FFBC BLOG TOUR: FIND ME BY ROMILY BERNARD

Find Me

Romily Bernard

307 pages

Publisher: Harper Teen / Simon & Schuster UK

Release Date: September 24th, 2013

Genre: Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller, Romance

Synopsis via Goodreads:

“Find Me.”

These are the words written on Tessa Waye’s diary. The diary that ends up with Wick Tate. But Tessa’s just been found . . . dead.

Wick has the right computer-hacking skills for the job, but little interest in this perverse game of hide-and-seek. Until her sister Lily is the next target.

Then Griff, trailer-park boy next door and fellow hacker, shows up, intent on helping Wick. Is a happy ending possible with the threat of Wick’s deadbeat dad returning, the detective hunting him sniffing around Wick instead, and a killer taunting her at every step?

Foster child. Daughter of a felon. Loner hacker girl. Wick has a bad attitude and sarcasm to spare.

But she’s going to find this killer no matter what.

Because it just got personal.

My Review:

Foster child. Daughter of a felon. Loner hacker girl. Wick has a bad attitude and sarcasm to spare. I believe the synopsis does a great job describing Wick our main character. However if I was able to make adjustments, there are a few other words I would throw in to describe her: Loyal, determined, passionate and caring.

Wick has had an usual upbringing to say the least. She has a drug lord for a father, and a mother who committed suicide. Now placed in foster care with her younger sister Lily, Wick is determined to save enough money to be able to have a stable home for herself and her sister. She is a hacker. A gifted computer genius who uses her skill to find out whether a woman's boyfriend/husband is remaining fateful to their significant other.

One morning she is shocked to find a mysterious package left for her on her foster home's front steps. It is a personal journal of a a classmate Tessa, with a post it that says FIND ME. Wick believes this to be suspicious, but when she goes to school and find out that Tessa had committed suicide, Wick is determined to get to the bottom of the story, and find out why the journal was given to her.

It had been a really long time since I had read a good thriller. Usually with thrillers, regardless if they are adult fiction or YA, I have the ability to guess the ending about a third way into the story. But I have to admit that with FIND ME, I had no idea where the author was going to take the story. I really enjoyed this story, and I have to admit Wick has just became one of my favorite YA heroines. I loved how dimensional the author made Wick's personality. She is brave and courageous, but at the same time weak and vulnerable. She is loyal to her sister, but at the same time scared of her father. Thanks to her unusual and dysfunctional childhood. She is unbelieving and does not trust love of any kind. Whether it is the love of a foster family who truly wants the best for her. Or the love of a boy, who wants to protect her and be there for her, even when she pushes him away.

There were so many amazing aspects to this story, that I had to give it a 5 out of 5 :)

Guest Post by Natalie D. Richards

Author of Six Months Later

An Letter Poem of Find Me Fangirl Love

by Natalie D. Richards

Okay, I should preface this with the statement that I loved everything about this book. From cover to cover, Find Me is a hotrod on crack, with hairpin turns and breathless descents into terror. It is So. Darn. Good.

But I will try to give you a quick play by play of just why I love it.

F is for Fierce. And fierce is for Wick. This character will live with me forever. She breaks my heart and makes me laugh. Bernard writes her with so much honesty and skill that it's a little mind-blowing. Lines like this one..."When Griff touches me, I feel like something inside me pitches sideways and breaks."

I is for Intense. Brace yourself. This book isn't for the faint of heart. It's a heart-pounding thrill ride from page one to page three hundred and seven.

N is for No, Please Don't End. I devoured this book so fast that I was desperate for the next installment the second I closed the first. While the conclusion does satisfy (oh, boy does it satisfy!) Wick's story is far from over and I want more. Thank God Remember Me (Book Two!) is due out next year.

D is for Dangerous. Bernard knows how to make the stakes matter. This book isn't dealing with a girl who's worried about a stolen car. This is a race for survival and no scene is wasted on the unnecessary. Tightly woven and perfectly paced, it is everything a thriller should be. I read, holding my breath, wondering if anything resembling a happy ending was possible. Pure genius.

M is for Masterful. Bernard's voice is fresh and intoxicating. Chapter endings like this one hooked me in, making me sigh and keeping me on the edge of my seat at the same time:

"I press my cheek between Griff's shoulder blades and hear my fear grow pulse and breath. The faster we go, the faster it follows."

I mean, really? Wow, right?

E is for Exciting. I think I've already made it clear this book is exciting, so that's not what I'm talking about. Reading this book made me feel like an early explorer. Like I'd stumbled across something new and untouched, a fresh voice that I have no doubt will be a huge force in this genre.

In short -- though nothing about this is short! -- this is a stunning debut from an author who's going to do some amazing things to the YA landscape. Can't wait to see what's next for Ms. Bernard because after finding Find Me, I know I'll need more!

I graduated from Georgia State University with a Literature degree. Since then, I’ve worked as a riding instructor, cell phone salesgirl, personal assistant, groom, exercise rider, accounting assistant, and, during a very dark time, customer service rep.