Thank you to Bound to Books Tours for including me in the Not Like Everyone Else blog tour and for supplying me with a copy of the book.
About Jennifer Leigh
Jennifer Leigh is a self-published young adult author and blogger. Since a young age, stories called to her until she set pen to paper. Her blog, Bound to Writing, focuses on young adult books and writing. She lives in New Jersey with her husband and her loving animals.
Find more by Jennifer Leigh at www.boundtowriting.com and follow her on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
Title: Not Like Everyone Else
Author: Jennifer Leigh
Genre: Mystery
Age Classification: Young Adult
Publisher: Createspace
Release: June 15, 2018
Available Format(s): Paperback – Ebook
Synopsis:
Ryan can’t seem to get her memories in order. When she breaks it off with her long-term boyfriend, Corey, she can’t help but feel free. But mysterious events keep Ryan asking “just what happened?” After her family moved to Ryton, after Carter goes missing, after Jacob is in the hospital. All of these afters, but Ryan can’t remember the befores. With Harper and Elliot by her side, Ryan can only hope that she does not forget… again. Will Ryan be able to recover her memory to figure out what happened when it all went dark?
– Topics: Friendships, Relationships, Amnesia
– Triggers: Partner Abuse
Review:
Ryan is confused, moody and has gaps in her memory. This seemingly random amnesia does provide an interesting plot and an unreliable narrator, but what is worrying is that Ryan seems to have no idea that it happens. When she wakes up battered and bruised, she does not really question why she has no memory of Corey beating her. While there are some clues provided that indicate why Ryan cannot remember everything, it is not until much later in the novel that her parents decide it is time to inform Ryan of her condition. Her parents not making an adult aware of a serious medical condition is strange enough, but Ryan’s parents only seem to contribute to her frustration. There is also sister mentioned, but we do not get to meet her or discover much about her. Bit of an odd family.
Her new friendship with Harper begins as one of convenience. Both have no one else and want a friend for the Summer. Harper as a character was okay, but she was not a character I warmed up to. Although the friendship does seem to develop into a true friendship after everything that happens, it often felt like Harper was not a true friend to Ryan and only spending time with Ryan out of desperation not to be alone.
Then there is Elliot. He is described as practically perfect and proves that when he stays by Ryan’s side through all the unknowns and, let’s be honest, crazy situations. The only time he is not-so-perfect is when he said that his friends do not like Ryan believing she is crazy. I was also not fond of how quickly they progressed from ‘just met’ to ‘I love you’, but that is a personal preference.
The story itself was an interesting concept that I really liked. I went through fazes of ‘no, she could not have done it’ and ‘it was absolutely her’ only to have my mind changed and be proven wrong at the end, which is what I want in a mystery book. It was well paced so it did not feel too slow or fast at any stage, but the writing did sometimes feel a little frantic. Perhaps this was done to convey just how scared, confused, etc. the main character was.
One element that I really liked was the little passages from the stalker/attacker that were scattered throughout the book. This helped both throw me off the scent and figure out who the person causing all the mayhem was.
Star Rating: ☆☆☆
3.5 stars. While I liked the concept of the mystery and think it was executed well, I personally did not enjoy the characters as much as I would have liked to.
Still, if you are a fan of mystery novels, this may be a book you want to check out
Questions
Until next time bibliophiles!
Amy x
Zany Bibliophile 
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