Tighter

Seventeen-year-old Jamie Atkinson has had a tough junior year. After a sports-related injury that still bothers her and a failed romance with her young chemistry teacher, she's turned to pill-popping her parents' meds for relief. When Jamie's parents pack her off to the island of Little Bly to be a summer au pair to Isa, she's shocked to find that Isa's au pair the year before, Jessie, looks eerily similar to herself - and that the other girl died the summer before along with her boyfriend, Pete Quint. Even more surprisingly, these two don't seem to be quite gone from this world. In a retelling of Henry James' The Turn of the Screw, Jamie is forced to discover her connection to the dead couple as the lines between reality, perception, show more and the supernatural are blurred.

Anyone familiar with James' story will realize that this is a retelling from simply reading the book's blurb and its first few pages. Very quickly, however, Griffin establishes her take as unique and capable of standing by itself without the added bonus of being a retelling. Tighter is distinctly YA, whereas James' story is distinctly not; the new novel features teenage issues (the protagonist is a pill-popper, for goodness' sake), high school drama, and a more relaxed writing style. Having read James' original story, the two are hard to otherwise compare besides noting that Griffin's writing is easier to understand. Tighter is not as thrillingly, can't-put-it-down suspenseful as I expected, but the mystery of the ghost story is still there. The most amazing part for me, however, was the conclusion, which makes a definite break with The Turn of the Screw and makes Tighter even more deeply a distinctly YA novel (and also changes it's expected genre around a bit). But as to what the actual climax is, that is a discovery I will let other readers make on their own... show less

When I first got a copy of Tighter for review in the mail, I wasn't quite sure to expect. It sounded interesting enough, but not really the type of thing that I would usually gravitate to or pick up to read on my own. But I'm so, so glad that I had a chance to read it because it honestly blew my mind.

I found Jamie to be a really interesting character. She seemed quite damaged to me and would constantly turn to various medications, such as pain killers and sleeping pills, to numb herself and get through the day. Despite this, she seemed to immediately connect with Isa, the young girl who she'd be hired to watch, and a local island boy, Sebastian. As the book went on, Jamie seemed to grow increasingly more complex, and as she started to show more have more and more interactions with ghosts, the book really took off. Throughout the book, strange things were obviously going on, but when you eventually finally find out why, it will all make sense, yet leave you shocked none the less.

The plot of this book was terrific! It sucked me in from the beginning and only gripped even me more as I got deeper into the book. There were so many unexpected twist and turns riddled throughout this book that I can guarantee that you will be left scratching your head, asking yourself "Did that really just happen?!" by the time you get the that final page. When a book can leave me completely shocked and blindsided, I'm always so impressed!

Adele Griffin's writing was great! She was able to develop her characters so well even in such a short book. I really felt a connection with alot of the characters, which is so important to me when I read a book. Also, with Tighter's complex plot, this book could have easily been poorly executed, but Adele Griffin's writing was not only strong enough to support the plot, but I think that her great writing really added to it!

As a whole, I was really suprised by how much I loved this book! It left me speechless and I remember going up to my mum after I finished reading it to tell her about it and how much it left me going "Whoa!". I would definitely recommend this book to anyone, but prepare to be left shocked! show less

Normally, when a book shows up on my doorstep, I crack it open immediately and read a few pages, just to get a feel for it. Well, with Tighter, I did just that...and didn't put it down until I was almost 150 pages in. This was my first experience with Adele Griffin's work, but her writing style is so unique. The prose she put to use in this story were perfect to make it the bewitching, mind-boggling mystery thriller that it is. I spent most of the story feeling exactly as a reader should with this kind of Alfred Hitchock-style thriller: enthralled, curious, but constantly in the back of my mind saying "what the heck is going on??" (but in a good way!).

The main character, Jamie, had a very distinctive voice. The choppy writing style with show more interwoven mother goose lines gave the reader a perfect insight into the weird, smart-assed, but definitely depressed workings of her mind. She is a lost young woman, stealing and popping prescription meds of all kinds to smooth over her emotions. The story hints at her recent past: a short lived affair with a teacher and friendships that are barely hanging on. She takes a job as an au pair to Isa, an extremely chatty and imaginative little girl. When she finds out she is a replacement to Isa's last au pair who died, and that she looks almost exactly like her, that's when the really mystery begins. She starts seeing things and hearing things in and around the big eerie house that compel her to dig deeper and find out what really happened.

The story unfolds at a perfect pace, the tension builds and builds. While some things I predicted (I had Milo figured out pretty early on), others came as pretty mind-blowing surprises. I definitely enjoyed this one and highly recommend it!

