Tuesday, March 05, 2013

Hysteria by Megan Miranda

Genre: YA Mystery/Suspense
Publication Date: 14th February 2013
Pages: 272
Book Source: Bloomsbury Publishing & NetGalley

Synopsis: Mallory's life is falling apart. Her boyfriend was stabbed. He bled to death in her kitchen. Mallory was the one who stabbed him. But she can't remember what happened that night. She only remembers the fear.

When Mallory's parents send her away to a boarding school, she thinks she can escape the gossip and the threats. But someone, or something, has followed her. There's the hand that touches her shoulder when she's drifting off to sleep. A voice whispering her name. And everyone knows what happened. So when a pupil is found dead, Mallory's name is on their lips. Her past can be forgotten but it's never gone. Can Mallory live with that?

My Thoughts:
Hysteria is a pacey read, part psychological thriller, part mystery, part mess ... what I enjoyed was the sinister undercurrent and eerie almost gothic feel. What didn't really work for me was the lack of cohesion between the two mystery story lines. 

Mallory is an unreliable narrator, the trauma of killing her boyfriend and subsequent gaps in her memory contribute to the reader’s uncertainty – questioning sanity, truth or lie, hysteria or reality - I do like feeling off balance. 

One of my favourite things in Hysteria was Mallory and Colleen's friendship, their loyalty was tested and their friendship stayed strong, a refreshing quality in contemporary YA. Not so enjoyable were the school stereotypes ...  definite *yawn*

All up I liked Hysteria, but for me the things lacking prevented it being a great read. On the plus side, the creepy factor kept me turning the pages.   


For more about Megan Miranda visit her website


14 comments:

  1. Bummer!! The synopsis sounded good .... thanks for the great review!

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    1. check it out on goodreads Julie, others have loved it!

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  2. It does sounds interesting and I love a book with a creepy factor. Too bad you didn't really liked this one.

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  3. I have seen that other cover..and now I can't recall it. Anyway sounds ok

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    1. this cover is way creepier than the other cover, I think it's the eyes lol

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  4. I love the cover of this book, but as the saying goes, don't judge a book by its cover. The synopsis looked good, but obviously, you thought not. Ah well. There is always more books to read :)

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    1. eek I hope I didn't give the impression I didn't like it at all because I did. It could have been great and it fell short for me.

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  5. I always like the creepy factor too and not knowing if I can trust what I'm reading!! I do wish that the stories would've been cohesive so that it could've been a higher rated book but it still sounds like you enjoyed it overall!

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    1. Thanks Staci, you totally got what I was trying to say :)

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  6. The friendship was a huge plus for me too-I'm always happy to see positive descriptions of female friendships in YA because so often they're lacking.

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  7. I adore unreliable narrators, but not sure I could handle a book that doesn't mesh it's components very well.

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  8. I think I might skip this one. I am not really a fan of unreliable narrators. I do like suspenseful stories though and am curious about why she killed him or if she actually did...

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  9. I haven't read ANY Megan Miranda, but I really want to. This book looks super good and I LOVE the cover(s) for it ... great review!

    regards,
    rowena of Centerpieces with Floating Candles

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