Saturday, March 29, 2014

Ask Me by Kimberly Pauley

Summary
Ask Aria Morse anything, and she must answer with the truth. Yet she rarely understands the cryptic words she‘s compelled to utter. Blessed—or cursed—with the power of an Oracle who cannot decipher her own predictions, she does her best to avoid anyone and everyone. But Aria can no longer hide when Jade, one of the few girls at school who ever showed her any kindness, disappears. Any time Aria overhears a question about Jade, she inadvertently reveals something new, a clue or hint as to why Jade vanished. But like stray pieces from different puzzles, her words never present a clear picture. Then there’s Alex, damaged and dangerous, but the first person other than Jade to stand up for her. And Will, who offers a bond that seems impossible for a girl who’s always been alone. Both were involved with Jade. Aria may be the only one who can find out what happened, but the closer she gets to solving the crime, the more she becomes a target. Not everyone wants the truth to come out.

Flo's Review
What a page turner! I will admit, this one started off slow for me. My only Goodreads status update comes from page 57 where I wrote, "A stable "Ehh..." so far. Will keep reading." I guess it just took me awhile to connect with Aria and the story. I started to get more intrigued when two of the characters blamed Jade's disappearance on the other. Then it turned into a case of me wondering which one actually did it -- and that held my interest. I also enjoyed learning more about the history behind Aria's gift, and I wish that this had been discussed more. Aria had one particular ancestor that she was interested in; I would have loved to read more of her story. More about the original Sybil for sure, and more about the other Sybil's. 

But this book definitely took off running in the second half, so much so that I abandoned my plans of watching TV this afternoon to staying in this book. I figured out who was behind Jade's disappearance before Aria did, and then it became me wanting to see how she might catch him. The end of the story was kind of abrupt, in my opinion. I would have liked to see more about how Aria navigates her new relationships and (without being spoilery in this review) what becomes of her and her gift.

A huge thanks to Soho Teen for providing me with this Advanced Readers Copy!

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