Ugly Young Thing (Strangers Series)

2.5 stars I would have given this 3 stars if I hadn't figured out who the bad guy was before the big reveal. Although not a spooky book in terms of the supernatural, it gave me the creeps with its family of violent mentally ill. It turns out that this is the second book in a series but it worked fine as a stand-alone. I doubt I will read more in the series because it is too dark for me in my current reading mode but if you like dark psychologically twisted characters, this series might be for you.

The story is about the "ugly young thing" Allie, whose mother had been an abusive psychotic homicidal prostitute and brother committed suicide in front of her after murdering some young girls. At 15, afraid of social services, she runs away. show more But life starts to get a bit better after she is "caught" and is assigned to foster care with Miss Bitty. I won't go into the thriller plot but wanted to comment on one of the strengths of this novel -- the well-done characterization of body dysmorphic disorder. Allie is actually a beautiful young thing but having grown up with her mother constantly telling her how ugly she was, she can't see it. This aspect of the novel was fascinating & Jaynes did a great job of showing rather than telling. show less

This book is the second one in the Strangers Serieso. To really understand it you should read book one, Never Smile at Strangers first.
I flew through both books. The story is intense. Usually when a story is so intense I will read a book in between; something completely different and more innocent. I tried that. I ended up putting that book down and beginning this one right away. Now I am wondering what to do until May when Don't Say A Word comes out.
In my review of Never Smile at Strangers I said the book had many left turns. Ugly Young Thing doesn't have as many but one of them took me over a cliff! (A left turn for me is something I did not expect). I purchased my books after seeing the cover of NSaS advertised on my Kindle. I had show more never heard of Jennifer Jaynes until then. I have found her to be an amazing author. After reading NSaS I read her bio and was surprised to see that was her first book. To be honest I wasn't expecting Ugly Young Things to be as good as Never Smile at Strangers. I am so happy to say it was just as well written. I spent the day reading until I finished the book, changing plans to do so. I don't like to go over the plot, even in my own words. I'm always afraid I'll give out too much. I prefer you read the summary. The books touch on subjects that can make some people uncomfortable. There is violence and some cursing. Mental illnesses are a part of it. I think the author does a great job with the reality of mental illness in the book. Though we like to think we would know if someone was a killer, we could tell because they are such an awful person, the reality is most serial killers are quite charming and able to appear normal. I thought Ms Jaynes did an amazing job portraying serial killers. I want to go into more but would rather you read the books. If you want to talk about the books let me know. I found them fascinating and would love discussing them. show less

I would have given this 3 stars if I hadn't figured out who the bad guy was before the big reveal. Although not a spooky book in terms of the supernatural, it gave me the creeps with its family of violent mentally ill. It turns out that this is the second book in a series but it worked fine as a stand-alone. I doubt I will read more in the series because it is too dark for me in my current reading mode but if you like dark psychologically twisted characters, this series might be for you.

The story is about the "ugly young thing" Allie, whose mother had been an abusive psychotic homicidal prostitute and brother committed suicide in front of her after murdering some young girls. At 15, afraid of social services, she runs away. But life show more starts to get a bit better after she is "caught" and is assigned to foster care with Miss Bitty. I won't go into the thriller plot but wanted to comment on one of the strengths of this novel -- the well-done characterization of body dysmorphic disorder. Allie is actually a beautiful young thing but having grown up with her mother constantly telling her how ugly she was, she can't see it. This aspect of the novel was fascinating & Jaynes did a great job of showing rather than telling. show less

Allie is a disturbed teenager who has been through more tragedy than any one person should have to endure. Her brother looked after her while their mother's mind deteriorated but now her brother has left her too. Now it's up to her and she does whatever she must to survive. She is finally placed into foster care and is starting to question everything that she was told growing up. Is she able to trust her new foster mother? Is she starting to suffer from the same mental illness that claimed both her mother and brother? Death has always followed Allie and now that dead bodies are starting to appear again, she wonders if this time it may just be enough to claim her.

This book was such a page-turner! The author revealed the pieces to the show more puzzle at the right time to give hints as to who was involved in the recent murders but yet kept me guessing until the big reveal. The pacing of the story was wonderful and I eagerly awaited what was coming next. Allie was a flawed individual, as are some other characters, and it helped me relate to them. This book shines the light on mental disorders and how life can be affected by them. I wasn't aware until after I was done reading the book and posting my review to Goodreads that this is actually the second book of a series. Now that I've been introduced to these characters, I must pick up the first book so I can get a better look at what they went through before getting to this point. I would also like to note that even though I haven't read book one, Never Smile at Strangers, that it in no way hindered me from enjoying and understanding Ugly Young Thing.

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest opinion. show less

I received an ARC ebook from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

Excellent—4.5 out of 5 stars.

"Ugly Young Things" is that type of book I cannot put down. Even though Allie, the main character, makes horrible decisions and hates everyone in her life, I connected with her and cheered for her, hoping she'd come around. The immersive prose put me in Allie's world, and I did "feel the feels." The mystery surrounding the serial killer made the heart-pounding ending superb.

Overall, "Ugly Young Things," is an engrossing story that grabbed me and never let me go.

Allie’s had a hard life already, even though she’s only 15. She was raised in a dysfunctional (and murdering) family. After leaving home to hitchhike and live on the streets for some 8 months, she’s at a point that she really needs to recuperate and without money or a place to stay, her old childhood home seems the only option. But already on her first night back she is taken in by Childhood services. When a second chance with a kind foster mother presents itself, Allie’s suspicious. She has a distorted view of herself, always being told she was ugly by her mother. She doesn’t believe anybody can just be nice without ulterior motives. It’s hard not to feel empathy for Allie, rooting for her, and hoping that all won’t fall show more apart. I was hoping that her foster mother would stay kind and not turn on her, because it seemed she also had her own little secrets. And then there’s also a serial killer on the loose in the neighbourhood.. The suspense/thriller level was engaging, partly because we are encouraged to be suspicious of several of the characters and party because we hear the voice of the killer and the killer is more than creepy. The identity of the killer is not revealed until right at the end, and I thought I knew who the killer was, but I was wrong. Although the story is entertaining, the real suspense is in the ending and I read the last 45 pages way past my bedtime. show less

This is the second book in the Trespass Series and the way it ended, I hope we will hear more from Allie.

Allie returns home to Trespass Louisiana and is placed in the foster home of Miss Bitty. She is a health and wellness expert who works with clients to lose weight and become healthy. Allie is an orphan with her father walking out on the family when she was young, her mother killed by her brother and her brother committing suicide, she is worried about her own mental health. She is convinced she is ugly due to her mother's comments all her life, but she is really a beautiful young lady. Miss Bitty hires a teacher to home school Allie and get her ready for her GED. Allie begins to blossom under Miss Bitty's care. During the same time show more there is a murderer on the loose in Trespass and Miss Bitty is convinced that Allie is in danger. This is a great psychological thriller and a wonderful follow up to Never Smile at Strangers.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. show less