Author: Nikki Jefford
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal Thriller
Source: Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) & NetGalley
Goodreads rating: 3.76 out of 5.00 (480+ ratings)
Goodreads link
Until Gray finds a way back inside her own body, she’s stuck being Charlene every twenty-hour hours. Her sister has left precise instructions on how Gray should dress and behave. Looking like a prep isn’t half as bad as hanging out with Charlene’s snotty friends and gropey boyfriend.
The “normals” of McKinley High might be quick to write her behavior off as post-traumatic stress, but warlock Raj McKenna is the only person who suspects Gray has returned from the dead.
Now Gray has to solve the mystery of her death and resurrection and disentangle herself from Charlene’s body before she disappears for good.
Review by Chantelle
I chose to read this book because of the interesting idea of trying to live in somebody else's body, and let's be honest, the cover is amazing. Unfortunately, this book didn't meet my expectations, nor (in my opinion) did the cover hold any relevance to the novel.
Personally, I think that one factor may be that the blurb was a little misleading. I remember being confused at the beginning wondering why our main character, Graylee (Gray) Perez, couldn't act like herself after waking up in her identical twin's body, I mean who would be able to tell the difference between the two. Ergo, I thought the mystery was about finding where the soul of her twin was etc. I was wrong, this isn't the case, let me try to explain.
Our story starts with Gray, a seventeen year old witch at a highschool where those with and without magic coexist but of course, with magic being kept a secret. Gray, who could be described as antisocial has a twin sister, Charlene, who is her polar opposite - a superficial, popularity-driven barbie. Where there is difference, there is often conflict which proves true with the extremely tumultuous relationship between the two. Each have different friends, different talents, different personalities. So when Gray wakes up one day apparently two months later than expected, she is told that she had 'mysteriously' died but been resurrected. The problem however, is that she wakes up in Charlene's body, and will continue to do so every second day, meaning that she will alternate the conscious ownership of her twin's body. To keep the rest of society in the dark about the illegal resurrection that went very wrong, Gray must pretend to be Charlene while she and her mum try to rectify the situation.
Still pretty interesting right!
Well I thought so, but unfortunately there were many aspects of this novel that disappointed me. Firstly, on the second page, Gray is described as "so freaking selfish!" which isn't very far off the mark, she does seem like a serious pain in the ass - but it's okay because it's the beginning of the novel, plenty of future events to gain maturity and that of the like. But, it never happens. This novel lacks character development. Gray is her same self-absorbed self the entire novel and it's infuriating. Jefford is aiming this novel at those 15+ years of age, I assume due to some sexual references which I believe were unnecessary, but with such an immature protagonist, I think older audiences will find it very hard to relate to such a stubbornly, selfish character. Secondly, this novel was tagged as a mystery & thriller, but the plot lacked that acceleration in pace that makes thrillers so exciting, and the mystery as to the cause of her death was so blatantly obvious towards the beginning of the novel, that the novel was missing that eureka moment - where all the facts suddenly make sense - that makes solving mysteries so satisfying. The concluding 10% of the novel was quite exciting, but frankly, it was too little too late.
Here's a teaser, or as I affectionately call it, a straw that broke the camel's back...
"I think they’re both nice boys. You should go with your gut.”
Gray squashed her face together. “Don’t you mean with my heart?”
“No,” her mom said, smiling wistfully. “Go with the gut.”
That made sense in a way. Gut instincts were supposed to be the most trustworthy and it was in her gut where she felt the butterflies. The heart had its purpose as a blood-pumping muscle, but love… love blossomed and sparked through the body—originating from the gut.
How romantic. I love you with all my gut.
Ratings
Overall: 5/10
Plot: 2.5/5
Writing: 2/5
Characters: 2/5
Cover: 4.5/5
Sounds like an interesting premise that didn't work so well. Thanks for the review.
ReplyDeleteThe alternating thing is kind of confusing, but it does sound like an interesting premise.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it definitely created drama because of their polar personalities, but it also heightened the thriller aspect of the novel because of the sense of urgency to find a solution to an impossible situation.
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