Review: Before I Let Go

Before I Let Go by Marieke Nijkamp
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Just two weeks before Corey is due to go back to her tiny, remote hometown to visit her best friend Kyra, she receives the devastating news that Kyra is dead. Corey immediately flies home to see Kyra's family and attend the funeral, but finds she is now treated like an outsider. Corey cannot accept that Kyra's death was a suicide, and the more she looks into the last several months of Kyra's life, the more sinister things seem. Will Corey find the truth, or will the town of Lost hold on to it's secrets forever?

First let me first say it is difficult to give this book a fair rating and review because it is definitely not my cup of tea. I guess I would classify it as magical realism crossed with psychological thriller; it is very dark and creepy, with strong sinister overtones and a touch of paranormal. It does draw the reader in, even as much as I knew it was not my kind of book, I wanted to know what really happened to Kyra, and whether Corey made it out of Lost alive. Overall, the writing was pretty good, the characters were pretty well-developed and it was well-paced. The one thing that seemed odd is that while most of the book is told in a first-person narrative by Corey, there are a few short passages that are told instead in third person, by a detached narrator, which made it very disjointed and confusing.

I would not recommend this book to someone who likes lighter reads, realistic fiction, or lots of action. However, I would suggest it for those who like magical realism, psychological thrillers, and stories that are dark and disturbing.

This is Marieke Nijkamp's second YA novel; her first This Is Where It Ends was published in 2016. Before I let Go is due to be released in early January, 2018.

[I received a digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]

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