The Half Life Of Molly Pierce by Katrina Leno | Book Review

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

A gorgeous and visceral page-turner reminiscent of the film Memento, The Half Life of Molly Pierce is perfect for fans of Gabrielle Zevin's Elsewhere and Lauren Oliver's Before I Fall.For all of her seventeen years, Molly feels like she's missed bits and pieces of her life. Now she's figuring out why. Now she's remembering her own secrets. And in doing so, Molly uncovers the separate life she seems to have led . . . and the love that she can't let go.

As a total fanatic of numbers and stats and such when it comes to my own personal reading, I have come to really appreciate short books. I know, judge me if you want, but honestly, I love the boost they give to my goal achievement. The Half Life Of Molly Pierce by Katrina Leno is a debut novel that TOTALLY IS REALLY SHORT. Like, my ARC was only 231 pages which means it’s one of those blink and you’re done type of books. I am really okay with this. This young adult book is all about this girl named Molly Pierce who often blanks out and finds herself with wide swaths of her memory missing. Note: This is not at all a paranormal book, it’s totally contemporary all the way.

Okay, so the book opens with Molly waking up in her car, like driving it — how scary is that you guys? Anyways, so she’s waking up in her car, when she decides to head home, instead of school. On the way home, she ends up right behind this car-motorcycle accident. She gets out of the car to be a good samaritan and ends up like cradling this teenage boy and going with him to the hospital. His name is Lyle and he starts calling Molly by the name of Mabel, but then calls her Molly and she has no idea how he knows her. She calls his brother on his cell phone to the hospital. And then, the boy, Lyle dies. Oh, and the brother, Sayer, totally feels safe and familiar to her. And so, The Half Life Of Molly Pierce is all about how Molly is trying to remember the swathes she has blanked out and how Lyle and Sayer fit into her life.

Friends, I read Katrina Leno’s book during one of those readathons which like today feels like it was a month ago, so forgive me if I am not like the greatest reviewer ever with all the details. Here’s what I remember regarding Molly/Mabel: I didn’t loathe the character. I also didn’t deeply connect with the character. I found myself interested in her because there was this whole mystery of what happens when her mind goes blank. I liked that she was awesome with her younger siblings Clancy and Hazel who knew about her condition. I liked that Mabel was ridiculously cool. I wasn’t 100% on board the Molly is cool train. Overall, Molly Pierce is strong enough to carry the story, but not strong enough for me to start a fan club over here.

Finally, the romance. It’s alright. Like there’s kissing and being connected and from what I remember and I could be remembering wrong, y’all, sleeping. Okay, I just went to “fact check” hahahaha and yes, there is SLEEPING. I didn’t fact check enough to see if there’s sex though. Anyways, I did like SOME of the romance feels, like Molly feels intensely attracted to Sayer and she feels safe with him and there’s this feeling that the book projects of him being sort of like a harbor and I liked that. I did not like the whole rigamarole over his brother Lyle. I thought Lyle’s death was also a bit much.

Also, too, it felt like an overly long time to get to the big reveals even though they are totally on the back jacket flap of The Half Life of Molly Pierce. I just feel like if something is supposed to be some big huge secret and we’re supposed to be breathless with suspense, it might help to not print that noise all over the book cover and the summary. Katrina Leno’s book is a fast paced read, recommended if you want a good readathon book and want to boost your numbers. It’s just not going on my favorites or most memorable list this year, ya know?

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April (Books&Wine)

April is in her 30s and created Good Books And Good Wine. She works for a non-profit. April always has a book on hand. In her free time she can be found binge watching The Office with her husband and toddler, spending way too much time on Pinterest or exploring her neighborhood.

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