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reader_fictions 's review for:
Nearly Gone
by Elle Cosimano
3.5 stars
This week has been different from the norm in that I’ve been really enjoying mysteries. I wasn’t sure about Nearly Gone, because the reviews of it varied so drastically among reviewers I trust. Most were sort of meh about it, but a couple loved it. When the sequel arrived, I knew the time had come to try the ARC of Nearly Gone that Shae (Shae Has Left the Room) sent me after she adored the mystery. To my surprise, Nearly’s voice captured me immediately, and I devoured this thriller.
Though I complain about stupid character names a lot, I’m not bothered by Nearly’s. My rule is that, if it’s a contemporary novel, kids would make fun of an abnormal name, because lbr kids are mean. Nearly has been made fun of for her name to the degree that she prefers to be called Leigh.
In school, Leigh works really hard, determined to land a scholarship to college so that she can get out of the trailer park where she lives. Her mom doesn’t make enough money dancing at the local gentlemen’s club to pay for college, so she sees the scholarship as her one shot. She’s vying with her friend, Anh, for the top spot, but Leigh’s in second place by a slim margin. Leigh is hardworking, skilled at science and math, and incredibly feisty once you get to know her. All Leigh wants is to land that scholarship and to avoid the notice of the bullies.
Ever since her dad left them, Leigh has read the Missed Connections section of the newspaper, because occasionally he would leave hints so she could meet up with him. One day, she notices a strange add, one that seems related to an attack on a student. She also notices the dead cat left on her doorstep with a menacing note, which was completely unnecessary by the way. Bodies pile up, all connected to Nearly, and she has no damn clue why because she’s never done anything bad to anyone.
They mystery’s actually good, I would say. There are so many people who could have done it, pretty much the whole cast actually. The pieces were there, I think, to allow the reader to put it together, though I failed to guess correctly. I’m actually REALLY glad that my theory was not correct, because I would have hated that so much. Nearly Gone was a lot more vicious, dark and creepy than I’d anticipated. Shae, you surprise me.
Though I completely devoured this book and loved the voice, there were a couple things that did bother me about Nearly Gone. I already mentioned the emotionally manipulative cat death. The death ofTeddy, a special ed kid Nearly tutored and was really sweet to also bothered me. Actually, the number of deaths in a short timeframe, so obviously linked, seemed out of place with the reaction in the town. They didn’t cancel prom or put special measures into place, aside from warning parents, even though there was obviously a serial murderer on the loose. Ummm no.
The romance was also not my favorite part of Nearly Gone. For the most part, I actually did like Reece and Nearly together. They do seem to have a real bond, and I could see them working down the road. However, there’s sort of an instatrust/instalove that happens between them that seems even more ridiculous under these circumstances where they know from the beginning that the other is keeping a secret. Plus, Reece forces their first kiss on her. He had reasons, yes, and I do love surprise kisses and subterfuge kisses, but she actually bit him and hit him. This wasn’t a “we have to kiss because fake dating,” but we both agreed to it and love it. She did not want the kiss, and it made me really uncomfortable. They’re not to unship levels, but with a bit more time and a bit less violence at the start, I would have been a much bigger fan of the ship.
Also, that last chapter. I’m actually struggling to put into words how I feel about the way things played out. We get this recap of events after the showdown, because Nearly’s not really there for all of it. What we learn is that Otherwise, the ending was pretty strong, closing off with the impetus for book two.
Nearly Gone was nearly a BIG hit with me, but it fell short on a few elements. Still, I remain hopeful that the sequel will be even better. Cosimano can write a strong voice, so I suspect there are great things to come from her.
This week has been different from the norm in that I’ve been really enjoying mysteries. I wasn’t sure about Nearly Gone, because the reviews of it varied so drastically among reviewers I trust. Most were sort of meh about it, but a couple loved it. When the sequel arrived, I knew the time had come to try the ARC of Nearly Gone that Shae (Shae Has Left the Room) sent me after she adored the mystery. To my surprise, Nearly’s voice captured me immediately, and I devoured this thriller.
Though I complain about stupid character names a lot, I’m not bothered by Nearly’s. My rule is that, if it’s a contemporary novel, kids would make fun of an abnormal name, because lbr kids are mean. Nearly has been made fun of for her name to the degree that she prefers to be called Leigh.
In school, Leigh works really hard, determined to land a scholarship to college so that she can get out of the trailer park where she lives. Her mom doesn’t make enough money dancing at the local gentlemen’s club to pay for college, so she sees the scholarship as her one shot. She’s vying with her friend, Anh, for the top spot, but Leigh’s in second place by a slim margin. Leigh is hardworking, skilled at science and math, and incredibly feisty once you get to know her. All Leigh wants is to land that scholarship and to avoid the notice of the bullies.
Ever since her dad left them, Leigh has read the Missed Connections section of the newspaper, because occasionally he would leave hints so she could meet up with him. One day, she notices a strange add, one that seems related to an attack on a student. She also notices the dead cat left on her doorstep with a menacing note, which was completely unnecessary by the way. Bodies pile up, all connected to Nearly, and she has no damn clue why because she’s never done anything bad to anyone.
They mystery’s actually good, I would say. There are so many people who could have done it, pretty much the whole cast actually. The pieces were there, I think, to allow the reader to put it together, though I failed to guess correctly. I’m actually REALLY glad that my theory was not correct, because I would have hated that so much. Nearly Gone was a lot more vicious, dark and creepy than I’d anticipated. Shae, you surprise me.
Though I completely devoured this book and loved the voice, there were a couple things that did bother me about Nearly Gone. I already mentioned the emotionally manipulative cat death. The death of
The romance was also not my favorite part of Nearly Gone. For the most part, I actually did like Reece and Nearly together. They do seem to have a real bond, and I could see them working down the road. However, there’s sort of an instatrust/instalove that happens between them that seems even more ridiculous under these circumstances where they know from the beginning that the other is keeping a secret. Plus, Reece forces their first kiss on her. He had reasons, yes, and I do love surprise kisses and subterfuge kisses, but she actually bit him and hit him. This wasn’t a “we have to kiss because fake dating,” but we both agreed to it and love it. She did not want the kiss, and it made me really uncomfortable. They’re not to unship levels, but with a bit more time and a bit less violence at the start, I would have been a much bigger fan of the ship.
Also, that last chapter. I’m actually struggling to put into words how I feel about the way things played out. We get this recap of events after the showdown, because Nearly’s not really there for all of it. What we learn is that Otherwise, the ending was pretty strong, closing off with the impetus for book two.
Nearly Gone was nearly a BIG hit with me, but it fell short on a few elements. Still, I remain hopeful that the sequel will be even better. Cosimano can write a strong voice, so I suspect there are great things to come from her.