Find Me by Romily Bernard [Review]

3 out of 5 Robots!

  

Find Me by Romily Bernard
Series: Find Me #1
Genre: YA Contemporary Fiction/Thriller
Release: September 24, 2013
Hardcover:  307 pages Pages
Publisher: HarperTeen
My Copy: Purchased
Reviewer: Shannon

Book Summary:

“Find Me.”

These are the words written on Tessa Waye’s diary. The diary that ends up with Wick Tate. But Tessa’s just been found . . . dead.

Wick has the right computer-hacking skills for the job, but little interest in this perverse game of hide-and-seek. Until her sister Lily is the next target.

Then Griff, trailer-park boy next door and fellow hacker, shows up, intent on helping Wick. Is a happy ending possible with the threat of Wick’s deadbeat dad returning, the detective hunting him sniffing around Wick instead, and a killer taunting her at every step?

Foster child. Daughter of a felon. Loner hacker girl. Wick has a bad attitude and sarcasm to spare.

But she’s going to find this killer no matter what.

Because it just got personal.

(Courtesy of the Publisher)

Shannon's Thoughts:

Wick and her sister Lily, are in foster care after their drug dealing dad is sent to prison.  They've gone from living in a trailer park with junkies to living in the nice part of town with the perfect parents.  But Wick is always afraid that the carpet will be pulled out from under her, so she does hacking work on the side for extra money in case they find themselves on the street.  Wick is kind of a no nonsense, loner type girl.  She doesn't trust very many people, but is fiercely loyal to her sister.  But after Wick's classmate and ex-best friend committed suicide, Tessa's diary mysteriously shows up on Wick's doorstep with the words, "Find Me".  It turns out Tessa was having an illicit affair and that person might hold the key to why Tessa killed herself.  Wick is intrigued and wants to help find the mystery boyfriend.  But by doing so, she is putting herself and her family in harm's way.

I seem to be in the minority for this book.  Everyone seemed to really really like it, but I found it to be just okay.  There wasn't really anything I found particularly wrong with it, but for me, it lacked depth.  At the start, I wasn't sure how I felt about the hacker plot.  And after reading this book, I realize I don't have much interest in the intricacies of hacking.  Luckily, Bernard does not spend a lot of time on the hacking details.  She also keeps the plot moving at a fairly fast pace, which is great for the suspenseful situations, but it doesn't leave a lot of time for character development.  I never quite felt that the relationships were genuine and I wished the supporting characters had more depth to them.  And I never quite understood anyone's motivations for doing anything.  As I mentioned, there was just a lack of development overall.  I also figured out who the killer was almost immediately.  That was annoying because it seemed so obvious (especially if you've watched a lot of crime TV, haha!)

Overall, not a particularly bad book, but I felt it could have been better.  The writing style was a bit choppy for me and I wished the plot had been strong and the characters more developed.