Creeptastic Reads Review: Very Bad Things by Susan McBride

Title: Very Bad Things

Author: Susan McBride
Publisher: Delacorte Press

ReSource: Author

Goodreads Summary:

Katie never thought she'd be the girl with the popular boyfriend. She also never thought he would cheat on her-but the proof is in the photo that people at their boarding school can't stop talking about. Mark swears he doesn't remember anything. But Rose, the girl in the photo, is missing, and Mark is in big trouble. Because it looks like Rose isn't just gone…she's dead.Maybe Mark was stupid, but that doesn't mean he's a killer.Katie needs to find out what really happened, and her digging turns up more than she bargained for, not just about Mark but about someone she loves like a sister: Tessa, her best friend. At Whitney Prep, it's easy to keep secrets…especially the cold-blooded kind.

Amongst all the underwhelming mysteries I've read lately, Very Bad Things was a pleasant surprise!

The story starts off with our main character, Katie, in the library dozing off. Suddenly she feels like she’s being watched, and when she turns around she finds this single rose. To give a bit of background, Katie has recently been having these very realistic nightmares where she gets the overwhelming sensation that she’s being watched and always wakes up to the smell of roses. How creepy is that?

While the book itself is pretty short, the story did take a while to unravel parts of the mystery. Not that that's a huge complaint because it’s slow and juicy and every piece of information is a vital one. Pull out your notepads because you’re going to want to be taking notes while you read. The characters each have their certain weird factor that keeps you doubting them until the end and the multiple POVs add to this. Different points of views can be tricky because the voices can melt together, but Susan McBride did an excellent job distinguishing her character's voices. There is no "good" character or "bad" character. Each one had their questionable moments and I think that's realistic. As a reader, I got frustrated with some, laughed along with others, and felt all the feels near the end. Obviously they weren’t the most detailed characters since Very Bad Things is just under 250 pages, but they were just the right amount of developed for such a short story. 

The blurb on the back of the book was kind of the reason I picked this one up prematurely. I wasn’t planning on reading Very Bad Things but that blurb called out to me, so of course I’m going to include a snippet so everyone else gets as hooked as I was by it.

Katie set the package on the floor and pried off the twine. There was no note, just something rolled up in yellowed paper. Something that smelled rank enough to make her hold her breath as she began to unwrap it. Toward the end, the paper unrolled all by itself and dumped the contents between her feet. Plop. "Oh, my God," she whispered when she saw what it was.

Doesn’t that make you want to pick this up? If not, then maybe the fact that the mystery was so different from what’s typically out there, will. As I’ve mentioned in other reviews, I’m pretty good at guessing the twist before the big reveal. To be honest, I did have my suspicions in Very Bad Things, but it’s such a different take on young adult mystery that I doubted myself until halfway through the book when things started coming together. That was the final deciding factor between 3 and 4 stars. I obviously don’t want to give anything away, but let’s just say that the psychology major within was very interested in what was going on. The fact that this book took something I read so often, and churned out something refreshing, made it a pleasure to read. It was just the right amount of eerie, at the right pace, with the right mystery elements. I wouldn’t say you’ll be sleeping with the light on after reading it, but you’ll be thinking about the characters in Very Bad Things (some more than others) for days after putting it down.

Rating:

★★★★/5 stars

Creep factor:

Nothing too scary, but definitely some creepy scenes. I suggest this to mystery fans that can't deal with too much gore or horror. Perfect for this time of year.

2/5

Quick Bullet Review: Hysteria by Megan Miranda

Title: Hysteria

Author: Megan Miranda
Publisher: Walker Childrens
Release Date: February 5th, 2013
Source: Library
Goodreads Summary:
Mallory killed her boyfriend, Brian. She can't remember the details of that night but everyone knows it was self-defense, so she isn't charged. But Mallory still feels Brian's presence in her life. Is it all in her head? Or is it something more? In desperate need of a fresh start, Mallory is sent to Monroe, a fancy prep school where no one knows her . . . or anything about her past.But the feeling follows her, as do her secrets. Then, one of her new classmates turns up dead. As suspicion falls on Mallory, she must find a way to remember the details of both deadly nights so she can prove her innocence-to herself and others. 

This is a difficult review because I really didn't enjoy this book at all, but I like Megan Miranda's writing. So. Torn. Therefore, instead of writing out a long review I thought I would give you a couple bullet points as to why this book wasn't for me.

• The whole book was confusing, and not in a good, "WOO! I don't know what's happening in this awesome mystery but I can't wait to keep reading", way. At. All.
• I didn't have any suspects or suspicions that were concrete enough. Everything was just assumptions.
• The same things kept happening over and over again with no real "aha!" moments.
• The only thing that kept me reading was the fact that I NEEDED to know what was really happening.
• When the final mystery was unraveled and everything was revealed it was anti climatic and I just sat there thinking, "how did I waste all this time reading this just for it to end this way?"
• Events in the book weren't connected at all and it just seemed like the main girl was the unluckiest girl alive.
• None of the characters stood out to me. I can barely remember the main character at all.

Even though I read this last year, I can still remember the disappointment I felt when I closed the book. I definitely wouldn't recommend this one to fellow mystery lovers. It had so much potential to be a great mystery...and then just fell flat. Really, with a summary like that one I would pick up any book, unfortunately this one wasn't a hit. If you're still looking for a Megan Miranda book I suggest Fractured. It's an emotional ride with a hint of paranormal and I really did enjoy that one.

Rating:

★ ★ .5 stars