“Slide,” by Jill Hathaway, Balzer + Bray, March 27, 2012, $17.99 (ages 14 and up)
Everyone knows who Vee Bell is. Not because she’s popular or pretty, but because she’s the girl who falls asleep.
Vee has narcolepsy, and falling asleep at inopportune times is out of her control. Except Vee isn’t falling asleep when she passes out. Instead, she’s sliding into someone else’s mind, experiencing the world through their eyes.
No one knows about Vee’s “special gift” — when she tried to tell her dad, he sent her to a shrink. So Vee suffers in silence, trying to stave off slides with caffeine pills by the handful. It’s not a great solution, but she’s getting by. Getting by, that is, until she witnesses a murder.
Vee’s seen all sorts of things, but nothing can prepare her for the night she slides into the mind of someone who’s in the act of killing her sister’s friend, Sophie. Vee wants to tell someone what happened, but who would believe her? Vee’s got to figure something out soon — before someone else gets hurt.
“Slide” is one of those books that starts out going one direction and ends in a completely different one. Author Jill Hathaway has created a mystery that will have readers guessing almost to the end.
Narcolepsy, of course, is the key element in Jill’s book, and it’s what will hook readers. The sleep disorder is fascinating, and that alone is enough to engage readers. That the story becomes a mystery was fine, but I would have found myself continuing to read if Jill’s book had remained a contemporary novel.
Vee is a strong leading character. She’s smart and knows herself well, but is struggling with the weight of caring for her younger sister and herself. She’s learned how to work the system, but that’s not working too well for her. Vee is likable and relatable, and the story just wouldn’t work without those qualities.
Overall, I enjoyed “Slide,” but it wasn’t perfect. While Jill’s story is engaging and well thought out, there are some elements to the plot that feel a little too forced and convenient. Also, with elements of drinking, partying and sex, it is more appropriate for an older YA audience. I didn’t grow up with teens who were partying all the time and find it hard to relate to those elements — luckily they were not the stars of this particular book.
“Slide” is a fast-moving book that will most likely appeal to it’s intended audience — young adults.
