Gardenia

Life really sucks for Ivy Erickson. Not only does she have a short time to live, but she knows it. Ivy can see a digital clock ticking above every persons head, including her own. Slowly the time counts down to the moment that person will die. As if that wasn’t bad enough, young girls, starting with her own best friend, are being murdered in Ivy’s town and she feels compelled to solve those murders before her own clock reaches zero.

For me, the mystery part of this book is secondary to the larger dilemma. How would it feel to know when the people around you are going to die? Time would be present in a way that normally we don’t understand. Seconds, minutes and hours usually slide by so quickly, we hardly notice. Worse yet, we trade our time away. We waste the moment we are in right now because we are impatiently waiting for the weekend, or for our favorite tv show to start, or something else equally unimportant.

I recognize this more since I’ve become a parent. It seems like just yesterday that my boy Jay, was a 6 year old little boy who I was dropping off at elementary school. He was wearing holes through the toes of his shoes at an alarming rate and it drove me nuts. I couldn’t wait for him to grow out of that habit. I couldn’t wait until he was old enough to play video games with me. Until he was big enough to get on the big rides at Disneyland. Until a million different things. Suddenly, he’s 16 and all that time is gone. All too soon he’ll be out of school and making his own life. I can see that without a clock above his head telling me exactly when he will become old enough to move on. If I could see it, would that make the intervening minutes more important, or less?

Ivy is greatly affected by seeing The Clock. She is constantly aware of how many seconds it takes to walk through a room, or for a person to respond to a question, and of how quickly the lives of people around her is passing by. I liked that about the book. Being a teenager she didn’t always respond in a healthy way, but that’s completely understandable. It made for an interesting approach to her character and to her interactions with others.

Don’t let me and my ruminations scare you away though. This is not a deep, existential novel. It’s a fun and interesting YA mystery. Not too heavy for consumption, but can still provide enough texture to let your mind chew on. I enjoyed it.

Fast, interesting read that keeps you guessing. Definitely recommend.

Ivy can see glowing countdowns. She knows exactly how long everyone has until they die, including herself, which is one month, twenty-seven days, four hours, fifty-nine minutes, and two seconds from now, much shorter than she would like it to be. She's already missed saving her best friend from her countdown and a misjudgment doomed another girl. Is it possible to save anyone from what will happen? If she can't save herself then she's bound and determined to set what she can aright before she passes on.

This is a slow burn, you aren't even sure anything is really happening until suddenly you are at 50% and you realize you are loving it. The premise is not a unique one, but who cares I say... many ideas have been thought up before... the real question is was the premise well used in the story? Yes! Ivy seeing the countdowns is integral to her being able to move forward confidently to solve the murders but also to heal her own life and her loved ones. I saw the countdowns as a really strong metaphor for the confidence and boldness we need to approach life. I really loved how the theme worked it's way so well around the mystery as well as Ivy's own life.

What made this work so well for me was how real Ivy was. She wasn't obnoxious about being a teenager and living a hard life. It was what it was and she was trying to deal with it. Yes, she had sex with her boyfriend but it wasn't waved around like a flag of triumph because there was sex in a YA book but because it was pertinent to her relationship with Myers. The details were incredibly well layered into her day to day life. She would run to Hallett and sit with the old people. She tagged the night train to spread her art. She was in theater because her best friend was a star. She worked at a diner because her mom couldn't do it alone. She watched her ex from behind a tree because she missed him. Her life was incredibly rich and full! You really cared what happened to this chick and not because I thought she was a perfect person but because you want someone who tries so hard in life to live.

I really loved the mystery. I'm not a fan of modern thriller stories that are just for thrills and giggles. I like the true blue mystery mysteries where the point is the puzzle. I liked the subtle touch of a few thriller parts mixed with the clues and the waiting for the pieces to come together. It may feel obvious when you learn who the serial killer is but I don't think it was obvious for a second. The layers were so well laid that by the time Ivy ruled out her suspects she learned the vital piece of evidence. It fell into place just how it would fall into place if you lived in a small town where you knew everyone but everyone still has secrets to hide. There wasn't a ton of clue tracking which gets tedious when a teenager is doing the tracking, but just enough for her to piece together what she needed to know to figure it out.

Probably my favorite aspects of the book was her wacky relationships. Her flipped mother daughter roles. Her totally opposite sister. The hurt ex-boyfriend she can't stay away from. The boy who has a crush on her but realizes it way too late. The uncle and his diner workers. The new girl who becomes a friend. The teacher who tapped into your pain through a play. The cop who won't believe you. The old people who confide in you what it means to be at the end of your life. The crazy brother who wanted to punish her for not dying with his sister. And the best friend who died when you weren't there for her. Subtle, nuanced and well developed they layer and build up to a picture of a world where one life was allowed to live.

The end though was the cherry on top. I loved how everything was filtered through saying goodbye. Knowing her time was close and that she wouldn't be there to have a second change Ivy went out and did what she could. She put what was important first and let go of what didn't matter. May we all learn to do the same!

BOTTOM LINE: A perfect blend of mystery, contemporary romance and coming of age.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This story is about Ivy, a girl who can see the time a person has left before they die, including herself. Recently things have not been going well for Ivy, as her best friend was murdered along with several other girls, her boyfriend and her broke up, and her mother is struggling to pay the bills. Worst of all, her time is running out. As I read I couldn't shake the overall feeling of sadness and resignation that permeate the story, at several points I thought I might cry. I thought it a little odd that Ivy doesn't seem to be fighting against the numbers and their march toward 0 or try to change anyone's fate, as that would be one of my first reactions. I found that the mystery of the killer's identity wasn't the thing that kept my attention the most (that was the atmosphere of the story), it still kept me from putting the book down.

I received a free advanced copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have always been a big fan of YA books but ones that are not heavy into supernatural elements, Gardenia has just a little bit and was more a mystery/suspense story.

I found the concept interesting, imagine knowing the exact minute that death will strike not just those around you but yourself as well. Ivy has that gift and she used it as she volunteers at a nursing home to give comfort to those as their lives come to an end. I found that aspect endearing and tells you the kind of person she is.

Even though Ivy knew the death of her best friend was imminent she was still deeply traumatized, especially in it's manner. This paves the way for the mystery part of this book. Determined to find the killer, as her own countdown clock is ticking, Ivy seems to be getting closer to the truth as her life is threatened.

Gardenia was a well written book set in a realistic location with all the high school drama. While I found the romance part a little off Ivy playing the sleuth was interesting and wanting to know the out come kept me interesting in this book.

Thank you to the publisher (via netgalley) for an arc.