Title: Ten
Author: Gretchen McNeil
Genre/s: Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller,
Synopsis:
SHHHH!Don't spread the word!Three-day weekend. Party at White Rock House on Henry Island.You do NOT want to miss it.
It was supposed to be the weekend of their lives—an exclusive house party on Henry Island. Best friends Meg and Minnie each have their reasons for being there (which involve T.J., the school’s most eligible bachelor) and look forward to three glorious days of boys, booze and fun-filled luxury.
But what they expect is definitely not what they get, and what starts out as fun turns dark and twisted after the discovery of a DVD with a sinister message: Vengeance is mine.
Suddenly people are dying, and with a storm raging, the teens are cut off from the outside world. No electricity, no phones, no internet, and a ferry that isn’t scheduled to return for two days. As the deaths become more violent and the teens turn on each other, can Meg find the killer before more people die? Or is the killer closer to her than she could ever imagine?
My Thoughts:
I'm a self-confessed mystery junkie ever since high school. So when I read the synopsis of Ten, I can't help not to be excited. It's sounds like the murder mystery that I love to read. But after I finally read it, I was really disappointed.
I didn't feel the adrenaline rush that I usually feel whenever I'm reading mystery novels. Maybe it's because I didn't feel any connections to the characters or maybe because the killing scenes wasn't showed or elaborated.
I find the characters really annoying and immature in the way they act and speak, it feels unrealistic and exaggerated. But what really put me off with this book is Meg and Minnie's so-called "friendship". I know, Minnie is bipolar and it really affects her mood but it didn't excuse her from being manipulative and obsessive towards the things she didn't own. It certainly didn't excuse her for treating people like shit and for acting like a spoiled 10-year old brat. There is also a fine line between bipolarism and psychosis and I think she's on the verge of being psychotic.
Meg, on the other hand, is not helping Minnie to be better. She's tolerating all Minnie's whims and keeps on lying to her face. I'm sorry to say this but what kind of friend would lie and make false promises to her friend? She should have given Minnie a dose of tough love if she really is her friend. It's always better to tell the truth and hurt her feelings rather than lie to her and pretend that nothing's wrong.
The murders also didn't feel chilling for me. Well, I commend Gretchen McNeil for describing a very detailed murder scene though. But I wish she also showed how the murders was done. I feel like it would add more suspense if she just showed how the victim struggle while they were being hunt and killed. Murder mystery gets really boring without these scenes.
Anyway, the ending saved this whole thing. I was actually planning to give this a 2 star but because I was surprised with the revelation I decided to give this a 3 star. Overall, it's an okay read but I wouldn't recommend it to everyone.
My Rating
