This was so, so excellent. I loved it. May change the number of stars to five after a day or so, but it was definitely a 4.5. Such wonderful writing. A perfectly told story. ( )

I actually have incredibly mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, Painchaud's writing is fun and fast--once I started reading, I couldn't bring myself to stop, and the book went by in a flash. There were moments where the writing and mix of emotions were spot-on. On the other hand... the voice didn't ring true, and the turmoil of the narrator felt rushed, at best. At various points, I felt like things were too heavy-handed, and that the book might have brilliant if the author had started a bit earlier and given the reader a chance to get to know the character Before things started rolling, instead of after. In some ways, it felt like the easy way out -- the character was already struggling before readers got a peak inside, and thus, the transformation was halfway over before the book even began (which, as you might guess, caused a fairly predictable unwinding of the plot and the characters).

So, yes, I've got mixed feelings. I don't think I'd recommend it, but I might read something else by Painchaud--especially if it weren't in a teenager's voice, as I think part of the problem here was that the voice just wasn't believable, too much of the time.

So, yeah, I don't know. I never really thought about not finishing, which says something, but I also can't imagine recommending it to another reader, which likely says far more. ( )

"Pretending to be Erica" was a quick, easy read but, for me, something was missing. I liked Violet's narration, but I never connected with her emotionally, nor was there was enough action, excitement or tension. However, I think fans of Ally Carter will enjoy this book. ( )

A girl, trained to be a con artist from a very early age, assumes the identity of a girl who went missing long ago. Interesting but, the setting didn't seem to ring true. ( )