Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Featuring: Lana
400 pages ISBN: 1481418890 EAN: 9781481418898 Kindle: B01675AFX8 Hardcover / e-Book Add to Wish List
Teenager Lana's life has been less than wonderful during the
last several months. Actually, it had begun years ago when
her mother committed suicide in front her. Then, her father
met and married a nice woman who came along with a son who
is two years older than Lana. Ben and Lana form a fast and
close relationship that Lana really loves. Things had been
pretty good for her until she hit about 14. That was when
her best friend, Becca, started blowing her off for the
"cool" crowd. Everything is fine, though, because Lana makes
another best friend, Willa. They have the same goals in life
and spend lots of time together.
Things change drastically during the beginning of their last
summer before graduating and going off to college. Ben is
murdered in a rather bizarre manner right in front of Lana.
His body is never found and his mother is so shattered that
she is placed in a psychiatric home so that she can recover.
Even worse, Lana cannot seem to remember what happened that
night.
Suddenly, Lana is being courted by Becca and her circle
friends. Not only that, but Josh, a guy she has carried a
crush around for years, is finally starting to notice her.
Of course, she still has a lot of pain to deal with
regarding the loss of Ben, but it is starting to feel right
to her that she lives again.
It is during an outing with those friends at a local
swimming place that Lana's life seems to flip again. She
dives from a cliff and finds a body trapped underwater. When
the body is brought up, the young woman turns out to be
Maggie, Ben's ex-girlfriend, who had also been there the
night Ben was killed.
From there, things get really weird, but it does not stop
there. When there are more deaths around Lana, she realizes
that it is vital for her to regain memories of her past if
she is to have a future.
THE TELLING is a captivating novel that was probably written
for young adults but I feel that it is a book that adults of
all ages will enjoy. Creepy and strange, Alexandra Sirowy
has crafted a story that will enthrall readers right up to
the very end. I was a bit unhappy to see the ending even
though everything was explained by then. I just still wanted
more.
Many times, characters in books geared for young people are
a bit too overdone; like adults that are really trying to be
"cool," but are coming off as trying too hard. Ms. Sirowy
makes her young characters actually sound and behave the way
you would expect them to be in the real world. Not only
that, but THE TELLING is a story that is so compelling and
mysterious that I had a hard time leaving it to do things
like laundry, cooking, etc.
Something you need to understand with THE TELLING is that
nothing is what it seems to be. When you are positive that
you know what is happening; you will find that you could not
be more wrong. THE TELLING is a book that makes you want to
leave all the lights on, all the doors locked and constantly
keep looking over your shoulder. You're going to love it!
A chilling new novel about a girl who must delve into her
past if she wants to live long enough to have a future when
a series of murders that are eerily similar to the dark
stories her brother used to tell start happening in her
hometown.
Lana used to know what was real. That was before,
when her life was small and quiet. Her golden stepbrother,
Ben was alive. She could only dream about bonfiring with the
populars. Their wooded island home was idyllic, she could
tell truth from lies, and Ben’s childhood stories were
firmly in her imagination.
Then came after.
After has Lana boldly kissing her crush, jumping into
the water from too high up, living with nerve and mischief.
But after also has horrors, deaths that only make
sense in fairy tales, and terrors from a past Lana thought
long forgotten. Love, blood, and murder.