The Stranger Game #THRReviews

Title: The Stranger Game
Author: Cylin Busby
Publication Date: October 25, 2016
Edition: ARC
Language: English
Pages: 288
Genre: Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller
Series: Standalone

The Stranger Game is a dark, suspenseful, and twisty young adult novel—perfect for fans of Lauren Oliver, Gillian Flynn and E. Lockhart.

The Stranger Game is about fifteen-year-old Nico Walker, whose sister returns home after a four-year disappearance.

When Nico Walker’s older sister mysteriously disappears, her parents, family, and friends
are devastated. But Nico can never admit what she herself feels: relief at finally being free of Sarah’s daily cruelties.

Then the best and worst thing happens: four years later, after dozens of false leads, Sarah is found.

But this girl is much changed from the one Nico knew. She’s thin and drawn, where Sarah had been golden and athletic; timid and unsure, instead of brash and competitive; and strangest of all, sweet and kind, when she had once been mean and abusive. Sarah’s retrograde amnesia has caused her to forget almost everything about her life, from small things like the plots of her favorite books and her tennis game to the more critical—where she’s been the last four years and what happened at the park on the fateful day she vanished. Despite the happy ending, the dark details of that day continue to haunt Nico, and it becomes clear that more than one person knows the true story of what happened to Sarah. . . .

RATING: 

This book did not disappoint from beginning to end.

DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU HAVE PLANS FOR THE DAY BECAUSE WHEN YOU GET TO THE MIDDLE, IT’S VERY HARD TO PUT DOWN.

I admit that the cover kind of turned me off, I wasn’t planning to read it yet, I was just actually cleaning my book box when my hands lingered on this strange book. I opened it and started to read a few chapters, the next thing I know, I was hooked. The Stranger Game was well written. Clean and simple, but also, I love the tiny hints that she put, hints so tiny that I didn’t notice them until after I finished the book.

I’m not a big fan of alternating chapters, but this one was an exception.

I love that the book tackled abuse in a way that not so many authors have done before. The characters were believable too, I really enjoyed reading Sarah’s chapters, telling her revelations slowly, then all at once. I knew the ending was thrilling and that I should prepare myself, but it still got me when I read the last few pages. Damn it.

I’m not going to give much away because every bit of information can be a huge spoiler, and it’s really important to me that you guys don’t get spoiled when you read this.

The only thing I wanted was more pages really. Then ending wasn’t rushed or anything, I just felt like I wanted more details.

“I am Sarah. And I know I am loved.”

This book was deceptive and very heart-pounding mystery, I love it.

We were a team, the two of us. Me and Ma. We had to keep our stories straight or they wouldn’t let us stay together.

“And you never know where they’ll put you next,” she warned me.

It was then at age five, that I learned: The longer you tell yourself a lie, the more you believe it, until finally, it becomes your truth.