Review:
Title: Hysteria
Author: Megan Miranda
Publisher: February 5, 2013
Publication Date: Walker Childrens
Format: Hardcover
Genre: YA; Mystery, Psychological, Romance
Blurb:
Mallory killed her boyfriend, Brian. She can’t remember the details of that night but everyone knows it was self-defense, so she isn’t charged. But Mallory still feels Brian’s presence in her life. Is it all in her head? Or is it something more? In desperate need of a fresh start, Mallory is sent to Monroe, a fancy prep school where no one knows her . . . or anything about her past.But the feeling follows her, as do her secrets. Then, one of her new classmates turns up dead. As suspicion falls on Mallory, she must find a way to remember the details of both deadly nights so she can prove her innocence-to herself and others.
My Thoughts and Reflection:
I picked this book up at the local library recently. I’d seen it around and had been meaning to pick up, because the cover really caught my eye. I didn’t realize what I was really getting into.
This story is told in broken flashbacks and current narration. The style is akward and effects the flow of the plot. Mallory comes across as crazy in the beginning of the book. We know that she killed her boyfriend, she knows that she killed her boyfriend, but she doesn’t remember killing her boyfriend. So yeah, Mallory is crazy.
After Mallory moves to Monroe (the boarding school) and that whole bit starts, all of her interactions become strained and bizarre. She starts having weird flashback realities, nightmares, and as the reader the line between her mind and the real world starts to blur. Oh, and her addiction to sleeping pills certainly is a factor in all of this.
Mallory is a hard character to like. Because we don’t know the situation in which she killed her boyfriend (although it’s claimed self defense) the reader can’t decipher if she is a good person who got into a bad situation, or if she took unnecessary measures. Her craziness isn’t exactly a plus in the whole story.
Mallory’s romantic status in the book is absolutely revolting. It’s unrealistic, and this love interest is ridiculously unattractive. Her previous relationship with him is brought up multiple times, and yet they never talk about it nor does it affect the way that their new relationship progresses. But it should. Mallory isn’t exactly in a good state of mind, but considering her last romantic venture, I think that she would have been a little bit more cautious.
Mallory’s best friend Colleen has the most bizarre role in this book. She and Mallory clearly have a tough as nails relationship, but it’s oddly presented. Colleen is unneccsaryily part of this story, she serves no purpose except at the end, which is just a mess in itself. Colleen has family problems that aren’t justly addressed, and it makes her character seem unimportant. (Which it really is, but it wasn’t supposed to be).
Now for the end of this book. I’m not even sure how to describe how bizarre the ending was. So many things happened that didn’t really make sense. Obvious foreshadowing from earlier in the book finally poked it’s head out only to waltz around making no sense and not at all following the direction that the book was going in (and not in an exciting plot twist sort of way). Many loose ends were clumsily tied up, often times rushed.
Conclusion:
What could have been a fantastic Psychological Mystery turned into a major flop. Inconsistencies in Mallory’s demeanor put the book of kilter and affected my reading experience. The plot was drab and felt receptive because Mallory never changed her thoughts until the very end; there was no gradual build up. While I was disappointed with the execution, Miranda’s unique idea draws readers in. As an author I have a feeling she will grow and work out some of her weaknesses that were exemplified in this book.
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