Emily Ward

Fiction; Young Adult/Sci Fi
3.5 stars

Finding Fiona is a great story that keeps you entertained the whole way through. It is intriguing in its uniqueness of character and subject and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed reading it.

Fiona wakes up with amnesia after a tragic accident. She knows that at some point she was kidnapped and stabbed but the rest of the details of her life are sketchy at best. Her new friend, Hannah, is doing her best to care for Fiona and help her try to figure out her past but Hannah's boyfriend, Troy is making Fiona uncomfortable.

After a quick trip to the library where Fiona discovers an article that contains photos of her parents and runs in to an old friend, the wheels start turning her towards the truth of who is really is and how she got to where she is now--- but is she truly ready to find out?

I liked the fast pace and suspense build up of the story. There are a variety of supporting characters introduced throughout the book, but with enough spacing to keep them all straight. Fiona's character was strong and a bit hard-headed at times, but I kind of liked that about her and identified with her feelings toward the situation.

There were a few flaws within the storyline that kept me from rating it a full 4 stars, but overall I found the story engaging and think that the author did a great job with this debut novel.

Recommended.… (plus d'informations)

Finding Fiona sounds promising – I mean, who doesn’t find human replication fascinating? Not to mention, a big baddie who is willing to kill for this discovery? – and Emily Ann Ward delivers some definitely thrilling moments, but overall I feel that the story still needed a little more oomph to really make it stand out on the shelf. I did not quite buy into how Fiona finds out about her past; the set-up was all too convenient. For example, I don’t know how many teenagers would willingly pick up American Physics on their spare time. The characters had potential, but I wish they had a few more quirks to make them more personable and less perfunctory to the storyline. Fiona and James had a past worth mentioning, but where was all that tension when they have to reconnect and work together? Perhaps I expected too much from this novella, but I think Finding Fiona had great potential to being a stand-out if it turns into something full-length.… (plus d'informations)

I think I've been a little spoiled by some YA books; I expect them all to be equally well-developed and engaging (Harry Potter, Sorcerer's Apprentice, etc.). Of course, this is an unrealistic expectation, but it's still disappointing to encounter any novel that just didn't live up to its potential.

I won this book on Library Thing, and it's not *horrible*, but it's not all that great either. The plot is too basic, and all the characters were bland. The premise of the story was good, but it could have been executed better than it was.… (plus d'informations)