Ballad for a Mad Girl

17 yr old Grace has a lot of issues, she's always been the most adventurous, the most inventive when it comes to doing pranks. She has her little gang of friends who join her, though she's always the edgiest, most outrageous. Now, however, when she really feels like she's losing control of herself, her friends aren't as supportive as before. Is Grace going crazy? Does anyone care or are they all just tired of Grace needing to be the centre of attention.
I've read one of Wakefield's previous novels which I found intense and a great read. This one had me on edge the entire time I was reading it, the dark depressing depths that Grace plunges to are described really vividly. Her friends are not there for her as they once were, they're all on show more the cusp of their own futures and all seem to be heading somewhere... only Grace, who always led the gang, is now holding them up. As Grace grapples with her unraveling sanity she becomes obsessed about a lost girl from the past, a girl whose body was never found.
I received a review copy from TextPublishing show less

Not bad. For older readers. Thought this would be about mental illness but it is more about the supernatural. Grace is part of a small town pack from the local high school "Swannies' that compete against the local Catholic kids "Hearts" in all teenage comps. including the infamous quarry cross where the fastest time across a disused mining quarry on flimsy girders wins. It is after Grace freezes in mid-cross and loses the challenge that things come undone for her. She thinks she has been pelted with stones but video footage proves otherwise - is she going mad? Also what does it have to do with Hannah - a girl who went missing 20 years ago and William a guy accused of her murder who committed suicide and also Gracie's mother who has show more recently died? A psychological thriller that keeps you guessing until the end as past and present mirror each other and are explored through the mind of "mad girl" Gracie. show less

It took me a long time to get into this book. Originally, the blurb intrigued me, but once I started reading it wasn't what I thought it was going to be. I didn't find the main character, Grace, very likeable at all. I kind of wanted to punch her. I get that she has a lot going on, and being a teenager just makes everything worse, but I still didn't like her. The main plot of the book wasn't bad and I did enjoy the supernatural theme, but there were definitely pieces that just didn't seem to fit. I wasn't sure of the genre either. I was expecting a supernatural thriller but found it was more a YA mystery with a supernatural twist. Not that it was a bad thing, just not what was expected. I wish there would have been more excitement show more throughout the entire book, rather than simply towards the end. It would have made it more enjoyable. I did love that twist though! The writing style did keep me going and I definitely kept me wanting to know how it would all play out. All in all, the book wasn't bad but it wasn't great. For me anyway. I think I will keep an eye out for this author. I see a lot of promise here.

*I received this book from NetGalley for an honest review* show less

Grace Foley believes that a girl, Hannah Holt, who disappeared 23 years ago has contacted her and wants her to solve the mystery of her disappearance. Grace's own mother, killed as she was crossing a road two years ago, was in Hannah's class at school so Grace feels a connection.

Grace has never fully got over her mother's death. Other teenagers suggest that Grace's mother committed suicide by deliberately walking into the path of the truck. Grace's father then gave up their farm and they moved into town. Things have never seemed right for Grace ever since.

This is a challenging YA crime fiction novel as Grace kicks against her life. Set in a fictional Australian rural town (Victoria I think). Compelling reading.

Grace Foley is a seventeen-year-old prankster and risk-taker. The only thing she's afraid of is losing. One night she accepts a challenge as part of a feud between the two local schools, but things don't go as planned. Something she can't explain happens and now she's haunted by voices and visions. She's drawn into a twenty-year-old mystery surrounding a missing girl named Hannah Holt, and she's having trouble figuring out what's real and what's imagined. Grace is losing herself and she doesn't know if she's uncovering the truth or if she's going mad.

I don't know what made me request this book. Reading the blurb now it doesn't interest me at all. I found this book extremely hard to get in to. The writing was disjointed, it was hard to show more follow along. I did not like any of the characters. I just don't care. DNF @ 43%.

Thank you to Netgalley and Text Publishing for a copy of this book. show less