Betwixt

by Melissa Pearl

YA Contemporary

Book Description

Beautiful, wild-child Nicole Tepper is hit by a car and left for dead. But when she wakes the next morning, Nicole finds herself in bed without a scratch. Perhaps she was more intoxicated than usual, as her mother is giving her the silent treatment and her friends are ignoring her as well.

Things take a turn for the weird when Nicole soon discovers she is actually hovering between life and death. Her body is lying in the forest while her spirit is searching for anyone who can hear her. Unfortunately the only person who can is Dale Finnigan, the guy she publicly humiliated with a sharp-tongued insult that has left him branded.

Desperate, Nicole has no choice but to haunt Dale and convince the freaked-out senior to help her. Will he find her body before it’s too late? Or will the guy who tried to kill her with his car, beat him there and finish her off before anyone finds out?

MY THOUGHTS: 3.5 OUT OF 5 FLEURS DE LIS

Betwixt by Melissa Pearl

Nicole has been hanging out with the wrong crowd for the past couple of years, giving herself a bad reputation. One night she is walking home when she is struck my a car and left on the side of the road to die. Unfortunately, because of who she is and the things she had done before, her friends and family think she has just run away for good.

While Nicole’s body lies in the forest, her consciousness can still move around, ghostlike. The only person that can hear her pleas for help is Dale Finnigan, the scarred boy she makes fun of. But she has to take help where she can get it, and so Dale begins to investigate just what happened to Nicole so he can try to find her. By working together, they discover that the ideas they had about each other before, couldn’t be further from the truth.

Almost as soon as I started reading this book, I noticed the plot was very similar to a movie that came out several years ago, The Invisible. But, that’s OK, right, since nothing is ever completely original anymore. Nevertheless, I tried to enjoy the story but had some problems with it.

Nicole has been on a self destructive path ever since the loss of her sister. She goes out, gets drunk, hooks up with guys, and hangs out with friends who really couldn’t care less about her. She’s also very mean and snarky to anyone who is not in her circle. So even though she knows Dale is a super sweet guy and they have a lot in common, she still insults him in front of her friends. I really didn’t like her too much, at least in the beginning.

Dale is really awesome and way more forgiving towards Nicole than I would have been. They both have had to deal with their share of grief, one thing that bonds them together strongly. Needless to say, it’s still rather awkward when the one guy that can save Nicole’s life is the one who she’s been vicious towards.

Now, I know this is a book, and I’ve never had to be in this unlikely situation. But if I were Nicole, I would be bothering Dale DAY AND NIGHT until he found me. No way in HELL I would have been sitting around watching him write his novel and eat dinner with his parents and such while I was slowly dying! (HIGHLIGHT FOR SLIGHT SPOILER) I think it took 2 days and 2 days of her laying in the cold forest until she was found? Good thing the story is set in California..anywhere else and she’d have died, quickly.

Anyway, the things I really did like about this book were the family dynamics. Nicole’s relationship with her mom and dad was forever changed by her sister’s death, and so was her parents’ marriage, for that matter. After Nicole is missing too, the whole family realizes the way they’ve been living and the need to change.

I believe a major theme of the novel is second chances…both giving them to others, and realizing you may need to give yourself one, as well.

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About the Author

Melissa Pearl was born in Auckland, New Zealand, but has spent much of her life abroad, living in countries such as Jordan, Cyprus and Pakistan… not to mention a nine month road trip around North America with her husband. “Best. Year. Ever!!” She now lives in China with her husband and two sons. She is a trained elementary teacher, but writing is her passion. Since becoming a full time mother she has had the opportunity to pursue this dream and her debut novel hit the internet in November, 2011. Since then she has produced three more books with her fifth novel, Betwixt.

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Links to find/buy book:

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5314516.Melissa_Pearl

http://www.amazon.com/Betwixt-ebook/dp/B00A1M5NK4/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1353937300&sr=1-1&keywords=betwixt

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/betwixt-melissa-pearl/1113732806?ean=9781479165919

Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/melissapearl

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