Hattie Hoffman was a good girl and not the girl her family would have predicted would be found stabbed to death, so when the investigation starts into her murder they are blindsided by the truth left and right.

With twists and turns that I predicted and came out of nowhere, I don't want to say too much about this one. It is in the middle of the pack in the who dun it genre, it didn't stand out of the pack, but I would definitely read another from this author.

The one thing that stood out to me that I absolutely loved was that you heard some chapters from Hattie's point of view before her death. I loved seeing the before through her eyes and it was interesting hearing from the victim before she was a victim.

I definitely enjoyed this one, it read quick and it was actually nice to read during the holidays when life is crazy - to have a book suck you in and keep your attention is saying something!

Chat Review with Savannah and Angy

A few years ago I met Savannah within the bloggers community and we became instant friends. She’s not a blogger anymore but we are still friends and we keep talking about books and blogging and life in general. We are no so far away from each other, she lives in my neighbor country, Venezuela, and we plan to meet each other one day. Anyway, a few days ago I told her: OMG I know a book you’d like to read, and you can guess what she said about it, because here we are, chatting about it.

So, here I present you all, my dear friend, Savannah:

A: Hello *waves*

S: Hola. Greetings from Venezuela

A: So what’s up?

S: Starting this 2017 with an interesting, mind fuck read, Mindy Mejia is playing with my mind since chapter one.

A: I’m so happy to read this book, it felt refreshing to me *romance reader alert over here hahaha* but I agree with you, it was a mind fuck since chapter one.

S. I agree with you. She fulfilled the promise of the summary. This is a book “full of twists and turns” when I think I know something, she changes the game… don’t you think?

A: Yes, especially when it came to the suspect of the murder? I was like: It was this one, oh no, it was that one, and who was in the end? *chuckles* But yes, it was a great book full of twists and suspense.

S: Not only about the suspect, even with main character’s personalities. Hattie is the most intriguing character I’ve read ever (I think) and we’re talking about a teenager. She has so many layers and personalities inside her. It’s kind of scary thing.

A: I gotta admit I felt so related to her in so many aspects. Especially about acting out to make people happy. But I was never so calculating and diabolical as she was. WOW, that girl had me fooled half of the book.

S: Yes. She is a mastermind with that. (I almost drop a spoiler here) But the readers will be surprised to find how calculating and manipulative she is. But she didn’t fool to me. I always suspect of that kind of people.

A: *sigh* I know… But seriously, she was brilliant. I liked her, kind of *chuckles*

S: Of course. As character she’s impressive because is pretty hard tagging her as heroine or villain… you know?

A: Truer words ever. The constructions of the characters in this book was flawless indeed. For example Peter and the Sheriff Del. WOW, just as amazing as Hattie. Peter was one of my suspects… wait, is this a spoiler? Hahahah maybe it is, let’s just say he is a suspect 100% of the time but I refused to think he is guilty.

S: I’ll be honest: At the moment we’re doing this chat review I haven’t finished the book because I know would be so difficult for me talking about it and don’t drop a spoiler. Also I don’t want to finish because I’m enjoying it so much.

A: Well, my dear, I’m guilty too, because I haven’t finished either, and I’m dying to know the truth.

S: I am almost there, and again Ms. Mejia is playing with my mind. Because she showed two of my suspects but they’re not guilty, seemingly *wink*

A: Oh. My. God. I need to know, we better go back reading but let people know why everybody should read this book, even if they are not into thrillers :)

S: IMO if you want to start this year with something fresh, interesting, and compelling this book would be perfect for you. Sometimes I forget this is a YA book and it reminds me Gone Girl. Hattie is so Amy.

A: I agree with you, I loved the suspense in it, the incredible and believable story that has layers and layers, like you said, and to be honest, it makes me want to read more thrillers, because if they are as good as this book, I’ve been missing a lot in the literary world *wink*

S: Siiiii. Finally, new genres for Angy.

