I loved how this book read like a ghost story, but turned out to be realistic fiction rather than fantasy. I didn't entirely see it coming, which I appreciate.

The reviews on this one concerned me a little; it's never good to see so many that are super negative and call a book boring. That said, I still wanted to read the book and I'm so glad I did! I really enjoyed the book, and it definitely creeped me out a little. I'd highly recommend it, especially if you're looking for a quick read with a couple twists.

I thought the book was very well written. I never would have guessed the ending.

Source: Received an e-ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was very nervous to start reading this because one of the first reviews I saw was a DNF. What if I had the same problems? This is why I have a love-hate relationship with reading reviews early. I know I shouldn't because they get me nervous or they raise the level of hype but I'm really bad at stopping myself.

Anyway I picked up the story apprehensively but I ended up pretty much liking it. The basic story is that Mallory killed her boyfriend-no ifs, ands, or buts about it. She killed him good and now is suffering from all the guilt that comes from it, including his angry mother, her awkward parents, and legal woes. To protect her, her parents ship her off to her father's alma mater, a private boarding school. There she continues to feel her dead boyfriend's presence while also struggling to assimilate into the climate.

What I ended up liking most was the friendship between Mallory and her best friend Colleen who admittedly doesn't play that big of a role (Mallory's possible hallucinations get more page time as does the new boy, I'm pretty sure). But it is crucial for one of the themes and is a great example of a YA friendship. Although not perfect, the two are there for each other and I saw some of my own friendships reflected.

I also found this book very thrilling. Miranda doles out little pieces of information at a time and though I thought I was putting it together well, I was still on the edge of my seat to get the full story. Would this veer into a paranormal with an actual ghost haunting Mallory? Does Mallory actually belong in the psych ward? Who will survive? Then the ending effectively wrapped everything up-no cliffhanger here!

On the less positive scale, there is a new romance for Mallory at school, with a perfectly nice boy who did seem a bit unnecessary. I liked him (didn't swoon for him) but it seemed extraneous. I also was kind of mad at Mallory who only started dating her boyfriend because she had a crush on his brother who had a girlfriend. That never ends well as we see all too clearly here.

Overall: Interesting premise that should keep you on the edge of your seat.

Cover: I am possibly coveting that dress. I do own one red dress but I wouldn't mind another especially one that's tighter in the bodice and looser in the skirt. I love looking at pretty dresses.

This had such promise, it was pretty creepy, gripping, and had the fun of an unreliable narrator. But overall it was a bit lackluster unfortunately.
I kept waiting for some big twist, or for everything to come together, but the different plot lines ended up being pretty much unrelated.
3 stars for being a gripping, fast read.

Megan Miranda loves to write character with horrible parental and adult figures in their lives. This is her second backlist I’ve read where someone goes through a trauma and her parents give her zero support. And don’t get me started on this boarding school- Mallory’s room is vandalized and the security guard tells her to stop making enemies while students accuse of vandalizing it herself and teachers don’t allow her to attend classes until she replaces her vandalized uniforms at her own expense? Give me a break.
That said, I liked Mallory. Her “and then I ran” comments were kind of goofy, I pictured her pulling a phoebe and awkwardly tromping away from all her problems. I liked Monroe, the school, even if their staff sucked cause I like a boarding school. I liked Reid.
The way Mallory’s memories were basically trapped in her nightmares and manifesting physically was an interesting way to tell the story- Miranda is excellent with the psychological aspect to her thrillers.
I still feel like there are loose ends I don’t understand, but I was a riveting, quick read.
3.5stars

From the moment I saw the cover on Christina’s Cover Snark feature, Hysteria by Megan Miranda has had a place on my TBR. The cover is eerie and weird, and perfectly matches the material between the pages.

