Tuesday, December 26, 2017

Review: Before I Let Go by Marieke Nijkamp

Release date: January 2nd 2018
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Purchase: Amazon

Synopsis via Goodreads:

Best friends Corey and Kyra were inseparable in their snow-covered town of Lost Creek, Alaska. When Corey moves away, she makes Kyra promise to stay strong during the long, dark winter, and wait for her return.

Just days before Corey is to return home to visit, Kyra dies. Corey is devastated―and confused. The entire Lost community speaks in hushed tones about the town's lost daughter, saying her death was meant to be. And they push Corey away like she's a stranger.

Corey knows something is wrong. With every hour, her suspicion grows. Lost is keeping secrets―chilling secrets. But piecing together the truth about what happened to her best friend may prove as difficult as lighting the sky in an Alaskan winter...


*Publisher approved request via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.



I'm still a bit iffy about this novel. I didn't really connect with the main character and was often confused by the story, but I did like the setting and the subject of mental illness and how it is viewed in this small and eerie community. But while the writing is good, it came off somewhat poetic in dialogues and I found myself constantly wondering why these people are talking like this and how it doesn't really fit the time in which the story is set. Unless it's just me and this is how people speak in Alaska? 

It's just a strange story, which I'm often drawn to, but with this one I feel like it could have been so much more. Whenever the atmosphere got tense, it would fizzle with not much resolve, and in the end it seems as though Corey left Lost Creek as confused as the moment she returned.  I would have loved for something to happen, some kind of change or awakening in this crazy community, but I guess every story can't end like that. Still, I wish there was...more. 

To conclude, Before I Let Go is certainly dark and intense and has an interesting premise. And while it didn't completely work for me, maybe I just didn't get the intention of the story and you might enjoy it more. So I still recommend giving it a read.



Marieke NijkampAbout the Author
Marieke Nijkamp a storyteller, dreamer, globe-trotter, geek. She's the author of THIS IS WHERE IT ENDS and the forthcoming BEFORE I LET GO. 
Her short stories can be found in: PILGRIM PLAYWRIGHT GENIE GUARD, FERAL YOUTH, and THE RADICAL ELEMENT.







4 comments:

  1. It's complicated when you can't connect there...

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  2. I've been curious about this one. I've never read Marieke's first novel, but everyone seems to love that one, and I feel like the buzz for this is pretty large as well. That's too bad that it left you wanting more. I've been there before, and it's never a fun feeling, and hmm, I'm not too sure about the dialogue now either. One of my pet peeves is when dialogue doesn't sound natural.

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    Replies
    1. Yeah I heard great things about the author's previous book and would love to read that one. This one didn't really work for me but maybe her other works will.

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