A: Before we go back reading, I think I’ll give my rating, even before finishing it. 5 stars for the murder, 5 stars for the investigator and 5 more stars for the murderer. *chichles* Kidding I know you hate this kind of ratings, but seriously, I’m blown away with this book. I’ll give 5 stars for it. How about you?

S: Mmmm… I am not in the mood of rating with stars anymore *wink* but I unquestionably recommend this book to everyone who wants to give a try to YA genre with a bit of suspense.

A: I can live with that *chuckles* Thanks my dear for reading this book with me, it was so fun, and stressing, but fun nonetheless. I am looking forward to buddy reading more books with you.

S: Awesome. Thank you so much for the invite. This was so fun, but we need to wrap up this and return our kindles for discover what the hell happened with Hattie and if our suspicions were right. Chao ;)

A: Adios, amiga. Que leas chevere. Hey, before you go, we need to listen the audiobook of this book. *evil laughter*

S: WHAT????? There is an audiobook of this book??? Why in the hell you didn’t say it before?

A: YES!!! Check the sample. It has three narrators and it sounds amazing. Can’t freaking wait to dive again into this awesome story.

https://soundcloud.com/simonschuster/everything-you-want-me-to-be-audiobook-excerpt

S: Mmmmm. Now, I have a problem, because I am not sure if I want to pause the read and wait for the audiobook… Decisions, decisions!

A: *evil laugh* Finish it and repeat it with the audiobook.

S: I haven’t done that with suspense books ever. Maybe in a couple of months. But enjoy the audio, the sample sounds great and they’re new narrators for us. I’ll be waiting for your audiobook review.

A: I’ll be listening to it and reviewing it, hopefully soon. Ok, my dear, we better go. Happy reading *HUGS*

S: Happy reading. And Happy New Year for all of your readers. Hope this 2017 brings us a lot of amazing books as Everything You Want Me To Be.

My Review:

I love a good murder mystery and Everything You Want Me To Be really fits the bill. Although it started out like a fairly straightforward CSI/Rizzoli and Isle’s style murder investigation story, it ultimately ended up being a lot more complex and fascinating than I was anticipating. Everything You Want Me to Be is a fast-paced psychological thriller that took me on a wild and unexpected ride. The main character is high school senior Hattie Hoffman who is found brutally murdered in the opening pages of the novel. Hattie lives in a small, close knit town where not much of anything ever happens so her murder completely rocks the community. The pressure is on local law enforcement to find out what happened to Hattie and to bring the murderer to justice, which is the focus of the bulk of the novel.

Highlights of Everything You Want Me to Be:

Hattie Hoffman: Hattie is a complex and well-drawn character. I never could decide if I actually liked her or not, but regardless, I found her to be a truly fascinating young woman. Even though the novel begins with her death, we go back about a year before that to follow the events that lead up to her murder. In taking that journey, the reader learns that Hattie is basically an actress in every sense of the word. She of course acts on the stage in plays, but the more we learn about her, the more it becomes apparent that she has no real sense of who she is and sees herself as acting out various roles all her life trying to make other people happy – the good daughter, the model student, the doting girlfriend – even if it’s at the expense of her own happiness. I can’t say much more without spoiling the plot, but it is unfortunately when she finally decides it’s time to figure out who she really is that Hattie sets into motion the chain of events that lead to her death.

Plot Twists: I love a mystery that is filled with plot twists, especially when the plot twists make sense and don’t seem contrived. In Everything You Want Me To Be, the author has woven together so many twists and turns that I was kept guessing the entire novel as to who the murderer was and what exactly had transpired the fateful night of Hattie’s death. I loved that I not only guessed wrong once or twice – I actually guessed wrong three times and each time was sure I had the right person. Every time I thought I had it all figured out, a new and equally plausible suspect would turn up.

