IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TO ME, by Luanne Rice, Scholastic Press, Sept. 17, 2024, Hardcover, $19.99 (young adult)
A teenager searches for her sister’s murderer in If Anything Happens to Me, a YA novel by Luanne Rice.
It’s been eight months since the body of Eloise Parrish was found in the woods.
Eloise’s surviving sister, Oli, is numb with grief and shock. But Oli’s also angry. Her sister’s killer was never identified or caught. There are no leads, no clues. The case is growing cold, and only Oli seems to care.
Until Oli finds another girl left for dead, in the exact spot Eloise’s body was found. Except this girl is alive. She can’t remember how she got there, but Oli knows that she’s the key to solving Eloise’s murder.
The two girls join forces to unravel a mystery that is all too real — and all too dangerous. As their search leads them around Oli’s seemingly idyllic hometown and into the paths of people Oli knows well, Oli begins to wonder who she can trust… and how much she’ll risk to learn the terrifying truth. —Synopsis provided by Scholastic Press
I made the mistake of looking at some of the reviews for If Anything Happens to Me, and oof, I shouldn’t have. Luanne Rice is known for her adult fiction, and it seems like that crowd is judging her harshly for this novel. Again, the intended audience is young adults.
If Anything Happens to Me isn’t perfect, but it’s not bad, either. In fact, it’s a fast-moving thriller with some interesting twists along the way.
At the center of the story is Oli, a girl whose life has been turned upside down since her sister was murdered. Frustrated with the lack of progress on the part of the police, Oli decides to take on the investigation herself.
If Anything Happens to Me starts out with a great hook, and Rice builds upon it throughout. The settings and overall ambience are so strong here, that even some of the weirder twists seem to fit. There’s a romantic element that didn’t really need to be there, but it could be a draw for some readers.
If Anything Happens to Me is a fast-paced read that’s a good choice for this time of year.
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