As an end note, I'll point out that this book is a retelling of Henry James' Turn of the Screw. I've never read that story so I can't compare it to the original, but Tighter definitely inspires me to give the original a try! show less

Tighter is a modern retelling of Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw. In it we meet Jamie who arrives on the island of Little Bly to work as an au pair for a young girl. Shortly after her arrival she begins to learn of the untimely demise of a young couple. Jessie (the girl in the couple) used to be the au pair before her and strangely enough resembles Jamie. And to make things even weirder Jamie begins to encounter the star-crossed lovers' ghosts.

I think the cover of this book is so perfect. It captures Jamie and her state of mind perfectly. One thing, and maybe what I liked about her the most, was how complicated she was. She comes off as someone with an attitude, she's standoffish and very defensive - which quite frankly, did not show more make her someone I liked. To complicate matters there is the constant hinting at some event that occurred in her past where she injured herself and in order to live without pain she is constantly on some type of pill or another. It doesn't matter whether the pill be a pain killer, anti-depressant or sleep aide - whatever it is, she's most likely on it. Therein lies the fun. The whole time you are trying to decipher whether the strange events occurring are fact or just part of the haze that Jamie's muddled brain is in.

Full of twists and turns and some jaw dropping moments I was fully gripped by this story. I have not read The Turn of the Screw so I definitely can't compare this story with the other so if you're looking for similarities, I can't help you there. What I will say is that Tighter was deliciously creepy, intense and quite the shocker. One of the best ghost stories I've read. show less

How to describe this book accurately without giving anything away? Oh dear. Well the first word that pops into my head is definitely one that is popular around the movie scene. That, my dears, would be twist! Tighter will take your brain, twist it until you're not sure what way is up, and then put you back down to try to navigate the world normally again. It's eerie, well-written and just all around fantastic!

With references to the classic novel The Turn of the Screw, this story at first follows the original very tightly, and then branches off into its own unique and amazing storyline. Jamie arrives in Little Bly after the reader finds out that she has a dark secret she is taking with her. In fact, her family is prompting her to go in show more an effort to pull her out of a sort of depression that surrounds her. As I got to know Jamie, I found myself understanding her more and more until all of the sudden, remember that word above, TWIST! Oh, this book is fantastic.

The characters in this book are so vividly written. From Jamie, our main character, right down to her young charge, each of them has their own unique personality and quirks. I did not necessarily like Jamie's character, but I did understand her. In terms of plot, the story moves along at a quick pace, always giving you just enough to keep you reading. By the time I got to the end of Tighter I was reading at a lightning quick speed just to see what happened! The ending did not disappoint.

I apologize for being so vague, but let me tell you that anything else I say will be a spoiler. Trust me when I say that the less you know when you go into this book, the more you will appreciate the overall story with its twists and turns! If you are a fan of The Turn of the Screw, or even if you are not, you will find this a fascinating new story. Plus, well, it's by Adele Griffin, and so you know it will have great voice. show less

Based on Henry James' "The Turning of the Screw", this tells the story of Jamie Atkinson's summer spent as a nanny in the small Rhode Island beach town of Little Bly where she begins to fear that the estate may be haunted, especially after she learns of the deaths the previous summer of the nanny and her boyfriend. Nursing a broken heart and addicted to painkillers after a back injury, Jamie's self-medicated state should make readers aware that she is an unreliable narrator, but her voice seems practical until the end, where the conclusion suddenly warps the reader's entire perspective of the summer's events. A good recommend for ghost story lovers without the horror.

Originally posted at www.books4hearts.com

I picked up Tighter right before going to bed. I continued reading Tighter until it was over. I couldn’t put it down! I had to see how the story would conclude. It’s also only 216 pages, so I wasn’t up all night finishing it or anything (although I probably would have been, had it been longer), but it was 216 pages of brain-twisting, mind-numbing, mystery and suspense. I had to know what Jamie was actually seeing, and what was real, what wasn’t.

Jamie is not (or at least doesn't start out) a likable main character. She’s depressed, she stole pills from her parents, and she doesn’t generally seem very smart at all in the beginning. As the story goes on, especially toward the end, show more she’s a bit more likable. But she’s not the ONLY character. While Isa (the troubled girl Jamie is an au pair for) was withdrawn in her own world, in her imagination where she could hide, I found her really likable. Everything she said I felt she said in earnest. Part murder mystery, part thriller, and many other elements, Tighter had variety.

I loved the writing, it was poetic and nice, with some really raw emotion displayed through it. The conclusion was shocking and a burst of action at the end, I did NOT expect what Jamie ended up doing. I’ve never read any others of Adele Griffin’s many novels, but I’ll be sure to look them up now!
Extra note: The cover. I love it. Sets the creepy level for the book! show less