[Review: With Malice by Eileen Cook]

"With Malice"
Author: Eileen Cook
Series: None
Pages: 320
Genre: YA, Contemporary, Thriller
Date Published: June 7th, 2016
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Format Read: eARC provided by publisher (via Edelweiss) for honest review

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Summary:

A read about a teenage girl who wakes up in a hospital bed and cannot remember the last six weeks of her life, including the accident that killed her best friend--only what if the accident wasn't an accident?

Eighteen-year-old Jill Charron wakes up in a hospital room, leg in a cast, stitches in her face and a big blank canvas where the last 6 weeks should be. She comes to discover she was involved in a fatal accident while on a school trip in Italy three days previous but was jetted home by her affluent father in order to receive quality care. Care that includes a lawyer. And a press team. Because maybe the accident...wasn't an accident. Wondering not just what happened but what she did, Jill tries to piece together the events of the past six weeks before she loses her thin hold on her once-perfect life.

-Goodreads

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My Thoughts:

With Malice is the kind of YA thriller that I've been missing in my life lately. It's dark, and confusing, and it'll take you on a trip into the mind of someone who can't remember a life shattering event until people tell her what happened. I think that Cook is a genius for giving us the story from the view of someone who doesn't remember what happened. And the question of whether or not the accident was actually an accident will keep you on the edge of your seat. 

This book is one of those books that's hard to talk about. It's so convoluted that if you say too much you're going to give away a chunk of the plot. And nobody wants that. 

I will say that Jill's character was a really interesting one. Cook made sure that you felt for her, even though you knew she was an unreliable narrator. She can't remember the last six months of her life, and she's thrown into a confusing world that the people around her expect her to understand.

Most of the secondary characters are frustrating, and I disliked her father the most of all. But I am glad that Cook decided to give Jill a friend in the form of her roommate Anna. And that Cook actually uses Anna's character to move the plot along. 

If you love a good mystery, who done it, what really happened, type of book, then this is the one that you should be reading this summer. Plus some of the book takes place in Italy, and if that's not the perfect summer vacation spot I don't know what is. 

Rating:

5 Unicorns = Get your hands on this NOW!