Three Narrative Points of View: The story of Hattie’s murder unfolds from three different viewpoints through the eyes of Hattie, through the eyes of Del Goodman, the town sheriff and also a friend of Hattie’s family, and finally through the eyes of Peter Lund, Hattie’s English teacher and also one of the prime suspects in her murder. I know sometimes having so many different points of view can be confusing, but in this case, I thought seeing the story play out through these three sets of eyes really added a lot of layers to the tale.

MacBeth:

Hattie and her classmates are working on a production of William Shakespeare’s MacBeth at the time of her murder. When she turns up dead, one of her classmates claims that her death is a result of the so-called “MacBeth Curse,” where historically, people have often met with misfortune during productions of the play. While I didn’t believe for one moment that Hattie had lost her life because of a supposed curse, I did love the added mystique that the "MacBeth Curse" cast over the events especially once the news media got wind that the curse had been mentioned during the police investigation.

Themes: Speaking of MacBeth, it served a dual purpose in this novel. Not only is it the play Hattie was starring in when she was killed, but more importantly, it also shares major thematic elements with Everything You Want Me To Be, particularly regarding the dangers of acting on one's desires without regard for the potential consequences. I won't go so far as to call this a retelling of MacBeth, but there are definite similarities in that sense. Hattie going after what she wants no matter the fallout is very reminiscent of Lady MacBeth.

Anything I Didn’t Care For:

The only real complaint I had throughout the novel was that sometimes it felt like the whole “Hattie is playing a part” angle of the story was laid on a little thick. I guess it was because we’re reading the three different viewpoints coming to the same conclusion, but at a certain point, I just kept thinking “Okay, that’s enough. I get it.” That’s probably just me though. I tend to prefer story threads like that to be a little more subtle so that I can connect the dots myself and so reading it several different times was a little heavy-handed for me. That said, it didn’t remotely take away from my overall enjoyment of the story.

Who Would I Recommend This Novel To?

Everything You Want Me To Be is a well-crafted "whodunnit." If you like a suspenseful read that will keep you guessing from start to finish, I would definitely say to give this one a shot! I probably would not recommend it to younger audiences since the discovery of the body and the murder itself are pretty graphic, but other than that, I think most audiences would enjoy it.



Rating: 4 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-galley of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. This in no way affects my review.

Hattie Hoffman, a popular high school senior living in Montana’s big sky country, is found murdered inside an old barn. It’s a shocking crime that must be solved quickly by the local sheriff, Del. Del just happens to be best friends with Hattie’s father, so he is very motivated to find the killer.

As Del investigates the crime, he discovers many details about Hattie’s life that are surprising and shocking. He also has the unfortunate task of having to tell her family what he has discovered during the investigation. I was pleased to see that Del kept his objectivity throughout his investigation. He was a fair man and did his best to see that justice was done. He was my favorite character in the book.

The story is told through the eyes of Del, Hattie and an English teacher at the high school that Hattie attended. In reading each person’s perspective, readers are able to try and solve the crime, but it may not have really happened as it seems.

This was a great mystery/thriller and one that readers will not be able to put down! A great debut novel and one that will have you anxiously awaiting Mejia’s next book.

Thank you Net-Galley and Atria Books for allowing me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Although Mindy Mejia's writing is strong and at times beautiful, the plot of this novel is too predictable to be captivating. Also, the ending was lacking. There was definitely something about Hattie's character development that felt incomplete. Not in the sense that because her character was killed therefore her development was interrupted. I mean that there were some things about Hattie and her life that were mentioned but weren't explored. For example, I didn't like that the only explanation for the fact that Hattie "acted" for everyone was because she was a dumb kid who didn't know how to really be herself with the people in her life. I felt that as a character development, this was pretty weak.

I actually give this book 3 1/2 Stars. I already knew what was going to happen to most of this story right at the beginning. I did continue to read because it did keep my attention. There is a little twist at the end but not much. This book is about the story of Hattie and the last year of her life. I did like that each chapter was a different character's point of view. I also like how the story went from the present to the past year and back again. This story was still good to read.