3.5 stars

Signs of You was both an engaging and emotionally entangling story about grief, friendship and the power of self-awareness. Although the initial hype for the book promised an emotional journey that would make me weep, I found the careful prose and a tightly woven mystery of France’s debut made more of a well-rounded story than a simple sobfest. The realistic dialogue made me laugh, the mysterious plot devices made me shiver with suspense and yes, I cried a little too. But while I undeniably enjoyed this book as a whole, there were a few elements that - in isolation - made me feel a little unsatisfied.

While the characters were by no means unrealistic or ‘unrelatable’, their development was somewhat lacking. Most of the characters, particularly our protagonist, Riley, were defined by their grief. Although the final chapters of the story did largely touch upon this - and some development was achieved - it was a case of too little, too late. I wanted to truly connect to the characters and understand their motivations as the story was progressing, but Kate was the only character with any personality. Noah’s shadiness made it hard to connect with him, while Jay’s mood swings were off-putting. I will say that the emotional aspect of grief, particularly the effect of survivor’s guilt and how it strained familial relationships, was incredibly well-done - with a sensitive touch but still in a blunt, raw style that resonated so, so well with me.

My deepest, darkest fear is that maybe we don’t even get over some things. Maybe we just carry them around, permanently, these heavy dull aches in the heart. And maybe they don’t heal; maybe we just learn to work around the pain.

As with most recent YA novels, there was some romantic drama incorporated into Signs of You. Riley has an unrequited crush on her best friend, Jay, but she also has something going on with her other best friend, Noah… so it’s was a love triangle. As always, I will complain that the drama which ensued was perfectly avoidable and completely unnecessary. It added nothing major to the overarching plotline and should been removed to allow the story to have complete focus on the more important plotlines. It was a massive turn-off for me.

The plotline as a whole was undeniably the most interest aspect of the story. The author’s choice of Jesusim as a focus point was unique and fascinating. It certainly appealed to the history buff side of me! Although the author’s note did state that she took some liberties, the research never rang anything but true. It was incredibly exciting, fast-paced and undeniably captivating. Without the mystery driving the story forward, I do not doubt that the tone and pace of the story itself would have dramatically changed... and not in a good way.

With that being said, I did question the character’s reaction to the more startling conclusions their research revealed. For one, connecting their supposed sightings of their dead loved ones to a ‘cursed’ cross necklace was a little forced and unrealistic. Seeing as this is actually a common phenomenon amongst those in mourning, I think it is safe to say that most individuals would blame their grief on their “sightings” and shrug it off. The more and more they uncovered, the less and less I believed that this could genuinely occur. I’m not saying that fantastical stories have to be realistic, but I didn’t quite understand why the characters assumed that the book was anything but fiction. I don’t automatically think all stories are fact and none of the characters were religious. It seems a bit of a stretch to think that some historical figure’s diary was the truth when he was writing about such outlandish ideas. Maybe this could have been elaborated on further?

The ending - while touching and sweet at moments - was largely unsatisfying. Without the promise of the sequel, leaving so many elements of the story unanswered is problematic. I’m curious! I want to know whether these ‘powers’ affected the characters for the rest of their lives or whether they were able to overcome them. Were they driven insane like Jay’s father? There’s nothing worse than a mystery without a conclusive aha! moment where all is revealed and everything ties together.

Overall?

This was a fast-paced, exciting read that set itself apart from the other 2016 YA releases. The characters were slightly underdeveloped, but the mystery was engaging and different to anything I’d ever read before. I couldn’t put the book down and flew through the story with relative ease. The romance was as pointless and frustrating as expected, but for a debut, Signs of You was an undeniably solid novel. I will definitely be reading more of this author’s future works and I wish she would release a sequel of some sorts.

Review copy provided by the publisher for an honest review.