Between by Jessica Warman (Young Adult, thriller)

3rd October 2011, Egmont

438 pages, Paperback

Review copy 

Young Adult, thriller

Themes: high school life, driving, substance abuse, the IT crowd, perfection, secrets, rumours, darker side of humanity, selfishness, ignorance about the world and others, tragedy, glimmers of happiness, boots, some teen romance scenes (mild to strong), tissues needed

Book blurb

'It's funny,' Alex says. 'I always thought you guys had such simple, perfect lives. Everything seemed so  easy for you'. 

Elizabeth Vachar is young, beautiful and popular. Everything is right in her expensive, glossy life...until the night of her eighteenth birthday party on her parents' yaught. A persistent thumping sound from outside the boat wakes her. 

What Liz finds changes everything she thought she knew about her life, her friends, and what lies- between 

Nayuleska's reasons for loving Liz...I didn't. I hated her for at least 1/5 of the book. She's a mean girl. However, when she figures a few things out I did relent a bit. 

Is there another character who deserves a mention? Alex. Once you've read the book, you'll understand why. 

How evil/nasty is the enemy? Substances are often dangerous and can have both subtle and major effects on people, which can be devastating. Plus rumour is a hideous monster, generating seeds of doubt which can really stuff a person's life up. 

Are there plenty of plot twists and surprises? Sort of. I spent the first 1/5 of the book bored and wondering why I was reading - it wasn't that bad, it was just a bit slower than I'd have liked. But eventually the pace quickened, and I was totally hooked. I had actually guessed one of the major twists, so it wasn't that much of a surprise. I guess it was the smaller twists which I hadn't guessed that were interesting. 

One of my favourite parts was...the end, just because suddenly everything made sense. 

Taking into account my difficulty in getting engrossed in the book, I'm giving Between 8/10. 

Make sure you check out more about it on Jessica's website. 

Trailer for Between

Suggested read

I think Here Lies Bridget  is a perfect match for Between.