New YA author Megan Miranda snuck onto the YA scene last year with her first book, Fracture, which she soon followed up with Hysteria. I enjoyed both books, and loved Hysteria because of its original take on what I might call parapsychology. The refreshing thing about Miranda's writing is that it's very original in an overcrowded market space. The other thing I like is that she's NOT writing a trilogy. I don't have anything against trilogies and I read lots of them, but I also love an author who can keep up the pace of writing truly original YA stories that are all stand-alone narratives and don't require the reader to have to buy the other books in the series. In Hysteria, we know that the lead character Malllory killed her boyfriend. It's on the front blurb and in the first chapter. But she can't remember much of what happened. Her parents send her away to her dad's old boarding school and we're never sure if they're trying to protect her or to get rid of her. Everything is not what it seems in this mystery that unravels at the perfect pace. As she makes new friends (and a new love interest) at the new school, weird things start happening and her memories start resurfacing. She struggles to cope with her new life while making sense of her past at the same time. There's action, adventure, romance and good, old-fashioned mystery. It has a similar feel to Fracture (which was more of a paranormal experiment in life after death - not quite accurate, but I don't want to give too much away). But I think the plot in Hysteria is actually tighter and the ending is more satisfying. Miranda is a really important new talent on the YA scene and I highly recommend both her books. I'm awaiting her third - Vengeance - with anticipation! [NOTE: Vengeance is described as a companion novel/sequel to Fracture so you might want to read Fracture before Vengeance comes out.]
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