Author: Holly Jackson
Genre: Young Adult, Mystery
Personal Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ / ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5 out of 5 stars)
Finally! An excellent book to renew my faith in not only YA writers but to this hobby of mine as well! Every page of this is so good I didn’t even skip any sentence! AND! It legitimately made my heart race! I mean, what’s not to love?
First of all, great intro. A really creative way to start a book – a piece of document just like in visual media. It introduced the plot and key characters in a really brief and intriguing way. The description of the characters were enough for my imagination and it is so vivid in my head that it all felt like a movie. BUT! They were not excessive.
The switch between the report logs and narration was so excellent and it allowed the story to transition from serious to playful (and yes, romantic) without it being too awkward. The banters were so excellently written I actually audibly laughed and visibly smiled a lot of times.
The romantic undertone wasn’t so light and wasn’t too heavy. I was so into it that I keep suspecting everyone. Speaking of, it is such a smart way to recap suspects by having the protagonist’s list. I can’t gush this enough! I love it.
I can’t help but think Pip can absolutely pass as the modern-day Nancy Drew or one of her descendants. I might be reading too much into this but I do not want to print out that I find it suspicious that Pip’s mom isn’t mentioned by name. Hmmm… For the sequels, maybe? And, oh god, the dog’s death… I had to read fast on those parts because I can feel the panic and sadness. I keep looking over at my dog and I just wanna hug him.
This is, by far, my best read of the year 2022 behind Orwell’s 1984.
Favorite Quote(s):
“Sometimes remembering isn’t for yourself, sometimes you do it just to make someone else smile..”
― Pip, AGGGTM
“Rom-coms or films where boys get violently murdered?”
― Ravi to Pip, AGGGTM
The Stray Reader 
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