What We Saw At Night
Author: Jacquelyn Mitchard
Series: What We Saw At Night (#1)
Publisher: Soho Teen
How Received: ARC
Allie Kim suffers from Xeroderma Pigmentosum: a fatal allergy to sunlight that confines her and her two best friends, Rob and Juliet, to the night. When freewheeling Juliet takes up Parkour—the stunt-sport of scaling and leaping off tall buildings—Allie and Rob have no choice but to join her, if only to protect her. Though potentially deadly, Parkour after dark makes Allie feel truly alive, and for the first time equal to the “daytimers.”
On a random summer night, the trio catches a glimpse of what appears to be murder. Allie alone takes it upon herself to investigate, and the truth comes at an unthinkable price. Navigating the shadowy world of specialized XP care, extreme sports, and forbidden love, Allie ultimately uncovers a secret that upends everything she believes about the people she trusts the most.
I should not have read this book right before going to bed.
Beautifully written and well paced, this was one creepy ass book. I'm not normally a fan of contemporaries, but this one really managed to suck me in and keep me up all night to finish it - and then up all night because I was afraid to go to bed.
The characters are what make it worth it. It's all told through Allie's head, but you get a good idea of where they are and become strangely attached to them -- I was worried for Juliet when Allie was, rather than dismissing her behavior; I got mad at Rob when she did, rather than rolling my eyes; whenever Blondie appeared, I was as scared at Allie was.
And boy, was Blondie scary.
But that verges into the realm of spoilers, which I definitely do not want this review to have, as the entire book relies on the suspense of the unknown to drag you in. And it does an amazing job at it, too.
Overall Rating & Final Comments: 10/10. Creepy as hell and beautifully written.
Have any of you read this? What did you think? Soho Teen certainly knows how to kickstart their division with this one!