The first novel in Elizabeth George's Young Adult series. This genre-bending work combines Elizabeth's flair for mystery and suspense with the paranormal.
Becca King and her mother are on the run from her stepfather who has used Becca's talent for hearing 'whispers' to make a large and illegal sum of money. Now their options for safety are running out. In the town of Langley on Whidbey Island, Becca finds refuge in the home of her mother's childhood friend while her mother continues on to Canada in search of safety.
But on her first day in town Becca meets sixteen years old Derric Nyombe Matheson a Ugandan orphan who was adopted as a ten-year-old by the town's Deputy Sheriff. Derric has a secret that no one on Whidbey Island knows. Derric and Becca form an un-severable bond. Becca is convinced that she's the only person who can truly help him, and just maybe Derric can convince Becca that life is too short to live on the run.
When I received this book for review, I hadn't heard of it. I knew nothing about it, but the blurb sounded interesting so I decided to read the Prologue. Before I realised it, I'd reached the end of Chapter Two, and was totally intrigued. Plus I couldn't wait to keep reading.
Becca King--this isn't her real name--is on the run from her stepfather. A man who has been using her unusual gift, of being able to hear other people's whispers, to his business advantage. But when she hears that he murdered his business partner, her mother finally decides to do something about keeping her daughter safe. The idea is to get her daughter to Whidbey Island, so Becca can stay with an old childhood friend of hers before she can find another, safer place for them both to live and never be found.
It sounds simple enough, but things start going wrong for Becca as soon as she gets on the ferry and she makes an instant enemy. Then she finds out that something awful happened to the woman who was supposed to help her. So her first night turns into a total nightmare, and she has nowhere to go. However, when she runs into Seth, a guy who points her in the right direction, she meets a woman called Debbie, which leads her to a place to live as well as someone who helps her enrol into school.
She also meets Derric, an all round good guy and athlete who happens to have an instant connection with her. However, the day Derric's involved in an accident in Saratoga Woods everything turns upside down because Becca is the one who finds him and places an anonymous call to 911 on the cell phone her mother left her. Derric ends up in a coma and since his adoptive father is the Deputy Sheriff, a serious investigation begins. One that puts Seth and Becca in the thick of suspicion...
The story is told in the POV of Becca, Seth, and Seth's ex-girlfriend, Hayley. Everyone seems to have a deep, dark secret on this island, which makes it very easy for the characters to start doubting each other. I loved how most of them misunderstood each other and allowed their personal insecurities to cloud their vision, as well as project things that weren't really there in others. I also really felt for Becca, as she tries her hardest to keep her head down and remain anonymous but instead gets herself into deeper trouble without intention.
The Edge of Nowhere is an absolute page-turner. An interesting and well written story about a young girl who suffers greatly with the troubling gift--or curse--she inherited, of being able to hear other people's thoughts. It's also a very emotional story, where every single character has a purpose and you feel their emotional scars and pain. Not to mention the mystery at the heart of it all, as everyone struggles to find out what really happened to Derric. Or the paranomal touch to everything.
I really enjoyed this excellent story, and the ending was... wow! What's going to happen next? Can't wait to find out.
The Edge of Nowhere, September 2012, ISBN 9781444719949, H&S Fiction
She also meets Derric, an all round good guy and athlete who happens to have an instant connection with her. However, the day Derric's involved in an accident in Saratoga Woods everything turns upside down because Becca is the one who finds him and places an anonymous call to 911 on the cell phone her mother left her. Derric ends up in a coma and since his adoptive father is the Deputy Sheriff, a serious investigation begins. One that puts Seth and Becca in the thick of suspicion...
The story is told in the POV of Becca, Seth, and Seth's ex-girlfriend, Hayley. Everyone seems to have a deep, dark secret on this island, which makes it very easy for the characters to start doubting each other. I loved how most of them misunderstood each other and allowed their personal insecurities to cloud their vision, as well as project things that weren't really there in others. I also really felt for Becca, as she tries her hardest to keep her head down and remain anonymous but instead gets herself into deeper trouble without intention.
The Edge of Nowhere is an absolute page-turner. An interesting and well written story about a young girl who suffers greatly with the troubling gift--or curse--she inherited, of being able to hear other people's thoughts. It's also a very emotional story, where every single character has a purpose and you feel their emotional scars and pain. Not to mention the mystery at the heart of it all, as everyone struggles to find out what really happened to Derric. Or the paranomal touch to everything.
I really enjoyed this excellent story, and the ending was... wow! What's going to happen next? Can't wait to find out.
The Edge of Nowhere, September 2012, ISBN 9781444719949, H&S Fiction
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