Slide by Jill Hathaway
Grade: ADescription from goodreads.com:
Vee Bell is certain of one irrefutable truth—her sister’s friend Sophie didn’t kill herself. She was murdered.
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.
My thoughts on the book:
Slide kept me guessing until the end! It’s a fantastic murder mystery, and Hathaway does an excellent job of blending the paranormal and mystery genres. This novel had me so confused that I could not, for the life of me, figure out who the killer was. It ended up being the person I first suspected, but then Hathaway decided to completely mess with my head and make it seem like everyone was guilty. I wasn’t completely shocked when I figured out who the killer was, but by this point, I suspected everyone.
My one pet-peeve about the novel is that it is in present tense. I generally don’t like present tense novels, but it worked okay for this book. However, I would have liked it better had it been in past tense. With present tense books, I just picture people walking around narrating their lives out loud as they go along. Yea, I know, I’m strange.
I really enjoyed all of the characters, and the decision to put the book in Vee’s POV was a good one. I could actually see what she saw when she was sliding. It would not have worked as a third person narrative, so I’m glad that Hathaway made this decision.
Vee is very likable and mature beyond her years. Since her mother died from pancreatic cancer, she has had to act as the parent since her father is always at the hospital performing surgery. Unlike many YA books, he was present for a good part of the novel, though. I liked that the rest of her family wasn’t completely out of touch. Her sister, Mattie, grew as a character quite a bit, and I really liked her by the end of the novel as well. Rollins was my favorite from the beginning, and I liked that he was rebellious with a good heart. Vee grew immensely throughout the novel, and by the end of the book, it was obvious that she was finally coming into her own and learning to love herself.
Some of the secondary characters were cliches: Amber was the typical mean girl cheerleader, and Scotch was the typical skeeze quarterback. However, Hathaway made this work by incorporating more complex characters like Sophie, Mattie, Vee, Zane, and Rollins. Therefore, the stereotypes didn’t bother me that much. All of the characters were well-developed and three dimensional.
The mythology behind Slide was very interesting. Vee passes out when she touches something that belongs to and/or is important to someone else, and slides into his or her head. If the person didn’t imprint on it with strong emotions, then she’s unable to slide into his or her head. Her powers grow as the book continues, and she tells the back story of how she learned all of the “rules” of her power as well. There was no one there to tell her how to work her power, and she was the only person in the novel with supernatural abilities. She’s a strong and intelligent character to be able to figure out everything she needs to know without any guidance.
That being said, this is not a feel good book. There is a lot of death and really depressing lost in Slide. It rips your heart out a few times. I didn’t cry, but I was pretty sad during some of the scenes. The ending, though, is a bit happier, and things started to come together a bit. Also, I would recommend this book to someone 16+ because there are a ton of drug and sex references in it.
I can’t wait for the sequel to this novel. I liked Vee, and I’d like to see how else she can use her powers. Hathaway did an excellent job with this book, and I can’t wait to read what she comes up with next.