Chapter by Chapter

After reading what Sketchy by author Olivia Samms was about I couldn’t wait to get reading. It sounded exciting, dangerous and had the potential to become a crazy thriller. LuckilySketchy was all of those things and by the time I was finished reading I was left with a smile on my face and glad that I got to read a novel with such an insane plot. It’s such a unique read that I know I’ll never forget it.

Sketchy follows the lie of teenaged main character Bea Washington, a recovering drug addict who is starting her life over again at Packard High. Ever since exiting rehab, things haven’t been the same with Bea and Packard High is in a city that is still dealing with the assault of two teen girls. Bea finds herself learning about one of the victims: the school’s golden girl Willa. Bea begins to learn more about Willa she learns more about the assaults and begins to uncover the mystery of who is behind it.

However discovering the identity of the man behind the assaults forces Bea to use her inhuman ability of reading minds when she draws. Just as Bea grows closer to stopping the man behind the assaults she finds herself in a difficult situation as she becomes the next person he has his sights on. As Bea’s attempts at beginning her life again take place she is also the only person who can stop the killer from killing again. Dun, dun, dun!

Right from the start I really enjoyed the man character Bea. This is one of the few times that I’ve gotten to read about a main character who was addicted to substances and had to go to rehab to deal with it. Bea proves herself to be a strong female MC who isn’t afraid to do what she wants to and she has no problem with twisting the rules for the good of her cause. What I also liked about Bea was her ability to draw what’s on a person’s mind. Can you say awesome? I think that readers who are looking for a protagonist that will take control of the situation at hand will really love Bea.

The really cool thing that Sketchy has are pictures of the things that Bea draws and I found that really awesome because I felt I could connect with the novel more than if I were to imagine Bea’s drawings myself. The pictures of Bea’s sketches were also very good and beautiful to look at. Again with this her ability comes into play and her ability is one that I have not read about ever. This made the novel such a refreshing read and I loved that while reading my imagination could just go and run wild for a little while.

The one thing that I think a lot of readers might want to know about is the coarse language that is used in the dialogue between characters. I was a bit surprised by the words that were used and it didn’t bother me that much. However I do know that some readers could become offended with the words used by characters when they interact with each other in dialogue. Other than that (and besides substance abuse/drugs) I didn’t find anything that could stand out like a sore thumb and deter readers from wanting to read.

I’d recommend Sketchy by Olivia Samms to readers who are looking for a YA thriller that will keep them on the edge of their seat, readers who are looking for a refreshing new read and to those of us who just want a quick and imaginative read.