Du Livre: Slide Review

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 (goodreads).

Teenager Sylvia Bell has a lot on her plate. Her mother has passed away so her clueless father has decided that she could play the mother role for their small family. As if that isn't bad enough she has to deal with a flaky best friend, a new hot boy who is interested in her, and her little sister's annoying group of cheerleading friends. Oh and her sister's best friend was murdered. To make matters worse she is the only person who can prove it. Why? Because she was in the killer's body when it happened.

Sylvia "Vee" Bell acts as the narrator in this mystery-driven novel. She's a rebellious high schooler with bright pink hair but behind her flashy personality is her pain. This is what makes Sylvia such an interesting character and narrator. With the first person point of view, it is hard not to get sucked into Hathaway's world and fall in love with Vee. She describes the world as she sees it, there is no sugar coating any of her actions, Vee is real. Along with an excellent narrator and character, Hathaway holds the reader's attention with this heart-thumping tale of murder.

The overall story is exciting and a thrilling page-turner. I found myself racking my brain to try to figure out the identity of the killer before the great reveal. The actions between the characters seemed genuine and nothing felt awkward. Vee does not try too hard to be a "junior sleuth" in order to solve this mystery. She handles the entire situation with maturity and weighs her options very carefully. Whether or not you like characters, they are fleshed out. While they may seem caricatures of stereotypical groups, they have their own motives and their own voices, especially Vee's little sister Mattie who grew on me.

I also really enjoyed the love "triangle," because it didn't really exist. Yes there were two guys vying after Vee's affections, but they weren't actively trying to oust the other while getting into Sylvia's good graces. I think that is one thing I liked about this book, nothing is over the top. Everything is done subtly, whether it's the crime fighting heroine or the love story, nothing is over the top. It all feels very realistic, besides the whole sliding into another person's body aspect.

I can't think of anything that I disliked regarding this novel, the relationships were honest and sweet and the action was exciting. I want to thank Jill Hathaway and Harper Collins for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. This was an amazing debut novel and I cannot wait to read more works from you in the future.