Book Review: SILENT SISTER by Megan Davidhizar
Thanks to Netgalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Actual footage of me panicking after two chapters.
Funny story: Megan and I are critique partners. Not so funny story: THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I’VE READ ANY ITERATION OF THIS BOOK. Et tu, Megan!!!
In all seriousness, she did the right thing by making me wait. I’m not the best source of feedback for thrillers. But I will devour any genre of YA for a good time! I was THRILLED to receive a copy through Netgalley. You can bet your booty I texted Megan through every morsel of anxiety that this book dished out. And dish it did.
Look, I’ll be frank. I’m not great at structuring my reviews, and it’s not my style to get all academic about it (not to mention I only leave reviews for a handful of my favorite books, anyway). If you read this review and come to the conclusion that I’m a whackadoodle with organizational issues, just know that my reviews are a reflection of the absolute CHAOS I felt when I read the book in question. Nothing more than a drooling, two-thumbs-up recommendation.
Some context for SILENT SISTER: I'm a horribly slow reader. My 5-star all-time favorite books can take me a full week to finish.
I finished SILENT SISTER in less than 24 hours.
This book put my jaw on the floor. But first, it squeezed out EVERY OUNCE OF ANXIETY I DIDN'T KNOW I HAD. From page one, Megan Davidhizar smacks the reader in the face with a nightmare scenario. Grace is in the hospital. Her sister Maddy is missing, and at the rate things are going, she might not be found alive. The premise has everything: High-school field trip! Gossip! Bullying! Viral rumors! Gut-punch poetry! Sketchy teachers with something to hide! But it’s not the plot or the premise that sucked me in. What really sets this book apart is the intensity of the sister dynamic. No matter how much fun I have with thrillers and mysteries, they often leave me wanting when it comes to characterization and attachment (and honestly, my brain’s natural inclination to scream MORE CHARACTER, aka SLOWER PLOT, is probably the reason I’m not the best fit to critique a thriller!). And yet Megan managed to appease that character-thirsty side of my brain! Grace and Maddy's emotions made all the difference to my attachment level, especially through Maddy’s poems. The sisters had me by the throat to the point that my heart rate spiked in several scenes!
I hesitate to say more, to be honest. I believe this book is best experienced with premise-level information only. In short, I highly recommend this book, but be warned: Don't start it on a whim. Plan carefully. READING THIS BOOK GENUINELY STRESSED ME OUT TO THE POINT THAT I COULDN'T FUNCTION AT FULL CAPACITY WHEN I HAD TO STEP AWAY.
5/5 stars to SILENT SISTER! Make sure to add it to your TBR.