26 January 2016

Review #327: Half in Love with Death by Emily Ross



My rating: 5 of 5 stars


“To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.”

----J.K. Rowling



Emily Ross, an award-winning American author, pens her debut YA novel, Half in Love with Death that weaves the story of a young fifteen year old girl set in the summer of 1960s when her older sister goes missing without a hint, who then sets out on a journey to find her sister and make herself visible in front of her parents, who doesn't value her presence in their home. Along with the boyfriend, whom she is falling for gradually, this fifteen year old girl wants to make a difference by finding her sister.




Synopsis:

It's the era of peace and love in the 1960s, but nothing is peaceful in Caroline's life. Since her beautiful older sister disappeared, fifteen-year-old Caroline might as well have disappeared too. She's invisible to her parents, who can't stop blaming each other. The police keep following up on leads even Caroline knows are foolish. The only one who seems to care about her is Tony, her sister's older boyfriend, who soothes Caroline's desperate heart every time he turns his magical blue eyes on her.

Tony is convinced that the answer to Jess's disappearance is in California, the land of endless summer, among the street culture of runaways and flower children. Come with me, Tony says to Caroline, and we'll find her together. Tony is so loving, and all he cares about is bringing Jess home. And so Caroline follows, and closes a door behind her that may never open again, in a heartfelt thriller that never lets up.



One fine night in the summers of 60s, Jess, a 17-year old girl, sneaks into the dark of the night with her boyfriend, Tony, to some party near the desert, making her sister, Caroline, to swear not to tell her parents, as she was grounded to go outside. Always a wild girl, Jess likes to rebel against her parents' wishes, whereas her younger sister, Caroline, a 15-year old girl, is a meek and a quiet girl who likes to keep herself away from the drama. But after that night, Jess never returned home, and when things get serious, Caroline confesses her parents that Jess took off that night with Tony. Then the search begins, but nothing fruitful happens considering the fact, every teenager in town is making up stories about Jess running away with a different guy to California- her dream place. But Caroline wants desperately her sister to be back in their home. So along with Tony, for whom she has developed a soft corner over the summers in the absence of Jess, Caroline begins a man-hunt silently to search her sister. But the people whom she trusts are really not who they claim to be, which finally throws Caroline into a dangerous track where death becomes alluring. Will she be able to find her elder sister?

Firstly, I'd like to confess that this book is by far one of the most intriguing book that I read in 2016. This story sheds light on the fact that how sometimes an investigation is solely dominated by local rumors which can cloud the perspective of the detectives. Lets talk about the setting, which is set in the 1960s- an era where kids were free to drop out of schools and where teenagers led a Bohemian lifestyle, mostly free-spirited. The whole story is inspired and layered with the style of this particular era of free-spirits.

The first chapter highlights Jess' disappearance, soon followed by the investigation, where the prime suspect is the boyfriend- Tony, who led a Bohemian lifestyle with his group of dropouts and ex-criminals. Now Tony is like someone, whom you can hardly put a finger on to put any kind of blame. He has created a good-boy image of someone who is deeply caring towards everything as well as thoughtful, who easily charms the heart of Caroline, a naive girl trying to find her older sister.

The plot thickens as the rumors misdirect that Tony is the prime suspect and that Jess has ran away to California away from her parents and little sister. Since Jess has a bad reputation, no one shows that much interest anymore once the rumors spreads like a wild fire. The writing is exquisite layered with so many twists and turns that are enough to throw the readers off track about the mystery. The pacing gets fast like a rumor spreading around the town. The narrative is articulate and free-flowing and thoroughly engaging.

The characters are not only drawn with enough realism but are honest and heartfelt that will force the readers to fall for their demeanor. Caroline is naive but along with the mystery which gets twisted with knots, she becomes stronger. Tony, on the other hand, is way too good, way too good-looking which at some point might rise a suspicion in the minds of the readers whether his intentions are good or not. The supporting characters, especially, the parents, the friends and Tony's girls are all very well-developed.

The mystery is written so perfectly that will only keep the readers guessing till the very end. The author has poured out raw emotions into this story as the readers will be able to feel them like it is happening with them too. The ending is another best thing of the book as the authors leave it on her readers' imaginative skills and for that you just need to grab a copy of this YA thriller book. In short, I devoured the book till the last page and it is truly a fascinating page turner.

Verdict: A must read historical-based YA thriller based on a real-life story.

Courtesy: Thanks to the author, Emily Ross, for giving me an opportunity to read and review this book. 
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Author Info:
Emily Ross's YA mystery/thriller HALF IN LOVE WITH DEATH is forthcoming from Merit Press(12/2015). She received a 2014 MCC Artist Fellowship finalist award for fiction, and is a graduate of Grub Street's Novel Incubator program. When not writing she works as a web developer and is the mother of two millennials. 
Visit her here


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