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A review by tessa_talbert
The Last Secret You'll Ever Keep by Laurie Faria Stolarz
3.0
Holy unreliable narrator batman!
tw: discussions of trauma, kidnapping, enclosed spaces, death by fire. If any of these things bother you, I would avoid this.
The Last Secret You'll Ever keep is a completely bonkers YA psychological thriller that had me turning pages back and forth just to make sure *I* was keeping the story straight. because this was a RIDE.
18-year-old Terra is a survivor. From her odd upbringing, to the tragedy that took her family, and the kidnapping she escaped and of which no one even believes happened—this girl has a lot going on.
Traumatized, paranoid, and carrying a deep pain, Terra tries her best to maintain in a world where most people think she is a freak and a liar. She takes solace in an anonymous chat room for survivors of various situations and befriends a user named Peyton, who encourages and comforts her when no one else will. They bond through the safety of the internet, but Terra has no idea who to really trust. Not her aunt, not Peyton, not the handsome Garret—maybe not even herself. As she tries to find any shred of proof that would show her experience was real, Terra starts to unravel not just her story, but the story of her kidnapper.
I have to say: This book was bizarre. Twists and turns abound, plenty of oddity and inconsistency to keep you turning the pages, if nothing more than to find out WHO was actually telling the truth. I had a hard time relating to Terra in any facet, as I wasn't even sure how sane she was half the time based on how often she went back and forth in her own mind. This is a past-future jump type situation which, while labelled, still managed to bring confusion to what were really facts. While it certainly held its intrigue, I have to admit it wasn't my favorite usage of any of these tropes.
I did, however, truly appreciate the way this story touched on victim-blaming and its effects on the victim themselves. This is something that needs to be talked about more in-depth, and to see Terra suffering through not only her trauma, but the disbelief of everyone around her was a very poignant note in an otherwise erratic text.
My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for gifting me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
tw: discussions of trauma, kidnapping, enclosed spaces, death by fire. If any of these things bother you, I would avoid this.
The Last Secret You'll Ever keep is a completely bonkers YA psychological thriller that had me turning pages back and forth just to make sure *I* was keeping the story straight. because this was a RIDE.
18-year-old Terra is a survivor. From her odd upbringing, to the tragedy that took her family, and the kidnapping she escaped and of which no one even believes happened—this girl has a lot going on.
Traumatized, paranoid, and carrying a deep pain, Terra tries her best to maintain in a world where most people think she is a freak and a liar. She takes solace in an anonymous chat room for survivors of various situations and befriends a user named Peyton, who encourages and comforts her when no one else will. They bond through the safety of the internet, but Terra has no idea who to really trust. Not her aunt, not Peyton, not the handsome Garret—maybe not even herself. As she tries to find any shred of proof that would show her experience was real, Terra starts to unravel not just her story, but the story of her kidnapper.
I have to say: This book was bizarre. Twists and turns abound, plenty of oddity and inconsistency to keep you turning the pages, if nothing more than to find out WHO was actually telling the truth. I had a hard time relating to Terra in any facet, as I wasn't even sure how sane she was half the time based on how often she went back and forth in her own mind. This is a past-future jump type situation which, while labelled, still managed to bring confusion to what were really facts. While it certainly held its intrigue, I have to admit it wasn't my favorite usage of any of these tropes.
I did, however, truly appreciate the way this story touched on victim-blaming and its effects on the victim themselves. This is something that needs to be talked about more in-depth, and to see Terra suffering through not only her trauma, but the disbelief of everyone around her was a very poignant note in an otherwise erratic text.
My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for gifting me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!