Will You Be Wild About "Hysteria"?


Hysteria

Title:  Hysteria
Author:  Megan Miranda
Format:  E-galley
Length:  336 pages
Publisher: Walker Childrens
Rating:  3.5 stars

After stabbing and killing her boyfriend, sixteen-year-old Mallory, who has no memory of the event, is sent away to a boarding school to escape the gossip and threats, but someone or something is following her.  -Goodreads


My Thoughts
This book starts with a bang and is full of promise.  Mallory is a girl haunted by the night that she killed her boyfriend Brian and stalked by his distraught mother.
She hopes that things will be better when she is sent to Monroe, the exclusive boarding school of which her father is an alum.  What she finds there is anything but the safety that she craves.

Mallory as a person is someone that you never really get to know.  She is always acting or feeling within the context of someone else.
She is either:
1.  Trying to escape the memory of Brian.
2.  Missing her best friend Colleen
3.  Trying to figure out who had it in for her or knew her secret at school.
4.  Deciding what or what not to do about Reid.

The book starts to get predictable when she gets blamed for a happening at school.  (Saw that coming.)    Then there are the mysterious happenings that plague Mallory.  As the action and mystery start to build toward the end of the book;  the flashbacks  that describe the night of Brian's death start to confuse the plot.
The second plot flaw was more of a contradiction.  Mallory was sent to Monroe for a fresh start, but her love interest Reid was the son of her dad's best friend.  So, a great deal of the book is spent in flashbacks involving the two.

Some of the books finer points are:
1.  Mallory's relationship with Reid
2.  The "ta-dah" at the end.
3.  The parts of the book prior to Mallory's exile to Monroe.
 All in all, this is very good story.  It will appeal to those who are fans of books like "The Little Woods".

6 comments:

  1. Well, I have read mixed reviews of this book. But it does sound interesting, enough. I am going to check this out because I love mystery and intrigue.
    LOVED your review,
    Your constant reader,
    Soma
    http://insomnia-of-books.blogspot.com/

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  2. I've seen mixed reviews of this book as well, but it sounds interesting to me, so I want to give it a try and take a risk.

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  3. I've heard some mixed stuff on this, but I really like the premise, so I think I'd enjoy it. I've heard it's a bit chaotic, and I do like that, but I think it's interesting when we get to know characters through their interactions with others. I'm excited to give this book a shot.

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  4. I have heard some mixed reviews about this one, but I have to say that I still really want to read it. The premise is very intriguing. And I like books that are based in boarding schools. I also really like flashbacks in a story, if they are done well.Sounds like this is a book that I will just have to read and decide for myself if it is a good one. The one fact that can't be denied is that the cover is awesome!

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  5. Even though a lot of the reviews I've read have been up and down, I am really intrigued with this and it sounds like something I would love. Plus, I really love the cover

    Jolene A

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  6. I love reading new books and this one sounds good

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