typical Series Starter
Anti-Bonus Factor: Smoking
Relationship Status: Booking a Flight to St. Kilda
Read the full book report here.
Cover Story: Sherlock Holmes, Consulting Adam’s Apple
BFF Charm: Yay
Swoonworthy Scale: 8
Talky Talk: G’day, Mate
Bonus Factors: Australia, Not a Retelling, Not Your Typical Series Starter
Anti-Bonus Factor: Smoking
Relationship Status: Booking a Flight to St. Kilda
Read the full book report here.
Ah, this book is still so good 5 years after my first time reading it!
I'm so happy I stumbled across this in my high school library because it's definitely a hidden gem, not really available in bookstores, only Amazon.
Our MC, Rachel's just moved to the city after growing up in rural Australia and she's struggling with the transition, causing relatable tension within her family. In addition, Mycroft is her neighbor-friend-crush. He's a budding forensic pathologist and child genius, traumatized by his parents' death when he was young and eager to find justice elsewhere. Mycroft wants to look into the mysterious murder of their mutual friend, a homeless man named Dave. Rachel reluctantly agrees. The sleuthing they do is very believable-they crack some things but miss key clues, which lands them in a pretty nail-biting climax. The villain was not easy to guess-intentionally so.
I like how Marney mixed Rachel's culture shock with the mystery at hand. Rachel sees the city as an aggressive, unknown place-and the relative ease with which everyone overlooks a homeless man's murder plays into that impression. Rachel wants to solve the mystery not just for Mycroft, but because she wants to assert some control over her new environment-perhaps.
Ellie Marney knows how to balance mystery/thriller with a relatable coming-of-age romance. This book made me laugh, too. Watts and Mycroft's banter is funny without being weirdly precocious or convulted. Mycroft, of course, was a little on the eccentric genius side-but that's what you sign up for when the book asks "What is Sherlock Holmes was the boy next door?"
While I wish this book had a less generic-looking cover and vague name (based on a minor, insightful thought of Rachel's), so more people would be inclined to pick it up, I do think the actors on the front look like Mycroft and Watts: see the cheekbones.
I'm so happy I stumbled across this in my high school library because it's definitely a hidden gem, not really available in bookstores, only Amazon.
Our MC, Rachel's just moved to the city after growing up in rural Australia and she's struggling with the transition, causing relatable tension within her family. In addition, Mycroft is her neighbor-friend-crush. He's a budding forensic pathologist and child genius, traumatized by his parents' death when he was young and eager to find justice elsewhere. Mycroft wants to look into the mysterious murder of their mutual friend, a homeless man named Dave. Rachel reluctantly agrees. The sleuthing they do is very believable-they crack some things but miss key clues, which lands them in a pretty nail-biting climax. The villain was not easy to guess-intentionally so.
I like how Marney mixed Rachel's culture shock with the mystery at hand. Rachel sees the city as an aggressive, unknown place-and the relative ease with which everyone overlooks a homeless man's murder plays into that impression. Rachel wants to solve the mystery not just for Mycroft, but because she wants to assert some control over her new environment-perhaps.
Ellie Marney knows how to balance mystery/thriller with a relatable coming-of-age romance. This book made me laugh, too. Watts and Mycroft's banter is funny without being weirdly precocious or convulted. Mycroft, of course, was a little on the eccentric genius side-but that's what you sign up for when the book asks "What is Sherlock Holmes was the boy next door?"
While I wish this book had a less generic-looking cover and vague name (based on a minor, insightful thought of Rachel's), so more people would be inclined to pick it up, I do think the actors on the front look like Mycroft and Watts: see the cheekbones.