Envy
by Gregg Olsen
Copyright: 2011
Pages: 285
Rating: 5/5
Read: Oct. 17– Oct. 24, 2011
Challenge: No challenge
Yearly Count: 60
Format: Print
Source: Library Copy
Blurb: Evil comes in all sorts of flavors. Some bitter. Some deceptively sweet. That’s what Katelyn discovers on the day she dies. One minute she’s a depressed teen with a loser life. The next, she’s lying on a stainless steel slab, eyes glassy, skin frosted over, and very, very dead. Was it: Suicide? Murder? Who’s to blame?
Twins Hayley and Taylor Ryan stumble upon the truth, which is far more disturbing than they could have ever imagined … and which sheds light on another secret, a hidden past even they don’t know about.
Inspired by a ripped-from-the-headlines true crime about cyberbullying, Envy is the gritty first volume in a new bone-chilling series that takes you to the edge – and pushes you right over.
Review: More time has passed since I finished this book than I had intended. I didn’t immediately write a review of this book because I wanted it to set in a little bit. (Well, I should know better than to put anything off, I’m such a procrastinator).
This is a first in a new Young Adult series by an author who writes adult fiction books that I love. I’m not a huge YA reader, but I do read a few YA books a year, and this is definitely a book that I’m glad I got the chance to read. It will definitely be interesting to see what happens in the future installments.
For the most part, this is a mystery, but there is a slight paranormal edge to it. Being a person who is not a huge paranormal fan, I was not put off by the slant it had at all. I have always been intrigued by twins and the relationship that they have, so I really enjoyed following Hayley and Taylor and seeing them interact. Being young ladies who are starting to have boyfriends, Hayley having a boyfriend whereas Taylor did not, definitely made for some interesting passages. The jealousy over feeling left out was evident.
I would have liked to have known more about Katelyn. I felt as if there was a lot that the reader never knew about her. Like how on earth she ever got to be friends with a girl like Starla in the first place! And when it was finally revealed what Katelyn had done to Starla, well it was so little in comparison to what Starla (but was it really her? 😉 did for revenge.
Port Gamble is portrayed as a very small town. The accident that occurred there years before would have devastated the entire community. And then to have something happen again years later, well it seems like that would be almost too much for such a small place to deal with. Being from a small town myself, it made me recall how the entire town felt when two popular teenagers were killed in a terrible car accident my senior year (one of whom was in my class). It’s amazing how something like that can really touch so many different people’s lives.
Okay, so I realize that I’ve now rambled on about this book and really haven’t said much at all. It’s just one of those books where you don’t want to really say too much. All I can say is that I would highly recommend this book and I am eagerly anticipating the 2012 release of Betrayal.
Tales of a Book Addict 