I was under the impression that this would be a very fast paced YA book but honestly it felt more like a middle grade novel. I think it would be better to market as MG story. But even despite that I do think the concept was executed in a pretty interesting way

This book is different to what I’d usually read but the front cover drew me in, so I needed to find out more. I really enjoyed it! I was intrigued by this story from the very first page, it is fast paced and gets into the narrative quickly. The mystery of Monsieur Duval is exciting and I couldn’t wait for my questions to be answered!

Frankie is a vulnerable, quiet young woman who is going through a lot within her life. From a rare skin condition, to not knowing who her family is. Throughout the storyline, Frankie’s skin condition plays a bit part. There are some subtle moments that teach you to accept and love yourself, for who you are. I think for a YA book, this is extremely important and I loved that Nelson did this. Nelson’s writing is very enjoyable and easy, I was able to visualise these characters in my mind very vividly, which did add to the magic! I read this book within 24 hours.

My only criticism would be that I felt the ending was a little rushed. The book allows you to get to know the characters and their story but then there’s a sudden abrupt reveal that brings the whole story together. Overall I still enjoyed the ending and finding out Frankie’s mysterious past. The last sentence was charming and made me smile, I would like to know what happened with Frankie next. A sequel maybe?

4/5 stars!

The life and deaths of Frankie D. Who wouldn't want to read a book with that title? Plus the circus feel of the cover, mysterious wrist tattoo, and creepy blurb vibes! I loved the premise of this book, I love all things mysterious and kooky. I loved the element of suspense surrounding Frankie and Max. I liked the characters and the stories as a whole, and while I wanted a five star read here, it felt as if a lot of the information was dumped most of the time. We would get a thread of story in the middle of a pile of information to sort through. So, while the book as a whole was pretty good, the action was eventful, and the characters relatable, the backstory could have been stretched to add a few pages to make it flow better. Overall a good read, and I'd pick up more by this author.

Frankie doesn't remember her life before being discovered in an alley as a child. She endures school and doesn't really engage with others until a break-in triggers recurring dreams that lead her to unravel a hundred-year-old mystery.

Frankie's a relatively likable character and a good depiction of a "sullen" teen who is actually working through trauma and personal issues. The story generally flows well and broaches some difficult topics with care though the pacing at the end feels a bit rushed. Some of the characters felt quite flat, especially the other performers in the sideshow. In all, it's a nice YA mystery and the dual storylines are handled fairly well.

I received this book free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of The Life and Deaths of Frankie D. in exchange for an honest review!

First off, I hope you know I wanted to love this book so badly. I was overjoyed to get approved for the ARC. I eagerly awaited reaching it on my TBR. I may or may not be procrastinating a big paper for school right now so I could read and review it slighter earlier. Reincarnation, mysteries, and circuses? I couldn't wait.

Unfortunately, this is the kind of YA that's written like a middle grade but has too much YA content to be put there. Everything is written in this very matter of fact, shallow manner that leads to a lot of really cringey moments (particularly to Frankie discussing her goth life style and the other girls at school) and at worst mean that some of these books more serious aspects fall really, really flat.

There are 3 characters in this who are sexually assaulted and because of the fast pacing and lack of depth in the narrative, none of them felt like they were handled well enough to warrant the young audience this should be targeted at being exposed to that heavy of material. I'm not saying middle grade can't tackle serious topics, but even in YA it needs to be handled incredible well and be done for a very clear reason and it just didn't feel like it was here. I'm not saying I think the author was trying to exploit sexual assault or somehow capitalize off of it because its handled respectfully and she writes about her intent to bolster the #metoo movement in the author's note, but just because the inclusion of potentially triggering content was well intentioned doesn't mean it was well written.

This book started soooo good with its mysterious loss memory theme and portraits from so much lovable twelve years old girl’s life.

But in the middle of the book, the magic ends and it starts getting flat, pace gets slower and slower like never ending nerve bending song! And the conclusion comes out of nowhere abruptly and haphazardly.

