Thursday, May 9, 2013

Bookanista Review: 17 & Gone by Nova Ren Suma

I'm back from tour in the US, so I'll be posting more regularly again and reading more. Yay! Today I'm talking about 17 & GONE, a book I read and enjoyed last month.




Summary from publisher:
Seventeen-year-old Lauren is having visions of girls who have gone missing. And all these girls have just one thing in common—they are 17 and gone without a trace. As Lauren struggles to shake these waking nightmares, impossible questions demand urgent answers: Why are the girls speaking to Lauren? How can she help them? And . . . is she next? As Lauren searches for clues, everything begins to unravel, and when a brush with death lands her in the hospital, a shocking truth emerges, changing everything.

One of my favorite things about Nova's previous book, IMAGINARY GIRLS, was the imagery, and 17 & GONE excels in this department too. It's never overblown, or too frequent as to be distracting, but every so often, you get a description that makes you see something ordinary in a new way. I love that kind of writing.

I also really appreciated the characterization. You get a good feel for the missing girls and I thought Lauren's descent into (possible) madness was especially well done.  Lauren's boyfriend Jamie was sympathetic, but also realistic in reactions for a teenage boy.

So is 17 & GONE a book about a mentally ill girl? Or is it paranormal? A strength of this novel is that it leaves a lot up to interpretation. Nova keeps the stakes high, which kept me glued to the page, needing to know what would happen next.

Don't miss this one! Out now.

More Bookanista reviews:

Christine Fonseca marvels at MILA 2.0 by Debra Driza – with giveaway!

Corrine Jackson is blown away by BRUISED by Sarah Skilton

Elana Johson buzzes about STUNG by Bethany Wiggins

Stasia Ward Kehoe fawns over THE FIFTH WAVE by Rick Yancey

Jessica Love raves about THE RULES FOR DISAPPEARING by Ashley Elton

Shannon Messenger shares an exclusive excerpt from INSOMNIA

Tracy Banghart swoons for THE NAME OF THE STAR by Maureen Johnson
FTC disclosure: bought

4 comments:

bermudaonion said...

Won't you be coming back to the US soon? I hope I'll get to see you in NY!

Lenore Appelhans said...

Not until late July. No BEA for me this year.

HEURISTIC HAJI!!!! said...

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Dazzling Mage said...

I was so entranced by Imaginary Girls, even though the characters frustrated me. I still can't wait to read this though, just to experience Ren's writing again.