Friday, June 21, 2013

Review: Another Little Piece by Kate Karyus Quinn

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I received this book for free from HarperCollins in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Review: Another Little Piece by Kate Karyus QuinnAnother Little Piece by Kate Karyus Quinn
Published by HarperTeen on June 11th 2013
Genres: Mystery, YA
Source: HarperCollins
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four-stars

On a cool autumn night, Annaliese Rose Gordon stumbled out of the woods and into a high school party. She was screaming. Drenched in blood. Then she vanished.

A year later, Annaliese is found wandering down a road hundreds of miles away. She doesn't know who she is. She doesn't know how she got there. She only knows one thing: She is not the real Annaliese Rose Gordon.

Now Annaliese is haunted by strange visions and broken memories. Memories of a reckless, desperate wish . . . a bloody razor . . . and the faces of other girls who disappeared. Piece by piece, Annaliese's fractured memories come together to reveal a violent, endless cycle that she will never escape—unless she can unlock the twisted secrets of her past.

Whoa! This book has to be one of the strangest reads I’ve come across. I can see how its eccentric nature will not be for everyone, but for me the beautiful, often disturbing, writing style captivated me and never let go. It’s not the type of story that just anyone could pull off, the author definitely did some thinking outside the box for this one, and Quinn has my two thumbs up.

Calling this book Another Little Piece is quite fitting, as it felt like with every turn of a page, another piece of this mind-boggling puzzle was put in place – or at least moved a tiny bit closer. And this review is especially hard, because in almost every piece lies a spoiler. The first of these spoilers comes at the 15% mark, thus I’m not able to go into the plot itself, but let me just promise you that you will not have read anything quite like this before! I was shocked by what I was taking in at regular intervals in this book – and from someone who reads as much as I do, shock is a good thing! My advice: be very careful what reviews you read beforehand.

Annaliese has no recollection of the past year of her life, the year she disappeared. The character growth in this novel is substantial; we see Annaliese go through a complete remodeling from who we first meet. The girl at the start is timid and confused, yet she surprises you with the strength of character she possesses even then. As she finds out what happened to her, she transforms into the tough person she needs to be to weather this information, even refusing part of who she is. Because she gets to know her old self through flashbacks, and she’s learning who she is now, all the while fighting her inner demon, it makes it difficult to connect with this type of disjointed character. I wouldn’t have changed anything about her, however; this strangeness makes her character. Due to the nature of the plot, the secondary characters can take some situating, but they all become important players in this mystery. I especially liked Dex who has an oddity of his own to add even more complexity to this bizarre plot.

The writing is what makes or breaks a book like this, and this one makes it, completely and thoroughly. Quinn’s writing is at once terrifying and wonderfully addicting. I was haunted by some of the images that she produced, yet I was unable to stop imagining them, in greater detail each time. Suffice it to say, those who are easily queasy may have to skip a few passages in this one. Aside from her skill for the disturbing, Quinn is also a master at intricately layering her tale. It begins as what feels like a jumble of words and events, until, little by little, we begin the deciphering process. With her show rather than tell manner, we’re left to our devices to bring this story together with what we’re given, which I highly appreciate even though I was confused as all heck at the end. A re-reading of the last chapter and a discussion with a friend amended that, some, but I’m still not sure how I feel about it.

Profoundly original and disturbingly odd, I think everyone should experience Another Little Piece. Not because I believe everyone will love it, but because I think everyone should experience the anomaly that it is.

four-stars

4 Hot Espressos

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Canadian blogger, wife, mother, coffee lover, and sarcastic at heart! She has had a love for all things bookish since before Amazon and eReaders existed *le gasp*. You can also find her organizing tours and other fun things at Xpresso Book Tours.

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31 Responses to “Review: Another Little Piece by Kate Karyus Quinn”

  1. Nick

    I’m hitting myself in the head for not downloading a copy of this one when I had a chance. Your review has be very intrigued about what exactly is disturbing in the book. I’m going to have to see if my library has a copy. You definitely did a great job at not making the book even more intriguing in your review, Giselle!
    Great review!

  2. Amy

    I’m almost done with this one now. I would have finished it last night, but I was too occupied to read. Lol!! I am really enjoying it though, and now that all the excitement has left my town, I should be able to finish it today. Great review babe!!

  3. Jenni @ Alluring Reads

    I am so happy that you came to like this one so much. I was so sucked into the story that I could not stop reading it and just breezed through the entire book. I loved the twists but the writing was the star for me as well. Ugh, SO GOOD!

  4. Kristin A.

    I liked this one but I didn’t love it. The writing was lovely but the romance didn’t work for me and I would’ve liked a bit more show in the story. Glad you enjoyed this one though.

  5. Alexa Y.

    What intrigues me about this one is that it sounds so very different from what I’d normally read! The creepy factor is the only thing preventing me from reading it, as I’m easily spooked. But your review, combined with Margot’s fauxto, makes me want to check it out!

  6. Megan K.

    This one actually reminded me a lot of Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma – both were strange but still so beautiful and enchanting at the same time. I don’t think everyone will love it either, but it’s still worth reading! Glad you liked this, Giselle, and fab review!

  7. Millie

    I absolutely loved this book! It was so creepy and I couldn’t stop reading it. I definitely agree that this style won’t be for everyone, but I think I might possibly recommend this book to everyone I meet. I’m so glad that you enjoyed this one! It’s definitely one of my favorites of this year.
    Cheers!

    Millie @ Millie D’s Words

  8. Aneeqah

    This seems so wonderfully crazy. I’m glad that Quinn has the writing skills to really pull this off, and layer the story so well. I also love being surprised in books, so it’s awesome to hear that you were in shock for so much of the book. 😀 I love when an author totally dumbfounds me. I’m so excited to read this one, I’ve heard some great things.

    Lovely review, Giselle! <3

    -Aneeqah @ My Not So Real Life

  9. Mary @ BookSwarm

    Strong character development and progress is always a good thing. I’m not sure about the being confused at the ending…but the story sounds like it might be worth the effort!

  10. Jess LiteraryEtc

    I agree with your review especially with the writing. We’re left with more questions than answers, but I’m okay with that because in life sometimes we don’t get it. I LOVED Annaliese’s poems!

  11. Kit Grindstaff

    This sounds awesome! I was aware of the book but had never read the full blurb, and your review has totally hooked me. Creepy…flashbacks…inner demons…Definitely one I’ll be adding to my (very teetering) pile.

  12. Aman

    This book was not even in my to-read list, but the odd, well-executed story is really making me take a second look. I don’t know what to make of it, but I’m definitely intrigued. Wonderful review, Giselle! I need to get a copy of this book!

  13. Jenn Renee

    awesome review. I have this on my list and can’t wait to read it. I love when stories let out a little bit at at time, makes it fun to try and figure out what is going on.

  14. Eileen

    I feel like such a huge black sheep because I really didn’t like this one, because the plot was so confusing! I felt like the fact that spoilers were everywhere confused me, and then the writing confused me even more, so I couldn’t get into it at all. But I’m happy that you enjoyed the character development, the plot, and the pretty writing! I definitely see why everyone loves this book so much, even if I didn’t like it >.<

    Fantastic review, Giselle!

  15. Melanie

    Like Eileen, I was a black sheep and got a little confused here and there. Yet I did find the writing beautiful and the atmosphere well created. Sadly, Annaliese and me could not relate well.

    Fantastic review nonetheless! <33

  16. teenagebookcritic.com

    Wow. This book sounds phenomenal. I love stories where you have to piece everything together to make any sense of it because of their intellectual rigor and brilliant plot twists, and it sounds like there is fascinating character development in this book on top of the puzzle, so I will have to find a copy next time I’m at the bookstore!

    Getty Hesse

  17. Amanda

    I’m all for reading unusual books. And I love it when authors do find something unique to bring to the table, which this certainly sounds as though is the case here. Thanks for the advice about not reading too many reviews of this. If you think that the first twist occurs only 15% into the novel, then I imagine it would be quite difficult to read many reviews without getting spoiled to some extent. Lovely review, Giselle! I’ll have to keep this in mind when I want a dark and creepy read!

  18. Lauren

    I loved this one as well 🙂 I thought her writing was fabulous and I was really surprised that I loved it as much as I did(I’m not really one for much horror or gore). Totally agree that everyone needs to read it! Great review 😀

  19. Christina

    Congrats! From what I’ve seen everyone either 2 or 4/5 stars this. You are in the crowd of happy, creeped out people, rather than annoyed, confused people. *throws confetti* Which crowd will I be in? WHO KNOWS? But I will try this, because Blythe put it in STS.

  20. Bellas Shelf

    I am so happy I have this in my e*reader! I think Ill love it. Im not sure though..
    Your a tough customer sometimes GiGi. I love books you hate, I hate books you love.I think you’ll like it & nope. lolz!
    I remember your feelings towards Unwind. I love that series! BETA too. I loved that one. I am curious as to what you’ll think of Marie Antoinette Serial Killer..Hmm….