Tighter by Adele Griffin

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Genre: Young Adult
Rating: 4 stars

Review:
I have been wanting to read this book since I first saw its eerie cover. And after hearing from other readers that it is sort of a "re-telling" of Henry James' The Turn on the Screw, I was even more excited to dig into this book. I have to say, while it does a remarkable job complimenting The Turn on the Screw, the author, Adele Griffin, still managed to make the story her own. And the way she does this, is flawless.

She builds and develops all of the characters well, and the plot falls right where it should be. It was also nicely paced, and I never felt like it was too slow or boring. I have actually never even read anything from Adele Griffin before, but having read Tighter, I'm certain I have to change that immediately.

I do have to admit though, there were a few misses for me - like some characters that I didn't necessarily care for - and the fact that I thought the conclusion felt slightly rushed and 'all of a sudden' for me. However, I can not give it less than 4 stars simply for the fact that I was very entertained by this novel. I enjoyed reading it, and really appreciate the way the plot was overall told. And even though I mentioned I felt like the conclusion was slightly rushed, I still found it -for lack of a better explanation - really, really cool. So overall, I thought Tighter was a good read. It was very unexpected and eerie. It has an intriguing plot line and interesting characters, is fast paced, offers great settings, has unpredictable twists and turns, and features excellent and effortless writing. I would recommend this to fans and readers of contemporary YA who wants a bit of mystery added in. 4 stars!

Disclaimer: Thank you to Random House for providing me the copy of this book.
This review is honest and in no way influenced by anything but my own thoughts, feelings, and opinions on the book.

5 comments:

  1. Nice review! The cover is haunting...and wow, the story sounds scary and fascinating too. Would this book count as a horror story genre?

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  2. Nonie - Thank you for stopping. And I have to agree, the cover is haunting! I don't even like looking at it to be honest haha.
    I would not consider this as a horror story at all - more like psychological, mystery, thriller, contemporary YA all mixed into a great bundle!

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  3. sounds like a good one, that cover is creepy!

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  4. Glad to hear you enjoyed it overall, despite a rushed ending. I'm definitely adding this to my TBR list! :)

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  5. naida - Cover is definitely eye catching!

    YA Book Queen - If you like YA then I recommend you trying it out :)

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