The Telling Blog Tour: Review

The Telling
Author: Alexandra Sirowy
Genre: YA Mystery/Contemporary/Thriller 
Release Date: August 2, 2016 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Synopsis:
 
Lana used to know what was real.
 
That was before when her life was small and quiet.
 
Her golden step-brother, Ben, was alive, she could only dream about bonfiring with the populars, their wooded island home was idyllic, she could tell the truth from lies, and Ben’s childhood stories were firmly in her imagination.
 
Then came after.
 
After has Lana boldly kissing her crush, jumping into the water from too high up, and living with nerve and mischief. But after also has horrors, deaths that only make sense in fairy tales, and terrors from a past Lana thought long forgotten: Love, blood, and murder. 

The Telling is a thrilling young adult mystery that will keep you guessing until the end. I'm a huge fan of mysteries and thrillers, so this book sounded right up my alley. The plot was intriguing and easily pulled me into Lana's world - both the "before" and the "after." The writing was well done with lots of detailed descriptions and vivid imagery. I could see myself alongside Lana as everything happened. Lana was a good main character - but she had one issue that bugged me. She seems obsessed with her step-brother. She's constantly thinking about him, remembering him, talking about him - even though he died a couple months ago. The way she spoke about him annoyed me and felt weird - like I said, obsessed. That really put a damper on my reading experience and I wasn't able to get as into the story as I normally would have. The author uses the first person point of view, which I love. It works very well with the book and we get to know Lana on a deeply personal level. She's realistic - flaws and all - and could've been easy to connect with (if not for the obsession thing). The plot was intriguing but overshadowed by Lana's fixation on Ben. Again, the story line would have been great - if not for Lana's seeming obsession. Overall, this was a good novel and I definitely recommend it to fans of the genre.

Alexandra Sirowy was born in Northern California and grew up in Providence, Rhode Island and the San Francisco Bay Area. She attended a women's college as an undergraduate and has a graduate degree in International Studies. She lives in Northern California with her husband. Visit her at alexandrasirowy.com.

EXCERPT & AUDIO EXCERPT: http://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Telling/Alexandra-Sirowy/9781481418898