Lying About Last Summer

Product Information

At the heart of this novel is a heartbreaking event and Skye's journey throughout, and her coming to terms which what happened, was portrayed in a haunting and realistic way. Sky's story was incredibly interesting and very well written. And, on a side note, the cover for this book is so lush you guys! Not only is it super gorgeous (and as author Sue Wallman said the reddish glow on the cover could be sunshine in the water or blood, dun dun dun) but it has a super awesome finish which makes it feel all special and I couldn't stop stroking the cover while reading. Please tell me I'm not the only one?! We follow Skye’s journey of grieving for her sister, the guilt she feels and the secrets that surround her from the past and in the present. I warmed to Skye straight away and really liked her and her voice. I really felt what she was feeling in every moment whether that be dealing with her feelings of guilt, grief or trying to move on with her life. Sue Wallman is a former magazine journalist who grew up on the south coast of England and now lives near Kingston-upon-Thames.

Source – I was sent a copy of this book by the wonderful people at Scholastic as part of the blog tour organised by Faye Rogers. This does not affect my review or my opinions in any way and am delighted to write an honest review. Thank you Scholastic for sending this to me to read and to Faye for organising! Now any one who knows me knows I am a huge fan of the old Point Horror books from the 90's and initially upon reading the blurb I was excited as it had that feel of a Point Horror title, but in a modern day setting. This in itself intrigued me from the offset. What's the Name o...: ABANDONED. Mystery. Extended family all go to annual mansion gathering, older sister killing younger sister with poisoned milkshakes, main character called Leah. Spoiler ahead.A simple, sweet, creepy story, a little scary in the starting but fully entertaining with a wonderful story. Even the other characters in this book are brilliantly well crafted and completely relatable and with realistic flaws and all. Some you will love (Toby & Brandon*daydreams*), some you will hate (JOE – yes I used capital letters to express my dislike – ugh – don’t worry he was written that way) and some you feel like old friends (Fay *cuddles*). You will totally understand all this is you read the book I promise. The only piece of criticism from me would be that the novel was not long enough. I wanted more! Also, I would have loved to see Joe explored as a character in greater depth. There is definitely layers there. What's the Name o...: SOLVED. Young Adult book was set in a mental ward that the main character's dad owned, and she lived there with her parents. I remember that the main character collected fountain pens and the book had a purple cover. There was a gay couple. Spoilers. [s]

And, at first, the camp's not the bad. Yes, there are some people there that Skye dislikes and some of the activities remind Skye too much of her sister. But then the text messages start. The texts that can't be possible. As they sent on an messaging app, in a private group. And only two people know the passcode for the app. One is Skye and the other is her sister... Skye makes friends with Faye, Joe and Brandon who she builds a close relationship with and gave this story a hopeful outlook which was lovely. To see what really happened to Luisa was chilling, it seemed kind of too extreme for the book, which is a crazy thing to say, but when you think of Skye's life, and they're idyllic little house, it's hard to see it all going wrong, not helped by the fact Skye starts receiving text messages from Luisa, or so it seems? It added a bit of extra chill factor to the book, and that's the only bit of the story I didn't guess - who was behind those messages. I had Joe pegged as the bad guy, he riled me up something chronic, and there was just something about him that I didn't trust or believe, you know when you just get a feeling about someone? I felt that way about Joe. He was creepy with a capital C.Last summer, Skye's sister died. Her parents think sending Skye to a holiday camp for beggared teens will help her move on with her life. Move forward. I don't want to go to much into the characters through fear of spoilers, but I as well as Skye suspected everyone throughout the book! It kept me guessing! Another thing I was a bit disappointed about was the main setting of Morley Hill. The idea behind it was very good, but given that it plays such a big role in the book, it is a shame that it did not feel especially well realised. There were some good descriptions here and there, but generally I found it hard to visualise as one central location.

Her debut book, Lying About Last Summer, was published in May. She’s a previous winner of the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction First Chapter Award, a writer in residence at Kingston Writing School, attached to Kingston University, and an active member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. She has a Publishing and English degree from Oxford Brookes University.This YA thriller really kept me going to the bitter end, and I found the second half to be fast-paced and simply impossible to put down where Skye becomes more paranoid of everyone around her at the activity camp, and comes to wonder if they're responsible in some way. What really made this book amazing is where I was having trouble trying to work it all out, and the outcome came so unexpected and for me that's what a thriller is all about! A week at Morley Hill Activity and Adventure Centre might just be what Skye needs to put a little distance between her and her now over-protective mother. God knows she could do with a break! However, as soon as she arrives, things take a turn for the “weird”. Not only, Skye has to contend with her new roommates Fay and Danielle, and that comes with its own set of issues, but she now is receiving text messages from Luisa, from beyond the grave. Is Skye going crazy, or is there a perfectly good explanation for it? The book itself is very interesting. There's something addicted about this book, and I can't put my finger on what it was that made me speed through. The writing was strong and the mystery over the mystery texter made me suspect every person about the camp. No one was safe from the "Who Doing This?". When the truth came out, I was surprised over it. I didn't see it coming.