This author knows how to mess with her readers' heads & I love that.

In the past few years, I've read [b:The Leaving|26073074|The Leaving|Tara Altebrando|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1464526602s/26073074.jpg|42308587] and [b:The Possible|31450942|The Possible|Tara Altebrando|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1472702681s/31450942.jpg|52153776]-- and I thought both had interesting concepts and twisty reveals. Reading this book, I could totally tell it was an Altebrando book. There's just something about the way her books flow and the way the main character isn't exactly someone who you want to like, that makes her books stand out.

Natalie is on a cruise and meets a guy-- which is exciting because she's been very unfeeling since the death of her boyfriend. Before she can even ask his name, he's gone. He stood her up after saying odd things and taking an even odder selfie. When the cruise ship starts doing a headcount, Natalie is convinced he jumped. Her friends are more skeptical. The mystery is too strong for Natalie to ignore, and as she gets deeper into the mysterious boy's life & family, things get complicated and romantic at the same time.

Natalie was one of those girls that I root for despite the fact that she got on my last nerve. She really would rather believe that a dude jumped than think that maybe he just ditched her. She was obsessed with the entire weirdo-dude thing to the point where she wasn't enjoying her vacation or being present with her friends in any way. That alone made me want to shake her. Snap out of it, mind your business, and actually BE IN THE MOMENT with your girls!!!

The friends were a whole other thing. I went back and forth from being super annoyed at them for not being supportive (and pissed at them for hiding shit), to agreeing that I would've been annoyed at Natalie too. I do think this book has some strong friendship & forgiveness messages that were heartwarming-- and I liked them!

What I loved: Holy Jesus Moly. Every single time I started to get bored with the "missing" guy, the author would drop a bomb to get me back into it. When the ending came, it felt like a completely normal ending-- better than normal even because it wasn't the typical "a guy fixed my life" ending-- but then I read the last page. And !!!!!!!!!! That last page made me remember why I love Tara Altebrando's books. She GOES for it. She made me read a whole book, feel good about it-- and then it got flipped turned upside down in 2 paragraphs making me question EVERYTHING!

OVERALL: I am in it for the twists!! The author's books rarely have any characters in them that I like, but they make up for it with PLOT. I love reading a book that tries for something different-- something shocking. I totally 100% recommend this book. It's so SUMMER and TWISTY and ADDICTING.

My Blog:
Pink Polka Dot Books
( )

teen suspense fiction, with twists
"There's no hiding on a cruise ship... not even from yourself." Really? C'mon, Tara, you can insist on better.
This was fun, though a bit dumb--why would a teen who's been sexually assaulted keep pursuing a very mysterious and suspicious guy that everyone agrees is potentially dangerous, even his own twin brother, who is also mysterious and suspicious? Just, don't. At the very least, drag a girlfriend with you everywhere.
It was pretty suspenseful and twisty (enjoyable enough for me to finish), though the premise was weak--I would probably recommend one of the author's other books instead. ( )

On a seventeenth-birthday cruise with her parents and three friends just months after her boyfriend died, Natalie is surprised to connect with a fellow passenger, who then mysteriously disappears. ( )

Found the "movie" narrative she was writing throughout the book super annoying until the end. I also am not a big enough Hitchcock fan to catch all the movie references - I got a few of them but I also didn't know some.
Found the ending intriguing and enjoyable and it made me glad that I finished the book. I think students will like it although it has a reference to penises on page 28 and some might find that objectionable although it's quite humorous. ( )