Hmm... I read this based off a Goodreads recommendation for fans of Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma. Now let me just say Goodreads must have been drunk when recommending it because this was nothing like Forbidden. It lacked dialogue, intrigue, and a complete ending. It had none of the gut wrenching feels and followed a completely different theme. There is no romance. It is pure obsession and murder.

I enjoyed the story at times, but for the most part it fell flat. I wanted to feel that intense, heart racing feels, but all I felt was confused and mad. The brother is a complete whacko. The Sister is a naive, complicated girl. Together they are quite the pair. One loves the other and one is scared. It's a mess and the plot is very scattered.

If you like to have your brain hurt while reading then this one is probably for you. Just keep in mind that you make your own ending because we get and open ended, spur of the moment end from the Author. ( )

The book features characters who are all kinds of crazy! As soon as the brother committed the first murder, I wanted to hide the book and never read it again! But it wasn't because it was bad, it was because I was too scared to read ahead and who doesn't like books that scare the heck outta us, right? Another thing I liked was that the issue of incest was dealt with very tastefully. There were no overt scenes about it but the author rather hinted at what was going on. Asheley's reactions would have felt unreal, if she didn't have the history that she did. The siblings were the most broken kids you'd ever see. I also liked how the author kept us guessing which of the siblings was right about their dad's personality and his reasons for leaving. And the ending was perfect. Loved what Asheley said at the end of the book too! ( )

1.5 stars

Will and Asheley (really didn't care about the spelling of her name) live with their alcoholic mother. Their dad left when Will was 6 and Asheley was 3, and while Asheley idolizes their absent dad, Will remembers what a horribly abusive person he was.

These two kids were so messed up, but... I don't know, it's weird, I didn't find the characters realistic. I'm telling you from experience, if you grow up with an alcoholic you don't celebrate their departure with drinks. And that's what these two did. After growing up watching their mum go into drunken rages, after their mother attacks them and leaves them broken on the floor crying, clutching each other - every night it's, "hey, have a margarita", "let's celebrate with some wine" etc. Just... no.

Then, when their mother is taken away by some creepy religious cult for "rehab" (what...), Will snaps and thinks he must protect his sister from everything, so she won't feel the pain he had to feel. And he also takes a weird turn into a somewhat incestuous attitude towards her. But more importantly, he snaps and starts killing a bunch of people he sees as a threat to her.

There's this big reveal at the end of the book about how Asheley was manipulating her brother, I don't see how that's surprising? I mean, it wasn't to me, it was pretty obvious all along that she was manipulative, Will did every thing she ever asked, even dressed the way she wanted. And the answers she gave were all too, "aww chucks, I love Will and I want to protect him, and I feel so guilty, but he's totally a violent murderer and I didn't have any control over the situation". It's like... wow, what suspiciously specific denials, Asheley.

Anyway, this whole story is told in alternating POVs, Will and Asheley's, while they're at a police station in Mexico. And to be perfectly honest, I started feeling sorry for the cops who had to listen to all the 6572406756 mundane, irrelevant teen drama details surrounding all the murders.
( )

I really enjoyed the characterization in this book. It really hit home with how parents can mess up their kids and the coping mechanisms that emerge from that. Will and Asheley's neuroses (and psychoses) were really well described and sympathetic so you can't really pinpoint when they go from misunderstood to creepy.

But as well done and entertaining as that was the plot was pretty straightforward, including any twists. It plays with the concept of unreliable narrators, but when you have a book that features alternating points of view of the same events you know you're going to have that anyway.

I had fun with it, and it kept my interest the whole way, but it's not a keeper for me.

(Review originally from April 6, 2011) ( )

Will and Asheley are close siblings. Their lives have been in the shambles pretty much from the start and things are only getting worse. This book really makes you think about how one wrong choice ignites others and can set someone in a tailspin. That being said, there was a fair amount of mental illness in this book as well. Very rarely does someone escape a traumatic upbringing completely unscathed. This is as much about the heartbreaking events as well as the undoing of these characters (heartbreaking in its own right) as anything else.

I thought it was well written and gripping. While somewhat disturbing in the events that take place, it's gritty reality at the same time. ( )