Time for a book confession: I absolutely love reading (and writing) YA, and I tend to choose YA over adult books. But there are just some authors who write in both age categories, and I prefer their adult books over their YA books. Megan Miranda is this author for me.
I prefer her adult books over her teen books. Why? Because of her writing style. Don't get me wrong -- I love her voice and overall style, but personally, I find her unique style to be better suited to adult books. She tends to write very densely, with quite a bit of exposition and character reflection. For me, that works in adult but not so much in YA.
So, what led me to this realization and ultimate confession? This book did:
The Girl from Widow Hills by Megan Miranda is an adult mystery / thriller, and it is phenomenal! From the very first page, I was hooked, and I had a hard time putting this book down to go do all that adult stuff I have to do on a daily basis.
This is a story about a woman who, when she was just a child, was swept away during a major storm and stuck in the town's drainage system for three days. Her ordeal became a national story, and her mother cashed in on that by writing a book about everything. On the anniversary of her rescue, the press comes out in droves to check in on "the girl from Widow Hills," when all she wants is to be left alone. Naturally, there's a lot more to this tale that meets the eye.
The twists and turns combined with the intentional misdirection is just... wow! As a reader, I was impressed with how the story unfolded, and I know this one will stick with me, but as an author -- I strive to write as well as Megan Miranda, to be able to weave a tale that leads readers down one path and then shoves them in a completely different direction.
Has anyone else read this book? What did you think? What other books have you read that left your jaw on the floor? Share in the comments!
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