Come back tomorrow for a great guest post from author Hannah Jayne about what secrets she kept as a teenager!
Ooooh, juicy!!!
O P E N I N G L I N E:
"But Dad, you haven't even heard--"
Riley Spencer's father took a slurping sip from his coffee cup and looked over the rim at his daughter. "I said no. End of discussion."
Riley blew out a sigh and crossed the kitchen, slamming the cupboard door after retrieving a coffee cup.
“I hope you’re pouring that for me,” her mother said, coming up over her shoulder and slipping the now-full cup out of Riley’s hands. “What’s going on?”
Riley fumed. “I can’t go on the school trip—the school trip to look at colleges—and now I can’t even drink a cup of coffee! It’s like you want to keep me here in this stupid little fortress forever!”
Riley’s parents were staring at her, her father in mid-sip with newspaper in one hand, her mother with a glint of a half-smile on her pale pink lips.
“Ry, we talked about this.”
“No,” Riley said, “we did not talk about this. You talked about this. And no one said I couldn’t drink coffee.”
Her father shrugged and went back to his paper. “Have a cup of coffee. Be five foot two for the rest of your life. See if I care.”
Yesterday when reviewing BROKEN by C.J. Lyons (Also from Sourcebooks Fire), I mentioned that there aren't enough mystery/thriller novels in YA, and many teens request this genre. I think it's becoming more popular now as the publishing industry seeks out Gillian Flynn GONE GIRL-inspired thrillers for both YA and Adult audiences. It will be great to see a boom in this genre! SEE JANE RUN by Hannah Jayne is a great addition to the genre. It's suspenseful and keeps you riveted. Don't pick this one up if you only have time to read a chapter. I read this book in one sitting because I just had to know.
Riley's parents have always been overprotective. They don't let her do much of anything, and often blame the fact that she's prone to panic attacks. After begging and pleading and finally getting approval to go on a school trip to visit colleges, Riley and her best friend Shelby sneak into her parents' bedroom to find her dad's old college shirt for the trip. Riley and her parents are still unpacking from a recent move, and everything is in boxes. Riley comes across her baby book, and, tucked in its flapped, she finds a birth certificate for a baby named Jane Elizabeth O'Leary. Jane is a year older than Riley, so Riley dismisses it when Shelby says that maybe she is Jane. She wasn't adopted. Her parents have always talked openly about adoption. She doubts they're the kind of people who would have kidnapped her, either. But there is the fact that they never let her go anywhere or do anything. And she's starting to get creepy messages. And there might be someone following her. What mystery did Riley stumble upon...and can she find the answers she needs before it's too late?
In a thriller, who can you trust? The readers trust Riley implicitly, even when she does stupid things or takes on too much. But who else? Can you trust her parents? Her friends JD and Shelby? The mysterious Tim who is suddenly everywhere? Did someone break into her house? Have they been watching her all along? Why did everything start the minute Riley and Shelby stumbled upon Jane's birth certificate and googled her name? SEE JANE RUN is a novel where no one is to be trusted except the heroine, and even then, she doesn't always make smart choices. You'll yell at her, worry for her, and join her on her quest to discover the truth...and you won't want to put the book down until you know everything.
I read a book with a similar concept when I was in high school, possibly by Lois Duncan, so I wasn't completely surprised by the reveals that came later in the novel. There was a lot of suspense going on that leads up to everything, and it's the twists and turns that get there which make SEE JANE RUN so exciting. Riley gets herself into quite a mess by playing teenage detective, and the consequences are more dire than she could have ever predicted. Sometimes, I wished she'd stop being so sneaky because so much could have been prevented if she'd gone to an adult for help, but then you wouldn't have the fun of the novel, right? Readers are right there with Riley, not knowing who to trust or what's the truth. It makes for a good, adrenaline-pumping thriller. While some moments were over-the-top, that's to be expected in the genre, and it doesn't detract from the story or its momentum as much as it does in other thrillers.
Of the two Sourcebooks Fire thrillers I recently read and reviewed, if you had to choose just one to read, I would recommend SEE JANE RUN over BROKEN because it's intense from the very beginning and doesn't take a long time to get going. Although, if you like the slow-burning mysteries, BROKEN is definitely your go-to! SEE JANE RUN is more non-stop, and a throwback to the thrillers/teenage detective novels that are so hard to come by these days, but so prominent a decade or two ago.