Maybe I’m not the right reviewer choice for this book because it seems like written for middle grade more than young adult age group ( even though I have a young soul, I’m still freaking middle age woman! So it could be a little challenging for me to make an object evaluation because it seems like I’m not in the targeted reviewer group of this story)

Overall: the author creates so much impressively adorable characters but the way of story telling style was a little bumpy! Beginning was fascinating and hooking you up but I wish the ending could be well executed!
I’m giving three mysterious, vivid, mystic circus stars!

As far as I see the author has still great potential to create magical worlds and connectable characters so I’d pleased to read more of her works in near future.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Dundurn Press for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

There are so many fascinating elements to this story. I love the character of Frankie because it is not often that we see a teenage goth that is not a total stereotype and as the main protagonist. Her first-person perspective is done very well, she is layered and complex, her background slowly unravelling, and her thoughts and reactions felt authentic to me. There is some great character development throughout the novel as she comes to accept her skin condition and regains the ability to trust the people who care for her. There is a slightly eerie tone to the Egyptian magic which adds another interesting flair, however I think it could have been a little darker and more sinister for more of an impact. My favourite part was the mysterious unravelling of Frankie’s past and what ties her, Max and Jessica together. It was unpredictable and I found the ending unexpected and suspenseful, but for some reason, it lacked the drama and tension I had been hoping for in the final climax. Overall, a really impressive YA novel that blends together pieces of genres from all over the place. It ticked all of my boxes with good characters and a suspenseful plot while covering some heavy issues which left the reader with some additional valuable messages.

TW: non-explicit rape scenes and child abuse.

It's a 4.5 for me, for a few little things (mostly because Frankie's friendship with Max had a few didn't-phase-me moments for me).

This was an incredible read from the start. With its great summary, Frankie's story hooked me in and didn't let me go.

The best part of this book was never really knowing what was going to happen because of the many, many possibilities. Was a spirit or something like that telling a story to Frankie through her dreams? Was that spirit asking for help? Was it Frankie's past life? Was it her life before being found abandoned when she was ten?

The characters are great, even those secondary ones that don't have many scenes nor characterization. All of them had their grays, their good and bad days, and that also helped to not really knowing what was really happening until the very last end. You don't know who's the bad guy (IF there's a bad guy), don't know if the multiple plans will be successful, don't know if Frankie's gonna make it. It's really interesting and it's really well done.

A last detail: I hated Frankie at the beginning. She was unbearable, incredibly superficial much to her regret and biased. I suffered reading about her, but that made her narrative arc even more realistic and interesting.

Really recommended!

Intriguing, fun, but misleading.

The book starts off really well, the author knows her characters and builds a very interesting world. She hooks the readers with so many promises for the story and for its main character, Frankie Doe. But I must say that her writing felt flaky (no pun intended) - sometimes you can see how this book would be classified as YA, but most of the time it seems to be a perfect fit for a middle-grade audience.

Putting that remark aside, and thinking of this book as middle-grade, it really was enjoyable. I can see a 12-year-old kid having the time of her life with this book, but I can't see a 16+-year-old kid digging this.

Also, the ending felt a little bit rushed for my taste. Colleen got us hooked on her characters, she made them likable enough for us to care, so I'd have liked to see a better and thought-out ending.

I really loved the story, I devoured it in one sitting. I loved the concept of the book and the lush, atmospheric tone of the book added to the experience. I also really like the writing style of the author. I hope I get to read more book from her in the future.

The summary was very intriguing and I really enjoyed the first half but the second half felt more slow. The characters, and most of the plot was well written for the most part. I can't wait to see what else Colleen Nelson will write next.

This book was fast paced, with a lovely writing style! The descriptions were lush and the characters themselves were very interesting.

i really enjoyed reading this book, the characters were great and I really enjoyed the storyline and I liked the way the author writes. I look forward to more from the author.

3.5 stars

This started amazing. Mysterious. With a little girl found in an alley with no memories at all. It got me hooked up to 40% then somehow it became pretty predictable and thats a shame because I really wanted to love this.
I did like the story and how it developed and how everything started clicking on but in the end i got confused because too much story was "dumped" in one chapter and it became too hard to follow. Thats why im giving it this rating.

TW: mentions of sexual assault and child abuse

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read the ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.