Idgie Says:This is a good story for teens as it deals a bit with mental illness and how being on or off of medication can affect the mind. Of course this is a fictional story with embellishments, but it does actually address mental illness in teens and how others are affected also, so it brings a hidden subject out into the open.
Now, as a fictional story there's a lot of intrigue as a stranger shows up in town professing to be a good friend of Georgia's older brother who just drowned. But Georgia sees too many questions and decides to go off her medicine for a "clearer head". Unfortunately that clearer head may make her a danger to herself before any mystery gets solved.
The age of the reader needs to be mature. There's pregnancy, drugs, adult situations, etc. in the book. While a mature 14 year old could certainly read the book, the situation might just wash over them instead of sticking (not necessarily a bad thing).
No real life lessons in this book except to follow your intuition. But it's a good read that will keep a teen interested in a book...........and that's the important thing!
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Algonquin Young Reader
October, 2015
Age 14+
Is Georgia’s mind playing tricks on her, or is the entire town walking into the arms of a killer who has everyone but her fooled?
When seventeen-year-old Georgia’s brother drowns while surfing halfway around the world in Australia, she refuses to believe Lucky’s death was just bad luck. Lucky was smart. He wouldn’t have surfed in waters more dangerous than he could handle. Then a stranger named Fin arrives in False Bay, claiming to have been Lucky’s best friend. Soon Fin is working for Lucky’s father, charming Lucky’s mother, dating his girlfriend. Georgia begins to wonder: did Fin murder Lucky in order to take over his whole life?
Determined to clear the fog from her mind in order to uncover the truth about Lucky’s death, Georgia secretly stops taking the medication that keeps away the voices in her head. Georgia is certain she’s getting closer and closer to the truth about Fin, but as she does, her mental state becomes more and more precarious, and no one seems to trust what she’s saying.
As the chilling narrative unfolds, the reader must decide whether Georgia’s descent into madness is causing her to see things that don’t exist–or to see a deadly truth that no one else can.