However engaging and creepy this was though, Hysteria was wholly forgettable. I’ve found in my extensive reading of young adult thrillers, that this seems to be the case. There is much for plot development, plenty of high-intensity, spine-tingling scenes, but not a lot of character development. While it’s true that the characters were heartwarming and they go through their own arcs, I never felt like they were totally real people, but instead they were just playing the parts needed to further the story along.

Hysteria starts out the summer before Mallory’s junior year, after she stabbed her boyfriend Brian to death. Her family is in pieces, her best friend is barred from seeing her, and Mallory can’t shake the horrible feeling that Brian is following her around. She hears his heartbeat at night, hears his voice calling out her name, can feel him in the air. So when he parents send her off to boarding school in New England, she is convinced that the nightmare will end, though she’s reluctant to let go of her best friend Chloe.

Mallory was an interesting character. She was really, really paranoid and I couldn’t quite tell what was really happening with her, or what she made up in her head. She projected two very different sides to her at the same time – internally she felt that was meek and boring, but really she ended up being bold and pretty bad ass most of the time. It was understandable that she would let herself succumb to her guilt and nightmares and paranoia, especially when a student at her new school winds up dead. But most times I felt like she was a very active protagonist, not someone who just let things happen to her.

There are some great themes of betrayal, loyalty, friendship, and forgiveness in this book. Reid, Mallory’s love interest, lost his dad not too long before the book starts, and has his own unfinished business with Mallory that he’d like to take care of. Of course, there is the hive mentality of the students at Mallory’s new school, who will do whatever it takes to protect their own. Finally, there is Mallory’s parents, who have had to learn to deal with what happened to Mallory, and try to protect her afterward.

I loved Chloe, Mallory’s best friend. A lot of times, authors will just tell you how close two characters are, but I felt that Miranda really showed us their history. With all the flashbacks in the novel, you can easily see a picture of how much the two girls understood each other. I loved their banter, and I absolutely loved Chloe’s loyalty. The best part was that this was a true friendship, not a frienemies type of relationship where the girls harbor secret disdain and jealousy.

Hysteria was a fun, quick read. There are two mysteries going on at the same time, and I’m sure it will keep the book glued in your hands until you sort it all out. The creepiness will insure a sleepless night, and when you finally get to the end, you just might shed a tear or two. There were some problems in the characterization, and the book could have been a little bit better-written. But in all, I felt my time reading it was time well spent.

I have a feeling that I missed something because I didn't understand some things at all.. That's why I'm not gonna give this one a rating. I feel it wouldn't be fair.

As posted on TheReaderBee.com.

Last year I read, and enjoyed, Fracture by Megan Miranda. I was so excited to get my hands on a copy of her newest book, Hysteria! It is a wonderfully creepy read that will keep you guessing right up to the end!

The main character in the story is Mallory. Poor Mallory has been through a lot in her young life. Her boyfriend is dead—killed by none other than herself in self defense. Her life will never be the same. So she moves to a private school in hopes of starting over. But that isn’t exactly what happens for Mallory. Instead things get worse for her, to the point where the hallucinations start to intrude more and more on her life. But Mallory is a fighter, thank goodness. (I don’t think I could have handled it if she was a weak willed girl!) She believed in herself, even during the confusion and doubt. I admire that about her, and I found her to be a very likeable character.

My most favorite character in the book would have to be Reid. I found him to be insanely adorable, and the perfect person to handle Mallory. Even though he has a past of his own, you could tell that he really cared for Mallory, and that would support her no matter what. He was definitely swoon-worthy, in my opinion.

There are definitely some characters in the book that you are going to love to hate—Jason and Krista to name a few. But what good is a creepy book if it doesn’t have creepy villains to tie in with it. The storyline for the book was very in-depth, and it kept me guessing as I turned the pages. I had no idea what to expect when I got to the end of the book, but I think it closed up nicely.

Overall, If you like creepy reads, you should definitely check out Hysteria. This book even had me looking over my shoulder to see if something was coming! It was definitely an enjoyable read. I can’t wait to check out more of Ms. Miranda’s books in the future!