13 May 2016

Review #427: Please Don't Tell by Laura Tims



My rating: 4 of 5 stars


“Love is a wonderful thing, my dear, but it leaves you wide open for blackmail.”


----Jasper Fforde



Laura Tims, an American author, pens her debut YA thriller, Please Don't Tell that narrates the story of a young teenage girl who after probably killing the boy who destroyed her sister's life becomes a victim of blackmailing from a stranger who knows what she did to that boy and that stranger will go at any lengths to use her for his/her own purpose.





Synopsis:

Joy killed Adam Gordon—at least, that’s what she thinks. The night of the party is hazy at best. But she knows what Adam did to her twin sister, Grace, and she knows he had to pay for it.

What Joy doesn’t expect is that someone else saw what happened. And one night a note is shoved through her open window, threatening Joy that all will be revealed. Now the anonymous blackmailer starts using Joy to expose the secrets of their placid hometown. And as the demands escalate, Joy must somehow uncover the blackmailer’s identity before Joy is forced to make a terrible choice.

In this darkly compelling narrative, debut author Laura Tims explores the complicated relationship between two sisters, and what one will do for the other. It’s a story that will keep readers turning pages and questioning their own sense of right and wrong.



Grace and Joy, the twin teenage sisters, want to rock and roll this summer, they have so much plans to get high, to fall in love, to commit mistakes and to regret, to live the life on the edge. Little did they knew that the girl who lived cocooned and safe in her own self would find the boy of her dreams, yes, Grace did find Adam and Joy did enough to bring them closer. Their affair turned fatal, when Adam destroyed the life of Grace that made her detach from the social life and so did her relationship with her sister, Joy, too became distant. One night at a party, Adam is found dead and Joy is pretty sure that she is the one responsible as she was badly drunk. Later one day, Joy starts receiving blackmailing letter threatening her to expose what she did to Adam, her only option is to keep herself as well as her sister safe thus she agrees to the blackmailer's needs and demands. But for how long can she be able to follow the blackmailer's instructions of deadly tasks?

The author's writing style is quite good and edgy and is laced with enough thrill and suspense to keep the readers arrested into the heart of this story. The narrative is articulate although it lacked a bit of emotional touch thus it will become difficult for the readers to connect with the story emotionally. The pacing is quite slow, compared to the fact that this story contains a lot of layers, the readers will find it difficult to keep themselves glued to the book.

The mystery, in the beginning, turns out to be quite challenging and layered with so many issues, both from social as well as personal front. But gradually, the mystery lacks depth and it will becomes easier for the readers to predict the climax which is not so dramatic or jaw-dropping, as it seems like in the beginning of the story. Whereas the book excels in the field of sister relationships, where one becomes exceptionally protective over the another and the lengths that they could go to protect that person. The book opens with a sweet relationship between the twins sisters, but their equation eventually changes with the onset of the blackmailing, and it turns quite complex.

The characters are quite well-developed, although their demeanor lacked emotional growth. The story is told from the perspective of the twin sisters, one narrating the story in the present timeline, whereas the other one narrating it in the past. The author has strikingly portrayed this time jump from one chapter to another and the readers will feel at ease while moving from this shifting POVs. Joy is the wild, carefree one but her love for Grace is irrevocable and deep and so her loyalty towards her. Grace is the meek one, who likes to achieve in her studies and like to keep to herself. The supporting characters are also quite well-etched out.

In a nutshell, the story is compelling and enlightening that will provoke the thoughts of the readers about so many social issues.

Verdict: For a long, lonely afternoon, this book can give you an intriguing company!

Courtesy: Thanks to the author's publishers for giving me an opportunity to read and review this book.
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Author Info:
Laura Tims is the author of PLEASE DON'T TELL, coming Fall 2015 from HarperCollins.
She's a mental health advocate, a cancer, and a reasonably cute organism. She likes Tumblr, anime, Neko Atsume, Homestuck, Steven Universe, and Undertale. She likes you even more.
She writes books about strange relationships, pain, and people who are scared but good.
Visit her here


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