Author: Jennifer Brown
Genre: Mystery, Young Adult
Published on: January 19, 2016 by Katherine Tegen Books
Nikki Kill has always been an outsider. Born with rare synesthesia, she sees the world differently. In Nikki’s eyes, happiness is pink, sadness is a mixture of brown and green, and lies are gray.
To Nikki, Peyton Hollis, the ultrarich it-girl at school, was seemingly untouchable. That is, until Peyton is violently attacked and the only phone number the hospital finds in Peyton’s cell is Nikki’s. Suddenly Nikki is pulled into Peyton’s glittering, fast-paced world as she tries to unravel an unfolding conspiracy.
As Nikki gets closer to the dark truth—and to Peyton’s gorgeous older brother—the only thing she can be sure of is death is a deep, pulsing crimson.
The cover art is what first drew me to this book. Then I read the description, and I was hooked. Shade Me introduces Nikki Kill, an outcast with an interesting name. She’s your average high school student, apart from one thing. Nikki has synesthesia, a condition that causes some of her senses to overlap. It makes her “see” emotions as colors. For example, when a room has a happy atmosphere, Nikki sees pink. If someone is being dishonest, she sees gray. Letters, numbers, and words have their own fixed color in her eyes as well. A fun quirk about this is that Nikki memorizes phone numbers by their colors, not the actual digits.
One night, Nikki’s life is changed forever. She gets a call from the hospital, asking her to ID a girl who was just admitted. When Nikki arrives, she’s stunned to see the girl is Peyton Hollis, almost beaten to death. She’s the queen bee at their school and comes from a rich family. The issue is, Nikki and Peyton have never had anything to do with each other. Nikki’s puzzled when a nurse says her phone number was the only one saved in Peyton’s contacts. This makes Detective Chris Martinez (who showed up to investigate Peyton’s attack) curious about Nikki.
Although she wants to walk away and let the Hollis family deal with the problem, Nikki can’t resist wanting answers. She resolves to find out who attacked Peyton, and why. Dru, Peyton’s brother, agrees to help her. They grow close as they spend more time with each other. Unfortunately, Dru is sought out by the police soon afterward as a main suspect. He has sort of a…black sheep vibe about him. I wasn’t sure whether Dru was the kind of person capable of beating up his own sister, though.
Nikki continues following clues, aided by her synesthesia. The longer she investigates, the more she learns about Peyton's life. It turns out there's more to the Hollis family than anyone knows. Nikki slowly learns more about Peyton’s life as she investigates her friends. It appears Peyton had planned something before she got attacked. Nikki eventually uncovers stuff people don’t know about Bill and Vanessa Hollis. They may not be the upstanding citizens they appear to be.
Shade Me has a bit of a Nancy Drew feel about it, though a bit more mature (like the CW show). Thankfully there's nothing supernatural in this series. Nikki is a teen sleuth with few friends who often gets into dangerous situations. The synesthesia is one of the things that set her apart. Nikki is also very intelligent despite her poor grades (synesthesia makes reading difficult) and wise. She has quite an attitude as well. Nikki goes to the gym often, so she’s physically fit and able to defend herself thanks to martial arts training. Strangely, Nikki also smokes a lot. She may not be a fitness nut, but it was still weird that she smokes.
As Nikki continues investigating, Detective Martinez is close behind. He thinks Nikki has more to do with the Hollis family than what she says to him. At first Nikki finds him a bit of a nuisance. She warms up to him a bit as the book progresses. Detective Martinez keeps popping up in Nikki’s life, even going to the gym she likes. There are hints of a romance, but Nikki’s head is too focused on investigating. Soon Nikki discovers shocking truths that will make her question even her own life. When she finds out who one of the book’s antagonists are, she’s incredulous. This is a cunning, ruthless person who’s not afraid to oppose Nikki head-on. Neither is this person above killing. Will Nikki be able to stop them before Peyton—or someone else—dies?
After reading, I could definitely see why Shade Me has such overwhelmingly good reviews. It’s a riveting mystery, with an engaging protagonist and lots of secrets to be discovered. There’s plenty for romance fans as well. Nikki is a rather original character. Despite her flaws, she’s easy to root for. You become invested in Nikki (and the mystery of Peyton’s attack) as the book progresses. Detective Martinez is a compelling character as well. He’s one of those righteous cops who desire to bring justice yet is not annoying about it. I look forward to finding out if Nikki and Chris get together. They’d make a great couple.
My rating: ★★★★★
5 stars - Absolutely must-read. It's outstanding!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment