Review: Ten

Ten by Gretchen McNeil
Release Date ~ September 18, 2012
Balzer + Bray ~ HarperCollins
ISBN13:  9780062118783
ARC won from HarperCollins giveaway

Goodreads Synopsis:
SHHHH!
Don't spread the word!
Three-day weekend. Party at White Rock House on Henry Island.
You do NOT want to miss it.

It was supposed to be the weekend of their lives—an exclusive house party on Henry Island. Best friends Meg and Minnie each have their reasons for being there (which involve T.J., the school’s most eligible bachelor) and look forward to three glorious days of boys, booze and fun-filled luxury.

But what they expect is definitely not what they get, and what starts out as fun turns dark and twisted after the discovery of a DVD with a sinister message: Vengeance is mine.

Suddenly people are dying, and with a storm raging, the teens are cut off from the outside world. No electricity, no phones, no internet, and a ferry that isn’t scheduled to return for two days. As the deaths become more violent and the teens turn on each other, can Meg find the killer before more people die? Or is the killer closer to her than she could ever imagine?

I looooove a good spooky story. Action-packed, semi-predictable-yet-still-surprising thrillers? TOTALLY my thing. I would positively LOVE to see more books just like this filling up the YA genre, and Ten was an excellent addition to that!

This is one book I've recommended to a NUMBER of friends (there's actually a LINE UP of people waiting to borrow my copy). Pick this one up if you're looking for spine-tingling chills and a plot that will keep you guessing.

1. Solid writing for creepy scenes:
   
   Gretchen McNeil's writing totally sets up the creepy atmosphere for the whole book; it's solid and the feeling it gives off is just perfect for the reader. Like, all I want to do with this book is curl up with it and a blanket and tea on a dark and stormy night = PERFECTION. Scary books rely so much on strong writing, and I was so pleased that Gretchen absolutely nailed this part.
   
2. Predictable - yet still thrilling:
   
   Here's the thing: Ten is a retelling of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None. So anyone familiar with that story won't be completely surprised by Ten's plot. And it isn't the most surprising, mysterious book I've ever read - but that doesn't take away from its enjoyment and it still isn't entirely predictable or formulaic either. It seemed like every time I felt I had finally figured it out, I was wrong about something.
   
3. Character dynamics:
   
   One of the best aspects of And Then There Were None is how it highlights the relationships between different characters, and Ten does a fantastic job including this in the story. It's a driving factor between the plot, trying to figure out how this group of (mostly) strangers are all connected to one another - and then watching how they interact with each other. It's a great look into the dynamics of relationships and how people interact with others. 

Yet there were a couple of relationships that felt a tad too weak for me - Meg and Minnie were interesting and their story wrapped up well for the most part, but I had a harder time buying into it at first.

But mostly, I wasn't impressed with how emotionless Meg felt at times. Especially at the end, when she figures out exactly what has been going on this whole time, she feels somewhat cold and callous towards all the deaths which have taken place. I know that it isn't particularly crucial to a book like this one, but it still felt a little too distant for me, personally. Honestly, except for this one thing I think this book would have been 5 stars. It just rubbed me the wrong way when I finished reading it. 

Overall, Ten was en extraordinary new YA read - it was perfect for the mood I was in when I wanted a scary read, and this one definitely kept me on my toes and glancing over my shoulder!

Ugh! Can you even handle this book trailer?! Thanks for the freaky dreams!

HCC Frenzy Presents...

I was recently invited to visit HarperCollins Canada along with a number of other local bloggers to meet some of the faces behind HCC and hear about some of their most exciting fall releases. If you aren't familiar with Frenzy, it's the feature HarperCollins Canada has put together to showcase their awesome teen books. You can even find them on Twitter!

It was such a great night, finally getting to meet some of the lovely ladies over there and just socializing with other book lovers!

Plus there was pie. Really good pie- with fun bookish names! I tweeted along during the event, so you'll find the same information in this recap post that I shared there :)

HCC did a great job of introducing us to Shannon, Vikki, Jessica and Hadley, all who took the time to share with us some of the work they do - everything from designing the Frenzy mag, publicity, author, and editor!

 

Besides introducing their fave fall books, we also held a mini Insurgent/Divergent book club where we discussed some of the themes and ideas in the series.
And our highly scientific faction poll ended up with a fairly even split among us for which faction we would choose - the most, however, was Erudite which doesn't surprise me too much (book bloggers tend to be super smart, I find). (Fun fact: I chose Dauntless, much to Angel @ Mermaid Vison's surprise at first!)

 

There was also a special guest who arrived... a few of us had used our sleuthing skills to guess that it might be Tahereh Mafi (author of Shatter Me) and we were right! It was so great getting to meet Tahereh, who is honestly one of the sweetest, most down to earth people I've ever met.

 

Tahereh was incredibly friendly and realy took the time to talk to all the bloggers there. And amazingly enough, she surprised many of us by telling us she knew who we were from Twitter/our blogs! Seriously, there is nothing cooler than having an author remember the last thing you talkd about/your fangirl review for her book.

 

  

HCC also had a copy of Shatter Me for everyone attending which we could get signed by Tahereh (keep your eye on the blog for an upcoming giveway for a copy)!

 

 

Each of us left with a Frenzy gift bag including a HCC Fall 2012 catalogue, a copy of the latest Frenzy mag (you can sign up for your own here), excerpt of What's Up With Jody Barton?, signed Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi, ARC Don't Turn Around by Michelle Gagnon, Before I Fall book plate signed by Lauren Oliver, and Delirium & Divergent temporary tattoos. You can't see them in this photo, but there was also a Frenzy pin and Pretty Little Liars lip chap!

Okay, now on to the most important part: the fall books!

HCC Frenzy put together a list of the top 6 books they're most excited about this fall - they had plenty to say about them, and I'll try to sum it up for you here (also: each blogger received a different ARC in their gift bag of one of the 6).

• Breathe by Sarah Crossan:
  
   
  This pick's a new dystopian in a world where the outside world lacks oxygen - people can apparently go on little trips (kind of like camping) to the outside world, and so a couple teens do... and danger ensues. We were told this one has a definite survival feel to it, which sounds pretty exciting! Plus it has dual narrators: one male and one female.
   
• Don't Turn Around by Michelle Gagnon:
   
  This one's a thriller, perhaps with a somewhat paranormal aspect to it. There's an international conspiracy, lots of action, and a computer hacker. Plus some really weird stuff starts happening to the main character, so she has to figure out the mysteries. This one is totally right up my alley!
   
• Starling by Lesley Livingston:
   
  Lesley Livingston's upcoming release is a new series, but I believe it's set in the same world as wonderou strange. Features a totally tough heroine (she's a FENCER, guys. SO COOL), some really awesome action, Nordic myths, and of course a cute guy.

• Such Wicked Intent by Kenneth Oppel:
   
  This one's the sequel to This Dark Endeavour, a fantastic series based off the Frankenstein story. Imagine Victor Frankenstein as a teenager and you get Kenneth Oppel's new series. And Frenzy tells us that this one is EVEN BETTER than the first one.
   
• Ten by Gretchen McNeil:
   
  As if this one didn't sound cool enough already, Frenzy just had to completely sell me on this one. Ten teens on an island - with a serial killer. I KNOW, RIGHT?! Total thriller/horror aspect which is awesome. Apparently Ten is super scary with an Agatha Christie sort of vibe.
   
• Debutates by Cora Harrison:
   
  Perfect new book for fans of historical fiction (oh why yes, that IS me!) - we were told that it's somewhat similar to The Luxe by Anna Goldberg but A MILLION TIMES BETTER. This is promising. It has 4 sisters in it, and they have a really great relationship with each another.