Author: Nick Lake

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

In four hours, Shelby Jane Cooper will be struck by a car.

Shortly after, she and her mother will leave the hospital and set out on a winding journey toward the Grand Canyon.

All Shelby knows is that they’re running from dangers only her mother understands. And the further they travel, the more Shelby questions everything about her past—and her current reality. Forced to take advantage of the kindness of unsuspecting travelers, Shelby grapples with what’s real, what isn’t, and who she can trust . . . if anybody.

Award-winning author Nick Lake proves his skills as a master storyteller in this heart-pounding new novel. This emotionally charged thrill ride leads to a shocking ending that will have readers flipping back to the beginning.

After reading the synopsis for this, I was super excited to read it. It sounded like a fantastic thriller that would keep me on the edge of my seat. The writing style bothered me at first, but when I realized there was a reason that it was written that way, it was easy to just go with it. There was plenty of action and an emotional element to it, though I didn’t quite feel the level of emotion I wanted from it. There was also a really weird part of the plot that had me scratching my head. Like, I wasn’t aware that there was a paranormal or magical element to this. Anyways, I feel like I’m babbling, but it all makes sense when you finish the book.

Shelby is the one telling this story. It’s her recollection of what happened and she is writing it for us. I did have a little bit of a hard time with the writing style, but that’s not why. All the dialogue is just written in italics and there is no use of quotation marks. So moving on from that, I liked Shelby. She is very sheltered and her mom is super overprotective. Like, way too over protective. There is a reason why which we do discover. I felt for Shelby though. She really wanted to go out an do things and meet people. It’s just been her an her mom. She is home schooled and has no friends. It was sad really. Then she has these really weird dreams and she actually seems to be in an alternate world. Her feelings seemed so real and I could empathize with her. I really liked her story.

This had a lot of action to it both in the real world, and in her dreams. (When she enters the Dreaming, which may or may not be a real alternate world) It had a good pace to it so it never felt rushed or too slow. I pretty much guessed what was going on really early in the story, but it was still interesting to see where things lead and how it all ended up. It was a good thriller novel and I did quite enjoy it despite the odd way it’s written. Shelby was a great narrator for her story and it did feel like she was telling me what happened. I will definitely be picking up more books from this author.

3.5 Hot Espressos