Norah McClintock (1952–2017)

My Life Before Me is a gripping YA mystery that takes place in 1964. I absolutely adored the orphaned teen narrator, Cady Andrews, an aspiring journalist on a mission to discover her origins. Right before Cady embarks on her journey, she receives an envelope that contains a clue about where she's from. This story involves murder, racism (with historic references), classism and buried secrets. There are also quite a few twists and turns, but McClintock did a superb job of laying the plot show more points out in an easy-to-follow manner. Even though this book covers several mature themes (all presented tastefully, in my opinion), I think it would be a wonderful addition to any middle or high school library.

I read My Life Before Me out loud to my husband while we were on a road trip. We were bummed when we had to stop reading in order to eat dinner. During dinner, we discussed possible outcomes for the mystery Cady was trying to solve. Then, we finished reading as soon as we got settled into our hotel room for the night. My husband and I both loved Cady's story!

A big thank you to the publisher for providing me with an ARC via LibraryThing! show less

Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

My Summary: Tegan and Kelly are sisters. Born in the same year, the girls are often referred to as the "Twins" - in reality, they couldn't be more different. Tegan is popular and a gifted student, while Kelly is... not. Tegan likes to party, while Kelly won't go near any of the stuff her sister dabbles with. Neither sister is particularly fond of the other...

But when word gets out that Tegan was show more in the backseat of their mutual friend Martin's car when he and Clark were shot point-blank through the windows, Kelly doesn't know what to think - should she believe her sister, who insists she didn't see anything, or is Tegan selfishly concealing what she knows in order to protect herself like everyone suspects?

Or, even worse: is Tegan refusing to help catch her friends' killer because of something she's holding against her own sister?

Told in the alternating points of view of both sisters, She Said / She Saw will keep you guessing until the last page.

My Thoughts: First off, I have to say, this was a beautiful book: the cover is mysterious and attention-grabbing while still being simple and understated. Awesome.

I loved the contrast between the two main characters! Kelly and Tegan are so different, I really couldn't chose a favourite. Ms. McClintock managed to weave a flawless story from two points of view, which made it a lot more enjoyable (and mysterious, I think). I literally could not. Stop. Reading.

Seriously! I got the book in the mail this afternoon, and I didn't couldn't stop reading until I found out whodunit. And it was so cool to know that this book was written by a fellow Canadian! *Waves to other Canadians*

I loved the conclusion as well. It really made me think, ya know? Because the things we do to other people can come back to haunt us - they really can. And a lot of people wouldn't be willing to take the same risk Tegan took in order to avenge a loved one (or in this case, two).

Final Thoughts: Definitely go pre-order this one (or, you know, buy it when it comes out)! I recommend it whole-heartedly to anyone who likes a good mystery. show less

This is a frustrating book to say the least, but only because I am an impatient sort of person and when I want answers I want them now, which this book (Tegan specifically) wasn't giving me. But for that alone it is clear that Norah McClintock is a genius... I seriously could not put this book down. Whatsoever. Stirring pasta and reading at the same time? Yes. Trying to scare the cat off the kitchen cupboard while reading at the same time? Yes. Though I have said numerous times, "I was show more unable to put this book down!", it is true in the sense that once I start it I cannot really accomplish anything aside from eating, sleeping, and all of those daily necessities, but while reading this book I seriously didn't even want to bother with anything else! I think that the small size of it (211 pages) also contributed to the fact that I was unable to put it down, I kept thinking to myself, "This is so tiny that it should take an hour or so at most and therefore all else can wait... I CAN'T STOP BECAUSE IF I STOP I WON'T GET ANY ANSWERS!".

While it would seem that Tegan was the victim in this situation and as such she deserved sympathy, I couldn't really dredge any up for her- all of my sympathy was allocated towards Kelly. Though Tegan did eventually do the right thing in the end (Though in perhaps the wrong way), she only somewhat redeemed her in my eyes. I don't think that she was fully able to redeem herself because of her past transgressions (ie. keeping things to herself, not being completely honest, and whatnot).

It did take me a while to adjust to the sudden shifts in narrators/ Kelly's habit of narrating her bit in the form of a script (she is a budding cinematographer), but I soon came to really like the style and found it to be very refreshing. I think that fans of Caroline B. Cooney will love Norah's work. show less

Excellent! I am very picky about the quality of young adult literature and I am so pleased to be able to write a strongly positive review for this title. About that Night will appeal to most of the at-risk youth for whom I purchase books. The writing is very immediate, suspenseful, and maintains an excellent ominous tone. I'm not entirely sure what aspect of Norah McClintock's writing achieves this, but the result is enormously cinematic. You can hear the movie soundtrack in your mind show more getting darker and darker. There is a "good girl" and a boy from the "wrong side of the tracks," a character set that my youth can't seem to get enough of. Even the little sister is annoying in a pitch-perfect bratty little sister way. Everything about this title moves quickly and will sustain the interest of the reluctant reader crowd without any overly-convenient plot twists. The solution to the mystery is certainly foreshadowed, but it isn't until fairly late in the book that you have enough clues to work it out completely.
The only quibble I would have with the title was the character of Elise. From the way her husband was written, and from the time period in which her flashback seemed to be set, I estimated her age to be mid to early 40's and, while it is certainly possible to get an Alzheimer's diagnosis that early in life, it's unusual enough that I found it confusing, particularly given how advanced her case was. If she was meant to be in her 60's or 70's, she and her husband should have been written much older, particularly given a young adult's point of view; to the average teenager, 65 seems pretty ancient. Or, if she was meant to be as young as I read her, saying she had Early-Onset Alzheimer's might have been useful. But that was the only part of About That Night that didn't ring true for me.
Overall, this is a very strong novel in the traditional mystery genre, which are often hard to find for young adults. I will definitely be recommending it for purchase for many of my libraries. show less