Meh. 2.5 stars. Nothing special, annoying friends, very jr high R.L. Stine-ish

Brynna put her best friend Erica up to a dare- the dare was to jump off a pier at night... they both did it, but only one of them came back.

Since the tragedy, Brynna has been spiraling out of control. Her parents have moved her to a new town for a fresh start, but her old life seems to have followed her here. Or maybe it's a ghost that's followed her because suddenly Erica seems to everywhere. Brynna becomes consumed with guilt and fear, convinced that either someone is after her or she's really just going crazy.

My Thoughts:
I think I am done with YA Mystery/Thrillers for a while. This was another miss for me. I initially liked the idea of this girl feeling guilt over her friend dying, but so many other factors made me not love this book. It was a very junior high R.L.Stine/Christopher Pike thriller-type book. Which I gotta say in junior high I was obsessed with those books, but now I need a little something more.

The friends in this book are one of the biggest issues I had. So the first day (actually the first second) that Brynna steps into her new school, a guy immediately notices her and decides he's going to introduce her to his group of friends. Yes this is a book and I can suspend some disbelief, but for serious? Would that ever happen? And then within seconds of meeting the group, one of the guys at the table is set up to be the love interest.... blah!!! The thing about these "friends" is that they were SO nebby. They just met Brynna and they're all "Why didn't you tell us about this" and "How dare you keep this or that from us". Ummm hello?? She JUST met you. I wanted Brynna to tell them to back the hell off. And Evan was all pry, pry, pry... tell me your secrets. Once again, she JUST met you, she doesn't have to tell you anything asshole.

Throughout the book there was this steady flow of the main character being super scared and freaked out, thinking she was crazy, and then immediately feeling better or "normal" once she got around Teddy (the love interest) or one of her new friends. I got sick of the same pattern over and over. And I got sick of Brynna not ever sticking up for herself. Everyone was constantly accusing her of everything and she would basically just take it.

Then there was the "big reveal"... which I thought it was pretty obvious who it was and why. But just in case I didn't, this was the classic "I'm going to tell you what I did and why I did it and what I'm going to do next" villain scene. Why do movies and books always do this at the end of who-dun-it's? What criminal in the real world is going to spell everything out to the victim in the end?

I wanted more from this book than just a generic thriller that I will forget about in a few weeks. Unfortunately, that's what I got. I think this book would have been MUCH better as a Lifetime Movie. As a book, it was just meh.

OVERALL: A YA Mystery/Thriller that fell short for me. I was expecting a hot beach read, but it didn't quite get there for me. It was very blah and juvenile, but I think it would be great for younger (middle grade) readers.

My Blog:
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Bryanna and Erica were best friends until a stupid dare jump off a pier into the ocean at night - only Bryanna came back. Since then B has had a life in turmoil and spiraled out of control on drugs. After rehab her family have moved her to start her life a fresh at a new school. All seems well although B is still plagued by dreams as they never found Erica's body. Then suddenly B is getting strange voice mails and pop-ups in her feed with the handle "EricaNShaw". Who is trying to dig up the past and make B crack and why? Or is it something more sinister and supernatural?

Lot of B wrestling with her drug needs in this book as she faces her demons so readers need to be aware of that aspect of the book. Kept me engaged and wondering who was trying to push B's buttons and why throughout the story with a satisfactory and plausible ending. ( )