Vee knows this because she was there. Everyone believes Vee is narcoleptic, but she doesn’t actually fall asleep during these episodes: When she passes out, she slides into somebody else’s mind and experiences the world through that person’s eyes. She’s slid into her sister as she cheated on a math test, into a teacher sneaking a drink before class. She learned the worst about a supposed “friend” when she slid into her during a school dance. But nothing could have prepared Vee for what happens one October night when she slides into the mind of someone holding a bloody knife, standing over Sophie’s slashed body.
Vee desperately wishes she could share her secret, but who would believe her? It sounds so crazy that she can’t bring herself to tell her best friend, Rollins, let alone the police. Even if she could confide in Rollins, he has been acting off lately, more distant, especially now that she’s been spending more time with Zane. Enmeshed in a terrifying web of secrets, lies, and danger and with no one to turn to, Vee must find a way to unmask the killer before he or she strikes again. (From Goodreads)
About a year ago I went with two of my friends to Barcelona. I got pick-pocketed within the first five minutes, we got lost - a lot, one of my friends hurt her knee and couldn't walk, our hostel was dirty and ridiculously loud (I'm talking reggae music BLASTING at seven in the morning loud), and it rained the whole time. Yet, I absolutely loved Barcelona. I knew it was a special city because even though the trip itself wasn't ideal, I had a great weekend. Why am I telling you this? Because, I'm not big into mysteries, yet I loved this book and that's how I know that it's something special. Vee is one of those characters that I'd like to think is like Barcelona - beautiful, vibrant, real, and quirky no matter the circumstances.
Vee is an exceptional heroine. She's strong, smart, and loyal. She shoulders a lot of burdens and it takes a lot for her to ask for help. She's pretty much assumed that she has to walk alone because of her condition. But really, what would you do if you passed out and slid into someone else's body? Would you tell people about it? I loved the way that Jill Hathaway handled that aspect of the story, because it added this magical realism element that really upped the level from ordinary to extraordinary. Then there's Rollins - one of my new favorite book boys. He's an angry teenage dream. He's got the secrets and the darkness, he's a writer, he's tough - oh, and his lip is pierced. Perfect.
What struck me most while reading, though, was that this is one of the best representations of a high school that I've ever read. Or at least it felt exactly what it felt like when I was in high school (minus the murder). I don't know if it's because Jill Hathaway is a teacher and her surroundings just bled into her writing naturally or if it was Vee's ability to slide into other people and thus present different views of high school. All I know was I had some serious flashbacks to my own high school days with the way she talked about hallways and lockers, the principal sneaking up out of no where, the cool teachers, the scary teachers - OH and the way that these kids actually go to class. Funny how many books have school as a central setting, but so rarely actually talk about characters going to class.
Oh, and there's a murder but people think it's a suicide so there's the mystery that threads through the story. But, after reading this, that's just the hook and the force driving the reader through. There are other things much more important going on - family, friends - who can you trust, how do you escape bad memories, how do you deal with losing people - either to death or by distance? How do you come together? Understand one another? Give a little and let someone really know you? These are the things that make reading this book worth it.
