Two Sides to Every Murder
G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
An imprint of Penguin Random House
ISBN 9780241722046
eISBN 9780593352069
ASIN B0CH9GW9D6
I picked this up to read because my 13 year old daughter wanted to read it. I try and read most of what my kids read, especially if I am unfamiliar with the author. She had bought herself a copy of it with her own money. She had recently finished the The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes and is currently reading Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi, But she had heard some things about book 3 and wanted to wait. I was most of the way through this before she was ready to read it and I was a little hesitant. I shared my concerns with her, particular as Christians and as Catholics about some of the content. So she was on the fence. I finished the book and told her there are a few concerning parts but she discerned she would rather not read it and exchanged it for a different volume. I did finish it, and seeing as over the last several years I have reviewed everything I have read …
The description of this volume is:
“From the author of How to Survive Your Murder comes a propulsive thriller about two teens who return to the site of the famous murder case that sealed their fates.
Most people’s births aren’t immortalized in a police report—but Olivia was born during the infamous Camp Lost Lake murders. Seventeen years later, Olivia’s life looks pretty perfect . . . until she discovers the man she calls dad is not her biological father. Now she wants answers about her bloodline, and the only place she knows to look is Camp Lost Lake.
Most people don’t spend their formative years on the run with an alleged murderer—but Reagan did. In the court of public opinion, her mom was found guilty of the deaths at Camp Lost Lake, and both of them have been in hiding ever since. But Reagan believes in her mother’s innocence and is determined to clear her name.
Luckily for Olivia and Reagan, Camp Lost Lake is finally reopening, providing the perfect opportunity to find answers. But someone else is dead set on keeping the past hidden, even if it means committing murder.”
The story is geared to tweens or teens and maybe the Young Adult audience. I have read a lot of crime lit from around the world and I had put together a lot of the story well before it was finished. The main character tells us at one point that she had only previously date 1 boy and one girl. And that she did not have those kinds of feelings for her friend who was here helping her try and clear her mothers name. There is a fairly intense scene where another girl is showing interest in her and then they are hiding in close proximity and she is pouring out her feelings and reactions.
The actual plot is an intriguing concept. And there are some fun twists especially one at the very end of the story. Three and 2 start reviews are nearly as many as the 4 star and both the 3 and 4 eclipse the 5 star ones. A few people will love this, some will hate it. And others will be more ‘meh’. And I fall clearly in the ‘meh’ category, even if I remove the concerns. Because my blog and reviews focus mainly on Catholic and Christian books I would be hesitant to recommend this one. There are a lot of great reads out there both Christian and secular, my daughter decided not to spend her money on this one and that would be my recommendation. While researching this volume I discovered the author also publishes volumes under the name Danielle Vega, and if I had look at those books I would not have bothered reading this and would have discouraged my daughter even picking it up in the first place.
Books by Danielle Valentine:
How to Survive Your Murder
Delicate Condition
The Tale of the Twisted Toymaker
…
Books as Danielle Vega:
Signs of a Toxic Relationship
7 Days of Encouraging Declarations
Born to Win
Danielle Devastating Beauty
…
Haunted Series:
The Haunted
The Unleashed
…
Merciless Series:
The Merciless
The Exorcism of Sofia Flores
Origins of Evil
Last Rites
…
Books as Danielle Rollins:
Soiree
…
Burning Series:
Burning
Breaking
…
Dark Stars Series:
Stolen Time
Twisted Fate
Dark Stars
…
