Saturday, January 14, 2012

SLIDE by Jill Hathaway

Slide
Jill Hathaway


Grade: A


Release Date: March 27, 2012


Description from goodreads.com:
Vee Bell is certain of one irrefutable truth—her sister’s friend Sophie didn’t kill herself. She was murdered. 


Vee knows this because she was there. Everyone believes Vee is narcoleptic, but she doesn’t actually fall asleep during these episodes: When she passes out, she slides into somebody else’s mind and experiences the world through that person’s eyes. She’s slid into her sister as she cheated on a math test, into a teacher sneaking a drink before class. She learned the worst about a supposed “friend” when she slid into her during a school dance. But nothing could have prepared Vee for what happens one October night when she slides into the mind of someone holding a bloody knife, standing over Sophie’s slashed body. 


Vee desperately wishes she could share her secret, but who would believe her? It sounds so crazy that she can’t bring herself to tell her best friend, Rollins, let alone the police. Even if she could confide in Rollins, he has been acting off lately, more distant, especially now that she’s been spending more time with Zane. 


Enmeshed in a terrifying web of secrets, lies, and danger and with no one to turn to, Vee must find a way to unmask the killer before he or she strikes again. 


My thoughts on the book:
Slide kept me guessing until the end! It's a fantastic murder mystery, and Hathaway does an excellent job of blending the paranormal and mystery genres. This novel had me so confused that I could not, for the life of me, figure out who the killer was. It ended up being the person I first suspected, but then Hathaway decided to completely mess with my head and make it seem like everyone was guilty. I wasn't completely shocked when I figured out who the killer was, but by this point, I suspected everyone. 


My one pet-peeve about the novel is that it is in present tense. I generally don't like present tense novels, but it worked okay for this book. However, I would have liked it better had it been in past tense. With present tense books, I just picture people walking around narrating their lives out loud as they go along. Yea, I know, I'm strange. 


I really enjoyed all of the characters, and the decision to put the book in Vee's POV was a good one. I could actually see what she saw when she was sliding. It would not have worked as a third person narrative, so I'm glad that Hathaway made this decision. 


Vee is very likable and mature beyond her years. Since her mother died from pancreatic cancer, she has had to act as the parent since her father is always at the hospital performing surgery. Unlike many YA books, he was present for a good part of the novel, though. I liked that the rest of her family wasn't completely out of touch. Her sister, Mattie, grew as a character quite a bit, and I really liked her by the end of the novel as well. Rollins was my favorite from the beginning, and I liked that he was rebellious with a good heart. Vee grew immensely throughout the novel, and by the end of the book, it was obvious that she was finally coming into her own and learning to love herself. 


Some of the secondary characters were cliches: Amber was the typical mean girl cheerleader, and Scotch was the typical skeeze quarterback. However, Hathaway made this work by incorporating more complex characters like Sophie, Mattie, Vee, Zane, and Rollins. Therefore, the stereotypes didn't bother me that much. All of the characters were well-developed and three dimensional. 

The mythology behind Slide was very interesting. Vee passes out when she touches something that belongs to and/or is important to someone else, and slides into his or her head. If the person didn't imprint on it with strong emotions, then she's unable to slide into his or her head. Her powers grow as the book continues, and she tells the back story of how she learned all of the "rules" of her power as well. There was no one there to tell her how to work her power, and she was the only person in the novel with supernatural abilities. She's a strong and intelligent character to be able to figure out everything she needs to know without any guidance. 

That being said, this is not a feel good book. There is a lot of death and really depressing lost in Slide. It rips your heart out a few times. I didn't cry, but I was pretty sad during some of the scenes. The ending, though, is a bit happier, and things started to come together a bit. Also, I would recommend this book to someone 16+ because there are a ton of drug and sex references in it. 

I'm not sure if there is a sequel to Slide or not. It felt like a stand alone book with the ending. However, if Harper Collins and Hathaway decide to publish a sequel, I will definitely read it. I liked Vee, and I'd like to see how else she can use her powers. Hathaway did an excellent job with this novel, and I can't wait to read what she comes up with next. 

Want to pre-order Slide?


11 comments:

  1. Great review! Sounds like a good read!

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  2. Thanks! It was really good. Definitely worth me putting aside my prejudice about present tense narration! :)

    I haven't read a good mystery in a long time, so this book combined my two favorite genres.

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  3. Interesting - hmm, I've been reading a lot of present tense (though admittedly not in novels) so I think that might be okay with me. The book definitely sounds like an interesting one so will be adding to my TR list - also, gorgeous cover. Thanks so much for review!

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  4. Awesome Patricia! You'll love it. It's very interesting and unique. Present tense in novels seems to be getting more popular. I need to stop being so old fashioned and just adjust, I guess, haha. Otherwise I could miss out on great stories.

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  5. "With present tense books, I just picture people walking around narrating their lives out loud as they go along."

    LOL. What, you don't do that? It works best when I can pretend I'm talking to the dog.
    But seriously, I'm getting used to present tense. I guess you have to if you read a lot of YA.

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  6. LOL, no I try not to do that unless I'm on the bus. If I'm narrating my life while sitting there alone, people tend to avoid sitting in the seat next to me. Works out perfectly! haha :D

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  7. Yea, I know what you mean about present tense narratives... but I'm interested to read this book because the concept is pretty new to YA... it's not fairies or vampires or werewolves, its kind of a 5 senses involved paranormal story.

    I'm interested in seeing how Hathaway explains the rules that Lenzi learns and if its a trial by error...

    Thanks for the review!

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    1. It's a really great book. You'll enjoy it! It is very interesting, and it'll keep you reading and guessing. I couldn't put the book down until the end. To me, that's the mark of a good book.

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  8. Thanks for the review - this book sparked my interest since I spotted the cover. I'm actually more interested now after reading your thoughts that it's a bit darker mystery and not happy go lucky. But then I guess I never thought it screamed 'happy' when the synopsis said it related to a murder - but you make it sound even better. Sounds like it would be a good change from some of the light fluffy books I've read recently. Thanks!

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  9. I have definitely been curious about this read. It is hard to imagine the sliding into the other person's thoughts. I love a good mystery and paranormal mix and it sounds like this will fit that bill. Thank you for sharing your view with us.

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  10. This book has been on my to-read list for quite a while, but I never got around to reading it. Your review makes me wanna read it now! I love murder mystery books, especially unpredictable ones xD

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