Choker

Choker isn't Speculative Fiction like I usually review, but I received a copy from the publisher and decided to read it based on the synopsis. It sounds creepy but good, and that's exactly what it is.

The book starts by introducing the friendship of Zoe and Cara, and immediately we can see that Zoe is a bad influence and Cara is a bit of a pushover. Fast forward many years, and Cara's family has moved away from Zoe's and she has never really fit in anywhere ever since. Her parents are neglectful but loving, her friends are few, and she is generally pathetic but likeable. Zoe. Zoe creeped me out from the first page and it only got worse.

This is one of those books where you think you have it all figured out and then suddenly everything shifts and you don't really know what's going to happen anymore. The climax was amazing - I literally couldn't stop reading for the last 50 or so pages.

I really enjoyed Choker and would love to read some more of Elizabeth Woods' work. This is her debut novel and she has certainly demonstrated that she can write exceptionally well! If you're looking for something short and packed full of awesome, try Choker!

You can read more of my reviews at Speculating on SpecFic. ( )

Whoa. CHOKER is a mere 233 pages, but each and every page contributes to a conclusion that left me completely speechless.

Elizabeth Woods makes her debut with CHOKER which, at first, seems like a fairly routine story about a girl reunited with her evil, homocidal best friend. Much to my surprise, there is waaaay more going on than I ever would have guessed... Unfortunately, it's impossible to give details without spoiling the novel, so I suppose that means that you'll just have to read it for yourself!

CHOKER is one of the creepiest novels I've ever read. I'm not much for scary stories, especially when they involve realistic murders and killings that could actually happen. Woods kept the gore and gruesome detail to a minimum, for which I was grateful. There was just enough description to cause a few goosebumps and I didn't have to sleep with the light on after finishing.

I highly suggest picking up CHOKER and, if it all possible, refrain from reading spoilery reviews... CHOKER is one of those novels that packs the most punch when you have no idea what's going to happen next! ( )

Originally posted at The Wandering Fangirl.

Choker is one of those novels I've been longing to read ever since reading the summary of it (and I absolutely love that cover, it's a gorgeous color scheme, with the ring of trees bearing down as if to choke the reader), and I was ecstatic when I finally noticed it (totally by accident!) at my library. It was the first of my picks to read, and I breezed through it in a day.

I was a tiny bit disappointed in the novel itself, but it's actually a pretty damn decent addition to the mystery/thriller area of YA fiction.

The novel focuses on Cara, who lives one of those awful teen lives as the butt of many jokes from the bitchy, popular girls. And honestly, she has nothing in her life that would make her stand out as a YA heroine. Yes, the story is about her, but there's so little to Cara as a person that we could have been reading about anyone else and the story would probably have progressed in the same manner. I wish there'd been a little bit more to her, that she could have stood up for herself once or twice. I did like that she slowly began to connect with school friends and developed a nice sort of budding romance with Ethan, her crush.

The addition of Zoe in Cara's life leads to a bit of a pick me up for Cara, but more importantly, Zoe added a bit of a kick to the plot. Once she was in the picture things took a turn for the interesting, and I spent half the time I was reading boggling at her crazy behavior and wondering if my own thoughts on whodunit were right.

(I was wrong, by the way. I can usually figure out the answer to the mystery before I'm done reading, but the reveal kicked me in the face and then laughed about it.)

In the end, Choker is a well done mystery with a character I would have liked a little more color from, but it was enjoyable nonetheless. ( )

This is a very difficult review to write without being spoilery. I initially came across something that said this was a psychological thriller, which intrigued me. It was a step outside of the genres I typically stick to but I thought I would give it a try.

Cara Lange has only ever had one true friend her entire life, Zoe. During the fifth grade, Cara's family moves to another town and Cara is suddenly friendless. Middle school is a disaster without her friend by her side. Now that she is in high school, things don't seem much better. Cara is a loner and outcast.

One day when Cara accidentally chokes on a carrot during lunch, in the middle of the cafeteria and in front of everyone, she is dubbed "Choker". Putting her head down and keeping to herself, Cara feels her life could never get better. That night, Cara finds a surprise in her own home... Zoe. Something bad happened back at home and Zoe is now on the run. Cara offers her sanctuary in her room.

Everything seems so much better with her best friend back, like being invited to parties and getting the attention of the one boy that she wants, but Cara couldn't be more wrong. For starters, Zoe begins acting strange... even more strange than her usual self. Then Cara's next-door-neighbor, who also happened to be one of the girls who ruthlessly made fun of "Choker", is found dead in her pool. Shortly after that, another teenage girl goes missing. Could Zoe's return have anything to do with these occurrences? Should Cara even care? After all, with these girls out of the way she now can make her move on Ethan Gray.

I felt sad for Cara at times, what with her parents being utterly absorbed in their work and giving her hardly any attention. I wish they had paid more attention to what was going on in Cara's life. I also felt bad for her being bullied by the girls in her school, and also for having to deal with Zoe at times. Zoe creeped me out. I couldn't quite understand how Cara could just let some of the things she did slide. I hoped she would take a stand and question the things Zoe did and the ways she acted. This book was a little creepy. The ending completely threw me for a loop. I admit, I didn't see that coming. I believe Choker was written as a standalone book, but I felt like the ending left room to possibly write a sequel. I feel like more could be done with this story. ( )

I first became aware of this book when I ran across it on a blog and it sounded amazing. Basically, Cara moved away from her best friend Zoe in the fifth grade and she is bullied constantly at her new school. Then Zoe shows up at her house unexpectedly one night and suddenly everything changes. Cara starts getting invited to parties and she starts getting attention from Ethan, the boy she has been crushing on for years. But girls from school start dying and Zoe starts acting odd. Cara starts to wonder why her best friend ran away from home and what she does all day while Cara is in school. She wants to trust her best friend but soon she comes to fear her instead.

Sounds great right? I thought so too. Then I opened the book and I figured out the entire story line and mystery before the prologue was even finished. This book was like knowing there was no wizard before you even started following the yellow brick road. The story line is brilliant but it is written so that the “mystery” is so obvious that I found myself getting bored and I finally skipped to the end just so I could read what would have been a climax of the book had I not known the secret already. Maybe it’s because I watch Criminal Minds too much though. For those of you out there who are interested in a mysterious read, go ahead and try this. But if you watch a lot of CSI type shows I bet you figure out the secret as fast as I did. This was a letdown. I thought it would be a great book and it truly isn’t bad. I feel the type of disappointment with this book as I did when people started telling me all the secrets to the last Harry Potter movie. I still saw the movie but there were no surprises anymore. Regardless, the story stuck with me and my mind has been drifting back to it every so often. Not a terrible book, but I don’t think it qualifies as a mystery either. ( )