Because this YA novel is a retelling of Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca, I just had to read it! I very much enjoyed all of the Rebecca elements that Paige Harbison re-tooled.

I was surprised that the fact that it was a retelling was not mentioned anywhere on the book jacket or front matter, and I wondered why the publishers made that decision.

Trigger alert for rape. If you'd like to avoid this, you can simply skip all of Chapter Twenty, as the subject is never mentioned again. It's just for "character development" a la Tomb Raider. ( )

I agree with many of the reviewers opinions that this is a book to love or hate. I find this to be a good thing because a book that can create a strong opinion be it good or bad at least does not leave the reader feeling indifferent. So many YA stories are forgettable as soon as you close the book and this was not one of those stories. I admit I started out with an iffy feeling about this book but by the end I had throughly enjoyed the story. ( )

This book was pretty good. It felt a little unnecessarily drawn out at times. Also, it was pretty predictable. I did enjoy reading it and was happy I chose this book. The protagonist of the story was quite lovable and I found myself rooting for her! I also liked the male supporting characters. The female supporting characters were annoying and I wanted to punch them all. Oh, except for her family. I loved the mother and the little sister! ( )

This is one of the few times where I enjoyed the book however the characters were so unlikable I was amazed that I stuck through and finished the novel. It was well written enough that I was super curious as to what happened to Becca and whether she was really around or if she had a horrible outcome. The mystery element was well done to keep you guessing. The point of views changes between Becca and Callie’s. There’s a good easy flow between the two perspectives so it makes the reading easy to follow and quick.

That being said, the characters were just awful in a sense not that they were unreadable (almost) but they were just horrible awful people. Even our main character wasn’t that likable. However I digress. Let’s break them down:

Becca; Oh darling. You horrible awful attention seeking harpy. Not only do you have issues of your own but because you aren’t happy you feel the need to destroy others and to make sure you drag them down into the mud and follow you through your misery. I had no sympathies. Even when it was revealed what happened. Except for ...well you know.

Max: Another horrible creature and he’s pretty much meant for Becca anyway as they’re both rather terrible people. The “I like you but I don’t want to be together” spiel is ugh. On top of that after you say that you go and do the pursuing. You’re the emotional manipulative type just like Becca and it’s hard to figure out which one is worse. You emotionally play with the main character and give her the yo-yo treatment then get mad when she’s talking with your best friend..oh wait sorry let’s re-write that: “Best Friend”. Dude, you’re like a horrible Tinder date gone wrong.

Dana: You’re a psychotic twit and holy mother mary do you have issues. I get what happened and you stood there and was an observer but you lashing out and being Queen Horrible to Callie (main character) was inexcusable. This behavior can’t even be blamed on grief, you’re just pure malice. Your obsession with Becca is creepy it makes you look like the type of fangirl nobody ever wants.

Madison and Julia: You have no spines and you follow Becca like she’s a Goddess. Stop being sheep and your condescension towards Callie was uncalled for. You each deserve a swift kick for treating her like that.

Johnny: You broke the Bro-Code. You should be banned for life.

Callie: Where do I start with you? You started off as a great main character and a lot of sympathies to you because you started off on the wrong foot and in a precarious situation. However then you did this yo-yo game with Max saying “Yeah I like you but I never said I was going to be with you” sure, that was a savage burn on your part but you keep *whining* about how you like Max so much and he’s not returning the favor because of Becca but he keeps coming back to you like you’re the side piece and you don’t seem to mind that treatment. You try to stick up for yourself with Dana (which was admirable) but then you shrink back into your turtle shell and you just *walk* into these situations even though YOU KNOW it’s going to turn out with potentially bad consequences. You’re like the friend that complains about how horrible your significant other is treating you but you’re still with that person but you don’t listen to advice. You have got to be one of the most frustrating characters I have ever read so far.

Well now! That sums up my opinions of the characters. I say go for reading this one. It’s almost like you’re watching reality TV and it’s such a guilty pleasure but you can’t help but not look away. Maybe because the characters were just so hateful you had to keep on reading. You just wanted to know what was going to happen next. ( )

This book is okay but there are some characters which are truly obnoxious, especially Becca, the girl who is missing. The main protagonist has integrity and strong ethics, unlike most of the other students at Manderly. I would strongly suggest that this book be only read by older teenagers as there are a number of extremely explicit sex and drinking scenes. ( )