Review: Blackbird by Anna Carey

Blackbird by Anna Carey
Series: Blackbird Duology #1
Published by HarperTeen (9.16.2014)
Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Young Adult
Format: eARC, 256 pages
Source: Edelweiss

A girl wakes up on the train tracks, a subway car barreling down on her. With only minutes to react, she hunches down and the train speeds over her. She doesn’t remember her name, where she is, or how she got there. She has a tattoo on the inside of her right wrist of a blackbird inside a box, letters and numbers printed just below: FNV02198. There is only one thing she knows for sure: people are trying to kill her. 

On the run for her life, she tries to untangle who she is and what happened to the girl she used to be. Nothing and no one are what they appear to be. But the truth is more disturbing than she ever imagined.

My thoughts

When I first heard about this book, I thought it sounded awesome. When it went up on Edelweiss, I downloaded it immediately. It was only after that I realized it was written in second person. My reaction: Uhh, second person, seriously? I don’t even think I want to read it anymore… I was also afraid to read this book due to bad reviews it has (3.57 avg…ouch!), but I ended up being pleasantly surprised. For once I was the black sheep in a good way!

Despite being apprehensive of the second person, I thought it was pulled off fabulously! It really helped put YOU in the story, and it was very interesting because i’ve never seen a book written like that before.

The suspense ROCKED! You have absolutely no idea what’s going on because the main character (or, “you”) doesn’t know. “You” also don’t even know what your name is! The air of mystery had me completely hooked from page 1. Who is this girl? Where the heck did she come from and why can’t she remember anything? What is this mysterious island that keeps popping up?!

This book is very short, which made for fast pacing. It grabbed on and didn’t let go! I was intrigued about the story and eager to find out the truth.

I really liked the main character – she reminded me of me! But, I have to say that my favorite character was Izzy. She was awesome! I could totally see her and I being friends in real life. I liked Ben, too, but there was nothing that really stood out about him, and I just didn’t feel the romance like I wanted to.

So, why only 3.5 heartbeats, Jessi?! Well, I don’t feel as if the story itself really stood out. It doesn’t separate itself from all the other stories like it in YA, despite being in 2nd person. I really enjoyed it while I was reading it, but as soon as I put it down it already started to fade away. I also didn’t get much of any feeling out of any of it, sadly, other than anticipation.

Favorite quote

“You talk about it like it’s a choice,” you say. “Like you either deal with it or you don’t.”
“Isn’t everything a choice?”
[…] Not everything is a choice. Some things choose you.

Overall Assessment

Plot: 4/5
Premise: 4/5
Writing style: 3.5/5
Originality: 3/5
Characters: 3/5
Pace: 5/5
Feels: 1.5/5
Cover: 4/5
Overall rating: 3.5/5

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