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.
Complicit by Stephanie Kuehn Published by St. Martin's Press on June 24, 2014
Genres: Young Adult Fiction, Social Themes, Depression, Physical & Emotional Abuse
Pages: 256
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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A YALSA 2015 Best Fiction for Young Adults Pick
Two years ago, fifteen-year-old Jamie Henry breathed a sigh of relief when a judge sentenced his older sister to juvenile detention for burning down their neighbor's fancy horse barn. The whole town did. Because Crazy Cate Henry used to be a nice girl. Until she did a lot of bad things. Like drinking. And stealing. And lying. Like playing weird mind games in the woods with other children. Like making sure she always got her way. Or else.But today Cate got out. And now she's coming back for Jamie.Because more than anything, Cate Henry needs her little brother to know the truth about their past. A truth she's kept hidden for years. A truth she's not supposed to tell. Trust nothing and no one as you race toward the explosive conclusion of the gripping psychological thriller Complicit from Stephanie Kuehn, the William C. Morris Award--winning author of Charm & Strange.
Complicit by Stephanie Kuehn is a real mind fuck of a book. I actually am a little dismayed that I did not pick it up sooner. However, that’s the life of a voracious reader, yes? Anyways, I am kind of still reeling over here from that ending. I guess I can take a break from all these OMG thoughts to talk to you all about this book though.
Okay, so Complicit by Stephanie Kuehn is narrated by this high school boy named Jamie. Jamie’s sister Cate has recently been released from juvenile detention. Allegedly, she started this fire at a horse barn which killed some horses and badly injured this girl named Sarah. Jamie is just trying to live his best life though, far from Cate. He’s got this brand new Jeep. There’s this girl named Jenny who likes him. Still, his past keeps on calling. We also learn that Jamie might not be so innocent. In fact, something shady just might be going on.
I am definitely in the minority judging by all these other reviews I’ve seen for Kuehn’s Complicit. However, I am SO oblivious and trusting and naive. So, I didn’t realize right off the bat that Jamie is an unreliable narrator. It basically had to be spoon fed to me. Overall, yes I thought he was kind of a weirdo. He often blacks out. His hands go all numb and stop working while he is stressed out. Jamie is kind of a dick to Cate. Plus he seems to have no memory of his mother, who he was with until he was six. It is just a little bit strange, is all.
I thought there was a lot of information missing on what Jamie was telling us. Not once though was I like, yeah this dude is super shady can’t trust a word from his mouth. Figures. I AM REELING STILL. Other people, though, figured that out within the first two chapters, so I do not think it is a spoiler.
Sooo, I think that you’ll enjoy Complicit by Stephanie Kuehn if you like books that mess with your mind a little bit. In all honesty though, this book took me a bit of time to read. I read it in between other books and off and on for the better part of the month. I didn’t actually finish until the readathon. That’s really because I just wanted to get onto the next Negalley book in my queue. This book definitely has an audience. I still think though, there’s other books that do unreliable better — namely Allegedly by Tiffany Jackson.
Other reviews of Complicit by Stephanie Kuehn:
- The Book Smugglers – “engaging and thoughtful“
- Here’s To Happy Endings – “a psychological thrill ride“
- Great Imaginations – “sure to shock you“
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