Another Little PieceAuthor: Kate Karyus Quinn
Published by: HarperTeen
Publication Date: June 11, 2013
Format: eARC
Pages: 419
Source: Publisher
On a cool autumn night, Annaliese Rose Gordon stumbled out of the woods and into a high school party. She was screaming. Drenched in blood. Then she vanished.
A year later, Annaliese is found wandering down a road hundreds of miles away. She doesn't know who she is. She doesn't know how she got there. She only knows one thing: She is not the real Annaliese Rose Gordon.
Now Annaliese is haunted by strange visions and broken memories. Memories of a reckless, desperate wish . . . a bloody razor . . . and the faces of other girls who disappeared. Piece by piece, Annaliese's fractured memories come together to reveal a violent, endless cycle that she will never escape—unless she can unlock the twisted secrets of her past.
Another Little Piece is the perfect title for this book. This is a book that will keep you on your toes, keep you guessing, and mess with your head. Holy crap, did I ever enjoy it! It has a lot to offer, especially if you are looking for something a little different.
Annaliese has been missing for a year but only remembers the past five days of her life. She doesn’t know who she is, where she came from, or what happened to her. The thing is, Annaliese isn’t exactly Annaliese anymore; she’s someone else but doesn’t know who. What I loved about this is the reader is basically in the same boat as Anna. We are on the ride with her, figuring everything out and putting the puzzle pieces of her life together as she does.
Anna was an interesting character, and I liked how we got to know her as she got to know herself. I loved discovering how the secondary characters fit into her life, and how they all had their own secrets. Dex was the mysterious outcast neighbor that no one wanted Annaliese to be around. I was not expecting his secret to be what it was, but it added a nice little twist. I liked Gwen, her overly talkative best friend. Eric, the creepy little redheaded freak, only gets worse as the story proceeds. Even the parents are hiding something. I really liked the relationship/feelings that developed with Anna and “the parents” and her observations of them.
The supernatural elements were intriguing, especially the big one surrounding Anna. I wasn’t exactly sure which direction it was going to go in for awhile, but even as it became more clear, there were things that kept me guessing. No, you’re not going to get every little detail answered, but that’s part of the beauty of it.
I absolutely love how Another Little Piece is written. The story isn’t perfectly laid out for you, it might take a little extra effort for some people to follow along, but my goodness, it’s worth it. The story is told from Anna’s POV, and incorporates quite a few flashbacks throughout the book as memories surface. When I first started it, my reaction was “wait, what the …?” But it didn’t take long at all to figure out how the author was telling the story, and then it immediately became “oh, hell yeah!” She did a wonderful job with it, especially considering it’s her debut novel.
I have a hard time completely lumping this in the horror genre though, and would label it more as a thrilling supernatural mystery. That’s a genre, right? I don’t consider this to be scary, but some aspects are creepy in a very cool way.
Another Little Piece held my attention the entire time, and won’t be a book I’ll easily forget. I will most definitely be reading any future books by this author.
Now this sounds really good despite the fact that I break out singing Pat Benatar every time I see the title. I do not mind a little effort if the pay-off is good. I think you sold me on this one!
dang you need an edit comments button..it’s Joplin I sing, not Pat..sheesh someday’s I should just stay in bed
There’s not an edit option? Hmmm.. I’ll have to see if I can fix that.
I’m curious. How do you define “horror?” I notice a reluctance of a lot of people to define books as horror even though all the elements are there. Does it have a bad rap or something?
I hope it doesn’t have a bad rap, because it’s one of my favorite genres. That might be why I’m reluctant to put a 100% horror label on this book. It could just be a personal thing, but it didn’t have a total horror feel to it. When I think of horror, it has to have that frightening element (like in your books). This may have touched on it a little bit, but not enough to be considered a true horror. I felt it had more of a supernatural thriller elements than horror. That’s just my opinion, anyway. 🙂
Wow, this is a little different than I would expect from the cover. I guess that’s why they don’t judge a book by it’s cover. 🙂 I do however love the sounds of it, I am all for anything creepy and scary in the least bit. Awesome review. I am going to have to get this one now when it is out.
Jenea @ Books Live Forever
Yay! I thought of you the whole time I read this. I was hoping you had this one because I was pretty positive you were going to like it and you did so yay!
This one definitely isn’t horror although it is labeled that way. More slightly horror and a little gory at times but nothing that made me want to sleep with the lights on at night or anything.
Great review Christy, this sounds really good. The fact that you wouldn’t put it under the horror genre would make it more appealing to me 🙂
Even though there has been mixed review for this one I am really looking forward to it as I love a book that keeps you on your toes, and messes with your head! The mc and the writing also seem to be great. Brilliant review!
It figures that you would love a book that messes with your head, oh wait, I do too… guess we are two crazy girls. I should have gotten this one! D’oh! Back to the blogging, grind, eh? I am trying to catch up today after being flakey all last week.
I have been super stoked about this book!! I didn’t realize it was a paranormal though!! Maybe I did, and I forgot… Lol Anyway I’m so glad it was awesome!
I’m getting more and more interested in this story. At first the cover made me think contemporary but I’ve heard it is really thrilling. I didn’t realize there were supernatural elements. I am very curious as to what happened and who she is now and where she was for a year?!?!
Definitely not a contemporary. I think you’d really like this, Jen!
This sounds great! I love a book that messes with your head. And if you say it’s not really horror though it has some creepy stuff, I think it’s one I can probably read and it won’t give me nightmares forever. 😉
I know that you and I are on opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes scary books, and I’m pretty sure you’d be fine with this. There are a couple of bloody moments, but they aren’t bad.
I was going to say I hear Melissa Etheridge’s version when I see the title. Janis Joplin’s too, I suppose. 🙂
I’ve totally burned through my book buying budget for a month, but mmm, I want? Awesome review, you have to remember this one to recommend to me! It sounds like something different than my normal thing and I really want to read that kind of stuff.
Welcome back, doll – I hope you feel all nice and recharged!!
I just started this one today, but I’m too tired to read write now. I’m a bit nervous about it. It sounds like it will be awesome, but I’m afraid I’ll be one of the ones who doesn’t “get it” lol. But you give me hope!
You should be fine. I feel bad for the people who don’t follow it because they’re missing out! 😀
I’m so excited to read this, it sounds very suspenseful! I love when an author is able to create a mood and keep me guessing. Wonderful review!
I’m happy you enjoyed it so much! I’m a bit bummed it’s not totally horror though, I don’t see very many straight forward horror type YA novels. But it still sounds really awesome.