Riley's parents have always been overprotective. They don't let her do much of anything, and often blame the fact that she's prone to panic attacks. After begging and pleading and finally getting approval to go on a school trip to visit colleges, Riley and her best friend Shelby sneak into her parents' bedroom to find her dad's old college shirt for the trip. Riley and her parents are still unpacking from a recent move, and everything is in boxes. Riley comes across her baby book, and, tucked in its flapped, she finds a birth certificate for a baby named Jane Elizabeth O'Leary. Jane is a year older than Riley, so Riley dismisses it when Shelby says that maybe she is Jane. She wasn't adopted. Her parents have always talked openly about adoption. She doubts they're the kind of people who would have kidnapped her, either. But there is the fact that they never let her go anywhere or do anything. And she's starting to get creepy messages. And there might be someone following her. What mystery did Riley stumble upon...and can she find the answers she needs before it's too late?
In a thriller, who can you trust? The readers trust Riley implicitly, even when she does stupid things or takes on too much. But who else? Can you trust her parents? Her friends JD and Shelby? The mysterious Tim who is suddenly everywhere? Did someone break into her house? Have they been watching her all along? Why did everything start the minute Riley and Shelby stumbled upon Jane's birth certificate and googled her name? SEE JANE RUN is a novel where no one is to be trusted except the heroine, and even then, she doesn't always make smart choices. You'll yell at her, worry for her, and join her on her quest to discover the truth...and you won't want to put the book down until you know everything.
I read a book with a similar concept when I was in high school, possibly by Lois Duncan, so I wasn't completely surprised by the reveals that came later in the novel. There was a lot of suspense going on that leads up to everything, and it's the twists and turns that get there which make SEE JANE RUN so exciting. Riley gets herself into quite a mess by playing teenage detective, and the consequences are more dire than she could have ever predicted. Sometimes, I wished she'd stop being so sneaky because so much could have been prevented if she'd gone to an adult for help, but then you wouldn't have the fun of the novel, right? Readers are right there with Riley, not knowing who to trust or what's the truth. It makes for a good, adrenaline-pumping thriller. While some moments were over-the-top, that's to be expected in the genre, and it doesn't detract from the story or its momentum as much as it does in other thrillers.
Of the two Sourcebooks Fire thrillers I recently read and reviewed, if you had to choose just one to read, I would recommend SEE JANE RUN over BROKEN because it's intense from the very beginning and doesn't take a long time to get going. Although, if you like the slow-burning mysteries, BROKEN is definitely your go-to! SEE JANE RUN is more non-stop, and a throwback to the thrillers/teenage detective novels that are so hard to come by these days, but so prominent a decade or two ago.
Mark SEE JANE RUN on your TBR list now. It officially debuts on January 7th, 2014, but sometimes you can find Sourcebooks titles in your local bookstores a couple of weeks early!
~*~
C O V E R D E S I G N:
I like the pops of color! The yellow of the title, the turquoise of the author's name, the red of the sneakers. It all stands out against the monochromatic background in a good way!
The fact that there's a different appearance in the puddle is really intriguing. I would pick this one up off the shelf in order to see what it was about!
Very eye-catching!
The fact that there's a different appearance in the puddle is really intriguing. I would pick this one up off the shelf in order to see what it was about!
Very eye-catching!
~*~
O F F I C I A L I N F O:
Title: SEE JANE RUN
Author: Hannah Jayne
Release Date: Jan. 7, 2013
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Received: For Review
Received: For Review
SUMMARY:
I know who you are.
When Riley first gets the postcard tucked into her bag, she thinks it's a joke. Then she finds a birth certificate for a girl named Jane Elizabeth O'Leary hidden inside her baby book.
Riley's parents have always been pretty overprotective. What if it wasn't for her safety...but fear of her finding out their secret? What have they been hiding? The more Riley digs for answers, the more questions she has.
The only way to know the truth? Find out what happened to Jane O'Leary.
Praise for TRULY, MADLY, DEADLY:
"A fast-paced thriller."--Kirkus Reviews
"What a ride! Full of twists and turns -- including an ending you won't see coming!"--April Henry, New York Times bestselling author of THE GIRL WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO DIE
When Riley first gets the postcard tucked into her bag, she thinks it's a joke. Then she finds a birth certificate for a girl named Jane Elizabeth O'Leary hidden inside her baby book.
Riley's parents have always been pretty overprotective. What if it wasn't for her safety...but fear of her finding out their secret? What have they been hiding? The more Riley digs for answers, the more questions she has.
The only way to know the truth? Find out what happened to Jane O'Leary.
Praise for TRULY, MADLY, DEADLY:
"A fast-paced thriller."--Kirkus Reviews
"What a ride! Full of twists and turns -- including an ending you won't see coming!"--April Henry, New York Times bestselling author of THE GIRL WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO DIE
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