Strange Girl Book Tour: Review + Giveaway

Hey everyone! Welcome to my stop on the book tour for Strange Girl! Today I'll be sharing my review of the book with you - and don't forget to enter the giveaway!

Strange Girl

Author: Christopher Pike

Genre: YA Paranormal/Mystery

Release Date: November 17, 2015

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Description:

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Christopher Pike comes a brand-new fascinating and seductive new novel about a girl with a mysterious ability—but one that carries an unimaginable cost.

From the moment Fred meets Aja, he knows she’s different. She’s pretty, soft-spoken, shy—yet seems to radiate an unusual peace. Fred quickly finds himself falling in love with her.

Then strange things begin to happen around Aja. A riot breaks out that Aja is able to stop by merely speaking a few words. A friend of Fred’s suffers a serious head injury and has a miraculous recovery.

Yet Aja swears she has done nothing.

Unfortunately, Fred is not the only one who notices Aja’s unique gifts. As more and more people begin to question who Aja is and what she can do, she’s soon in grave danger. Because none of them truly understands the source of Aja’s precious abilities—or their devastating cost.

Love Aja or hate her—you will never forget her.

In Strange Girl, number-one bestselling author Christopher Pike has created the rarest of novels—a love story that swings between a heart-pounding mystery and a stirring mystical journey. 

Strange Girl is an addicting YA mystery with a paranormal twist that will have readers eagerly devouring its pages to uncover the truth. The writing was fantastic - it wasn't overdone with too many details or too many characters/situations happening at once. It felt completely natural and I found myself easily melting into the story from the very first page. This writing style that seems so simplistic at first glance, yet is nearly impossible to tear yourself away from once you have started, shows the author's immense talent and seasoned storytelling abilities.

The characters in the book were well written with the two main characters - Fred and Aja - being the most rounded. They each had distinct personalities with flaws, quirks, strengths - everything that makes a character realistic and easy to identify with. Aja was always a mystery during the book - from the major occurrences that everyone noticed, down to the smallest detail that only Fred and the reader picked up on. I loved getting to know Aja a little bit at a time - even though we never really get to see the "real" her. Fred is a great main character for the book. He's a typical teenage senior in high school who plays in a band and has dreams of becoming a singer/songwriter. He's sort of in the middle of the spectrum when it comes to the rest of the school's population. He's not popular, but not picked on either. He's not super smart, but is doing well enough to be taking some AP courses. He's not a jock or a nerd (or any other generic label) and is genuinely a nice guy. Although he stays in the middle - sort of blending in without standing out in any way - Fred captures the reader's attention right from the beginning of the book and doesn't let go until the final words. Since the book is written in the first person point of view - from Fred's perspective - we get to know him on a much deeper level than normal. We get a peek inside of his mind - his hopes, dreams, fears, memories, inner dialogue, thoughts, and so much more - which lets the reader form a strong personal bond with him that isn't possible with any other POV. I'm a huge fan of the first person POV, which you'll already know if you've read any of my other reviews, so I won't continue to list all of the reasons why I feel this writing style is the best choice.

The plot was unique and intriguing right from the start. It pulled me in within the first page and I was so caught up in the story that I didn't stop reading until I had finished the entire book (which ended up being a few short hours because I was so wrapped up in it). The pace is steady and natural - especially at first - but begins to speed up as the story continues and the strange occurrences start happening. By that time, my mind was racing to figure out what was really going on and I was reading as fast as I could to see what was going to happen next. I had several different theories about the truth behind it all - but I never got the right one. Or did I? There are a lot of unanswered questions for Fred and the reader throughout the book, and we're left to think about them and decide for ourselves what it all meant. Overall, this was a really fantastic book that blended two of my favorite genres, and a great first book of the new year for me. I very highly recommend it to fans of YA fiction - especially readers who enjoy mysteries, paranormal fiction, fantasy, and suspense!

Christopher Pike is a bestselling author of young adult novels. The Thirst series, The Secret of Ka, and the Remember Me and Alosha trilogies are some of his favorite titles. He is also the author of several adult novels, including Sati and The Season of Passage.

Thirst and Alosha are slated to be released as feature films. Pike currently lives in Santa Barbara, where it is rumored he never leaves his house.

But he can be found online at www.Facebook.com/ChristopherPikeBooks

Wattpad: https://www.wattpad.com/user/RealChristopherPike
 
Series of writing advice on Wattpad: https://www.wattpad.com/story/52999302

Buy Links: 

Amazon    B&N    BAM    IndieBound    iBookstore    Google Play

 

Tour Wide Giveaway:

 (25) Paperback copies of Strange Girl

(5) paperback sets of RED QUEEN and BLACK KNIGHT
(5) paperback sets of all 5 copies of THIRST series (1-5) in PB.
(5) paperback copies CHAIN LETTER
(5) paperback copies UNTIL THE END
(5) paperback copies BOUND TO YOU
(5) paperback copies REMEMBER ME 

  a Rafflecopter giveaway