4.5 stars really. I'd been intrigued by this book when I saw it back in March, but didn't get the time to fit it into my reading schedule then. So when this blog tour popped up, I decided I really should make the time to read it now. I picked this one up and sped through it. It was really hard to put down. The world the author created was so vivid and creepy, exactly as this kind of story should be. But it wasn't all just atmosphere, the characters were so well developed and had so much depth. I wanted so bad for all of them to be redeemed, to be saved, for the ending to be as happy as possible. But the way it ended was perfect. While most who deserved a second chance got it, not everyone got it in the way they wanted it or the way I as the reader wanted them to have it. And then there were the deaths that there was no way around, no way to save those characters. Again, that was the way it should be. Even though most everyone got their redemption, there were characters that you hated from the beginning, that really didn't redeem themselves even when they had the chance. I like that as well. Not all characters have to become better, because that just isn't realistic.

This was just a beautiful world that I'm so glad I got the chance to experience. Can't wait to put in my school library and recommend to my students as well as the people who come into the bookstore where I work.

Review first appeared on Lisa Loves Literature.