Amy's View: Ten by Gretchen McNeil

Ten by Gretchen McNeil
♦publisher: Balzer & Bray
♦released: September 18th, 2012
♦hardcover, 294 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦source: ALA

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Three-day weekend. House party.
White Rock House on Henry Island.
You do NOT want to miss it.

It was supposed to be the weekend of their lives—an exclusive house party on Henry Island. Best friends Meg and Minnie each have their reasons for being there (which involve T.J., the school’s most eligible bachelor) and look forward to three glorious days of boys, booze and fun-filled luxury.

But what they expect is definitely not what they get, and what starts out as fun turns dark and twisted after the discovery of a DVD with a sinister message: Vengeance is mine.

Suddenly people are dying, and with a storm raging, the teens are cut off from the outside world. No electricity, no phones, no internet, and a ferry that isn’t scheduled to return for two days. As the deaths become more violent and the teens turn on each other, can Meg find the killer before more people die? Or is the killer closer to her than she could ever imagine?

Review:
Once again I find myself loving a book that has very mixed reviews. I will tell you I mainly picked up this book to read next because of the reviews that it got. I was shocked to see a book receive 1 star and then on the next review receive 5 stars with nothing in between. A love it or hate it dilemma. So off I went to my bookshelf picked it up and dove right in. And I am happy to report that I really enjoyed TEN by Gretchen McNeil. A captivating YA thriller. Yes folks, it’s a YA book.  It was written with young adults specifically in mind. So if you are an adult reading this keep in mind before you review that this wasn’t written for your generation. The reading community can be harsh out there.  I give Gretchen McNeil huge credit and a huge virtual hug because you have to be strong to weather the opinions of others.

Now to the book. Ten was an entertaining and mesmerizing thriller. It can hold its own on a shelf next to a Christopher Pike book any day. The book was extremely well thought out and even left me surprised with the twists and turns that it took. I was even pleasantly surprised that late at night when I was finishing this book I caught my heart racing for the main character Meg. I was so wrapped up in the book I almost jumped at a few parts. I couldn’t put it down for hours even as darkness crept into the late hours of the night setting the scene perfectly to finish this chilling book.  The plot was a realistic set up of scenes, 10 teenagers all lying to their parents to have a weekend party at a friend’s summer house. Maybe not one that all teenagers can pull off but there defiantly are those few who would take any opportunity to have a party like this. However this weekend doesn’t turn out to be the party of the decade everyone planned it to be--- instead it turns out to be reminiscent of a classic 90’s horror movie. Ten teenagers trapped in a house on an island, a wicked storm trapping them there and each one falling to death one by one. It sounds cliché, but surprisingly it’s very well done. Some murders I didn’t even see coming even though I was waiting for it.  And to all those doubters out there, the story does have a plot and a reason behind why each person is murdered. It just goes to show how fragile a teenager’s life is and how one night's choices can change your life forever. Definitely a good read. Fast, entertaining and definitely a thriller. Just don’t read this one if your alone in a house along the ocean…. unless you want to set yourself up for the perfect reading scene.

Find Gretchen McNeil online: Website  •  Facebook  •  Twitter

Purchase Ten:  Amazon  •  BN.com  •  BookDepository  •  Indiebound