This again was a book that did not wow me. I really struglled to like the main character and really queteioned most of her choices throuout this read. The concept of being in witness protection was intreasting but it did not capture as her previous books I read did. It was okay story and the mystery was okay at the very end i wanted more. But this thrilelr did not wow me! ( )

This again was a book that did not wow me. I really struglled to like the main character and really queteioned most of her choices throuout this read. The concept of being in witness protection was intreasting but it did not capture as her previous books I read did. It was okay story and the mystery was okay at the very end i wanted more. But this thrilelr did not wow me! ( )

"Meg" finds herself in Louisiana, another city and another identity. Meg and her family are in the Witness Protection Program and this is not her first identity or location. She's not sure why they're in the program (no one will tell her) and she's not sure why they have to keep moving around. One thing she does know is that it's pointless to get close to anybody. No making friends and joining clubs for Meg this time around.... why bother when it could all be ripped away at any time.
But then she meets Ethan, a boy who's on to her stories. Meg knows she should stay away from Ethan, it's dangerous, but there's just something about him...

My Thoughts:
Whew!! This book was fun! Fun in a I need to figure out this mystery that's going on kind of way. And the thing is there's a lot of stuff to figure out! It's really hard to describe this book without using spoilers, but what I can tell you is that Meg is dealing with a lot. She's moved 6 times and her parents are seriously messed-up which is making her little sister (Teeny is what she calls her) withdraw. The mother is a complete non-functional alcoholic and the dad just doesn't talk to anybody about anything meaningful. It's pretty heartbreaking to watch Teeny and Meg hit these really low lows because they have a mother who is basically trying to kill herself right in front of them. As a mother myself, I felt for Teeny and just wanted to hug her!

I was expecting the big reveal to be a bit more surprising than it was. That being said, I still liked working my way up to it and needing to turn the pages quickly to get to it. I also liked that we got to see inside of Meg's original life and the social turmoil that she was dealing with right before shit hit the fan. It was nice to get that added dimension.

There's really only 2 things that bugged me in this book. One was that the characters always had to tell us everything they were thinking as soon as they thought it. It's like sometimes you don't really need to state the obvious. Sometimes less is more. The other thing was Ethan was so freaking nebby. Always prying into Meg's life when he didn't even know her at all. He turned out to be a cool guy, but dude you can't stalk a girl and expect her to spill all her info to you... I don't care how cute you are.

Oh and the ending!! Is this a series?? It has a pretty dramatic cliff-hangery ending, so I hope there's a book 2!

I've never read a Witness Protection-type book in YA before and I gotta say I enjoyed this one.

Overall: A really addicting debut for Ashley Elston!! I enjoyed the mystery and the romance element in it... I also thought it moved well and really held my attention, but wished the characters showed more of what they were feeling instead of spelling it out.

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This book kept me on my toes the entire time I read it.

I'd had this book on hold for a while and as such had totally forgotten the premise. From the initial scene, I thought that this book was going to be a technical dystopia, but I was wrong! One of the strongest aspects of this book was the understanding I gained of the Witness Protection Program and how it operates. This was an intriguing and original premise.

I think in a way there's some universal theme in wanting to push everyone away. While Meg had legitimate reasons for doing so, I related to her retreating into a shell and thought that Elston made her seem very realistic in doing so.

She and Ethan became pretty intense in their relationship, too intense for their age, but it was incredibly sweet and butterfly inducing to see the efforts he went to in caring for her. Still, I felt like he persisted in chasing her more out of stubbornness at some points--the amount of time he would have spent shuttling her from work to her home in his truck was unrealistic.

I enjoyed how this story had a few minor plotlines that, while not irrelevant, were different to the major plotline. Meg's mother's drinking problem specifically wasn't in anyway necessary to the plot.

It was refreshing to see her and Emma conflict and Ethan and Ben conflict--it felt all so trivial, which made this story seem all so real because those things do matter even within the big picture.

Meg's protectiveness over Teeny was really sweet but I loved that Meg talked about their past and how their relationship had evolved as their situation changed.

I'm not particularly good at solving mysteries before characters do, but I felt like this one was very well done and I was very excited and overwhelmed when I realized two twists near the end.

I did enjoy this book, but I don't find myself particularly compelled to read the sequel, possibly because a lot of the fun of this came in the pressure Meg had to keep the secret. I do recommend this one for anyone who enjoys young adult fiction with a lot of action and mysteries.
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She's been six different people in six different places: Madeline in Ohio, Isabelle in Missouri, Olivia in Kentucky . . . But now that she's been transplanted to rural Louisiana, she has decided that this fake identity will be her last.

Witness Protection has taken nearly everything from her. But for now, they've given her a new name, Megan Rose Jones, and a horrible hair color. For the past eight months, Meg has begged her father to answer one question: What on earth did he do-or see-that landed them in this god-awful mess? Meg has just about had it with all of the Suits' rules-and her dad's silence. If he won't help, it's time she got some answers for herself.

But Meg isn't counting on Ethan Landry, an adorable Louisiana farm boy who's too smart for his own good. He knows Meg is hiding something big. And it just might get both of them killed. As they embark on a perilous journey to free her family once and for all, Meg discovers that there's only one rule that really matters-survival.