Book Review: Impostor by Jill Hathaway

Impostor
Slide #2
Author: Jill Hathaway
Reading Level: YA
Genre: Paranormal/Fantasy
Release Date: March 26th 2013
Review Source: Harper Collins
Available: Amazon

Summary: (from goodreads) Impostor by Jill Hathaway has descriptive copy which is not yet available from the Publisher.

What if a killer took control of you?

Vee Bell’s gift (or curse) of “sliding”—slipping into the mind of another person and experiencing life, briefly, through his or her eyes—has been somewhat under control since she unwillingly witnessed the horrific deaths of her classmates six months ago.

But just as things are getting back to normal, Vee has a very bizarre experience: she loses consciousness and finds herself in a deserted area, at the edge of a cliff, with the broken body of the boy who took advantage of her on the rocks below.

As Vee finds herself in stranger and stranger situations with no memory of getting there, she begins to suspect that someone she knows has the ability to slide—and that this “slider” is using Vee to exact revenge on his or her enemies.

Impostor immediately grabbed a mean hold of me and sucked me right in. Jill Hathaway did a fantastic job of continuing the storyline from her first novel, Slide. The main character Sylvia, known as Vee is a teenager who likes to stay in the background. She is not much of an outgoing, rah rah cheerleader type, but more of the hide in the background and stay to herself kind of girl. Her secret? She can slide into other people, providing she has an item of theirs that they have some sort of emotional attachment to. She can see and hear what they are doing and can even make the person do and act as she pleases. Teachers, family and friends think that she has narcolepsy, although it is actually her ability to slide. It just appears as though she has fallen asleep while doing so.

Her father is a Doctor and her mother passed when she was a small child. Vee has a great relationship with her younger sister Mattie, and has such an emotional attachment to her best friend, Rollins. What she doesn't realize is that she is slowly falling in love with Rollins, as he is the only one who knows her ability to "slide", which only strengthens their bond.

The story gets really amazing when she finds herself behind the wheel of her father's car in the middle of the night. Vee does not drive, so this is a huge surprise when she "wakes up" driving. Vee immediately has the idea that someone has slid into her, but she knows that she is the only one who has this extraordinary ability, so who could have done this? The next morning, there is a knock on the door and who does appear, but her long lost aunt that she has never met and is the spitting image of her deceased mother. Strange things and findings start happening since her aunt showed up, so Vee immediately assumes that she is to blame for being "slid" into. Accidents begin happening and they seem to be getting worse and worse and happening often. Who could it be? Why would anyone slide into Vee? What do they want to find out? Only reading it can give you the answers to your questions!

This book has been moved to the top of my YA books. Captivating, thrilling, moving, emotional and definitely exciting! It is a must read for any avid reader. You will not be disappointed!!

Book Review: Slide by Jill Hathaway

Slide
Slide #1
Author: Jill Hathaway
Reading Level: YA
Genre: Fantasy/Paranormal
Release Date: March 27th 2012
Review Source: Balzer + Bray
Available: Slide

Summary: (from goodreads) 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.

Suspenseful, page turner, “who did it” feel is what you get when you read the pages of Slide by Jill Hathaway. This type of genre in the young adult literature world is currently very small in number, but quickly on the rise, with Slide as a very nice addition.

The main character Vee is faced with a unique ability, or disability, whichever way the reader views it. It is an action that Vee is very reluctant to share, with anybody. When surrounded by just the right amount of emotions, feelings, or the constant simple contact of an object, once exposed, Vee can slide into the body, soul and mind of that person. Many times her body alerts her quickly, but within seconds, to those surrounding her, she passes out into an unconscious state. However, to Vee she has entered another person, looking at the world through their eyes. Looking at what is happening at that exact moment in time.

Unfortunately, for Vee, that moment in time is death. She looks at her sister Mattie’s best friend Sophie and realizes that this is a murder. The entire community feels that Sophie’s death was by suicide, however Vee knows better and makes it her mission to prove it. This story is filled with many supporting characters, her sister, her father, her best friend Rollins, and the new kid in town, Zane. Don’t expect a lot of love interest in this novel, as this is truly suspenseful through and through.

Jill’s writing flows very smoothly from the beginning to the end. Her strengths in her writing is truly attributed to the descriptions that she offers the readers when describing her characters. Just like the title, the reader can slide into each character and see the plot thicken with each page turn. The climax is a shocker, so be prepared, I never saw that one coming. Just when I thought it was going to be a predictable ending I was proven wrong very quickly. The events of this novel were truly planned out and presented in such a way that when reading this, I could not wait to get to the end to find out the answer to the question that you are faced with right from the start. Need a brief getaway to a genre less traveled, slide into Jill Hathaway’s novel. You won’t come out until you are finished!!!