Title: This Is Our Story
Author: Ashley Elston
Pages: 320
Genre: YA, Mystery
Source: Free ARC from Disney-Hyperion
Rating: A
Note: As stated under the Source (above), I received this book for free from Disney-Hyperion via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review (and trust me, honest is always what you’ll get).
Summary: The River Point Boys are a tight knit group for whom friendship and loyalty is everything, so when one of them gets shot on a camping trip, they band together to protect each other, hoping no one will be able to determine who killed their friend. However, secrets have a way of tearing people apart, and the River Point Boys are not immune. As things begin to unfold, it becomes obvious that they have more secrets than any of them realized, secrets that one of them was desperate to hide. Maybe desperate enough to kill for.
Review: This Is Our Story is a perfect example of the right book at the right time. Either it brought me out of this exhausting and lengthy reading slump or it was the exact right book to pick up at the natural end of it. Either way, I’m grateful. I was in need of a story that was intriguing and hard to put down, that I could emotionally connect to without being wrung out, that was smart enough to make me think but leave me unsure. This Is Our Story was all that and more.
One of the things I loved most about this book is that it was all pretty believable. So often in YA, the circumstances are so unlikely that even if the story is enjoyable, the lack of believability leaves you wanting. Not so here. There wasn’t anything that seemed far-fetched and that helped a great deal with suspension of disbelief.
Also important, the characters, seniors in high school, are written as the burgeoning adults they are. They are smart and independent, with developed relationships and interests, capable of critical thinking and a wide range of emotions, while still relying on the support of the parents they are starting to grow away from. They also have secrets and struggle to make the right decisions, wanting to do the right thing while protecting their own interests. Complex and human. I very much appreciated this aspect of the book.
Definitely a book I’d recommend to anyone who loves a good mystery, particularly those who love YA.