UGGGH GOODREADS STOP DELETING MY REVIEWS JUST BECAUSE I ACCIDENTALLY CLICKED WRONG SOMEWHERE.

This book is about Zoe, a teenage girl with a secret so terrible she can only tell it to a death row inmate with no possibilty of returning her letters. The book is told throughout the letters she's sending him, confessing the horrible thing she did. It is clear from the beginning that someone died and that she had something to do with it, but it's not until the very end you know what happened or even who died. The book is very well-told in that regard, and never has to rely on annoying cliffhangers to keep you reading: it's just very suspenseful and impossible to put down.

I have this fascination with serial killers, and it is a fascination I very much dislike sharing with others, since there's a fine line between "I find the dark parts of humanity scary and interesting" and "I'm gonna send letters to a serial killer because I'm kinda fangirling this person", and I very much want to stay away from the second kind of person. People who write to murderers I've always considered as the second type of person, but this book sort of made me realize that that is probably not always the case. Even if Zoe does project a lot of feelings and opinions onto Stuart Harris, since - for all we know - he might not have read a single letter she writes him (though, to be fair, that was probably never the point of her letters).

Anyway, it was a good book. A nice YA story told in a creative way. ( )

I just could not care about the characters. And the main character was just creepy and not in an interesting way. ( )

Epistolary novel in which "Zoe" shares her story with a Texas death row inmate about a murder she was responsible for. The letters are written over the course of the school year and end shortly after the one year memorial service. Zoe relates both the heady events of the previous year--when she meets two young men at a house party--juxtaposed against her present life of parental drama, gnawing guilt and lost love. The mystery lies in discovering which boy dies, and the author does a good job keeping that secret pretty close to the vest. Most readers will probably jump to the correct conclusion on their own, in addition to deciding how culpable Zoe actually is in the death.

The writing is often beautifully expressive and the "torn between two lovers" plot will undoubtably reel readers in. However, Zoe doesn't come off as entirely likable, although some readers may be more forgiving of her actions. She is at her best when she's interacting with her sisters whom she clearly loves. How moved readers are by Annabel Pitcher's book will depend on how sympathetically Zoe is perceived. An exploration of love and betrayal and the selfish and selfless acts that define one's life. ( )

Another book on the Children's book day list that I would never have thought to pick up otherwise. I was surprisingly engaged by this one. Drawn in by the unusual red birds on the edge of the pages, I quickly found myself intrigued by 'Zoe' and her secret. The main character has a very distinctive 'voice' that is admirably suited to the telling of the tale, and easy to follow.
I would comment on some other aspects, but refrain because of spoilers.
( )

Zoe decides to correspond with a a man on death row for killing his wife because she is overwhelmed by her own guilt over the death of her boyfriend a year earlier. During most of the exchange of letters, the reader does not really know which boy has died or how it happened. since Zoe describes the situation in considerable detail, meanwhile avoiding describing the actual event. Once I started thinking how unrealistic Zoe's letter writing style was, as well as the unlikelihood of such a correspondence ever taking place, I found this epistolary-styled novel mostly irritating. ( )