Two ALA Reviews: The Day I Died, and The Mesmerist

I received copies of these two books from the publishers at ALA in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the books or my reviews itself.

Title: The Day I Died
Author: Lori Rader-Day
Publication Date: April 11, 2017
Genre: Psychological/Suspense/Mystery
Recommended If You Like: strong female protagonists, mysteries centered around secrets from the past

The Book:

Anna Winger lives an isolated existence, keeping herself and her son as separate from the world--and her past-- as she can. She makes a living from analyzing other people's handwriting, searching for clues about who they truly are. When the police call on her to help with the case of a missing boy, her past begins to bleed into her present in all the ways she had fought so hard to prevent.

What I Liked:

Anna is a fantastically strong, complex, and fascinating character. She feels so real, and I was rooting for her the entire book.

Her profession as a handwriting analyst was also fascinating. I loved the way Rader-Day weaved it into the book, and loved learning more about how handwriting analyst works and is used.

The dual mysteries, of the missing boy and of Anna's past, were very intriguing. Rader-Day uses flashbacks and small clues to keep readers guessing and intrigued.

Anything I Didn't Like?

I was able to figure out the solution to one of the main mysteries pretty early on. This was a bit disappointing, as I prefer it when, with a book centered around secrets from the past, the secrets come as a big surprising twist to me.

So...?

Rader-Day has a good writing style that lends itself well to this genre. She has created a strong complex protagonist in Anna, and weaved a compelling story around her. The solution to the second of the two mysteries caught me completely by surprise, and made for a gripping read.

Title: The Mesmerist
Author: Ronald L. Smith
Publication Date: February 7, 2017
Genre: Middle Grade/Horror/Supernatural/Paranormal
Recommended If You Like: strong female protagonists, spooky supernatural middle grade reads, kids being the heroes

The Book:

Jessamine Grace and her mother make money off playacting at spiritualism, but never off truly communicating with the dead--until one day, when a mysterious message appears on a slate Jessamine is holding. This leads Jessamine to a group of children like her, who may be the only hope to save their city from supernatural foes.

What I Liked:

This was a really fun read! It moves quickly, and has a lot of (age-appropriate) scares. The supernatural elements were well-done and definitely creepy.

Jessamine is a strong, smart, female character that I was definitely rooting for, and I really liked the characters of the other children as well.

Anything I Didn't Like?

On occasion, the language felt a bit stilted. I think this might have been because of the author working to capture the spirit and signature of the age, but it did take me out of the book a bit.

So...?

This book will take you little time to read, and is a lot of fun. This has the potential to continue on as a good series that kids and adults can both enjoy.