Skip to main content

Tighter


Tighter is a YA modern-day retelling of the classic ghost story The Turn of the Screw, reimagined by Adele Griffin.

Seventeen-year-old Jamie has had a rough time of it lately. Her back injury has gotten her attached to pills and she's still trying to get over a painful rejection. The idea of accepting the position of a summer au pair on the New England island of Little Bly is to get away from it all and get over it.

But what she didn't know was that horror preceded her.

The last au pair, Jessie, and her boyfriend died last year in a shocking, tragic accident. And when Jamie realizes that the islanders' stares aren't just about a new girl in town - but more the shock of how much Jamie looks like Jessie - she is even more disturbed.

In the midst of caring for young Isa, her charge, Jamie struggles with leaving. The thing is, she finds herself becoming more and more consumed with the need to learn more about Jessie's death and why she seems to be seeing their ghosts.

Her connection to the couple is so intense - why? What really happened last summer?

Right away author Adele Griffin makes Jamie's state of mind uncertain, dark, and wavering on addict as she relies on stolen pills to get her through. Putting her in the odd circumstance of getting paid to live in a gorgeous mansion without any real adult supervision besides the housekeeper is also strangely fantasy-like - and it seems like there are secrets about both our protagonist's past and the house's that are not being revealed yet.

Before chapter four even arrives the creepiness begins to, well, creep up on you! There is definitely something weird and eerie goin' on!

Tighter sucked me in and enveloped me in its haunting tone and subtle questions of sanity. Each character is slightly off, slightly disturbing - even young Isa and our main character. There is a suspense and palpable feeling of being watched - a bit frightening, yes.

Later on, I did find myself skimming a little bit - mainly because it seemed like the course of the novel was getting a tad lazy - it wasn't as riveting for a while. But then BAM!!!

Holy crap, does Tighter have a BIG shock!!!!!

I was sold with the amazing twist at the end that shows us just how well Adele Griffin plotted Tighter! So, really this book is a fascinating, bizarre, slightly confusing, but definitely darkly alluring novel! Tighter left me hanging, wanting more answers, but leaves a most definite impression and bit of a, "Huh? Wha? Did that just really happen?" feeling.

Might be worth a second read to figure out all the implications of the curveball - and most definitely worth you giving Tighter a shot!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

First Step: Admit You Have a Problem

Hi fellow Bibliophiles! I have been rather neglectful to this blog... instead continuing to stay buried in a book as I have during the holidays. I'm hopeful that most of you have been doing this too and can easily accept my apology. Have I been reading? Um, yeah! (Translation: duh.) Just haven't been able to pull myself away long enough to actually WRITE about what I'm reading. Lol. But that's me, a bibliophile, an addict, an addict who's fallen off the wagon and fully embraced her love of reading - especially with all this free time to do so!!! I've also been watching awesome holiday movies, eating yummy, but bad-for-me, food and hanging out with the people I love best! You too? I hope! ;) Anyway, I will return with a new book review next week, most likely on Monday or Tuesday. Thanks for your patience and keep reading!!!

Promotion Celebration for Maximum Ride!!!

Do you love the series Maximum Ride ? How about James Patterson? Are you a huge fan of action-packed books? Well, I’m thrilled to bring to you an opportunity to stock up on some awesome reading!!! ENTER TO WIN A SET OF JAMES PATTERSON PAGETURNERS! MAXIMUM RIDE – IF SHE LIVES, THE WORLD LIVES, IT’S THAT SIMPLE. Read “MAX” - the newest book in the bestselling Maximum Ride series. On sale in paperback 09/01/09! Still reeling from their most recent adventure, Maximum Ride and the rest of the flock must head out to sea to uncover the secret behind a brand new series of disasters—fish are dying off the coast of Hawaii, hundreds of ships are being destroyed. As if that weren’t enough, they’re also being tracked by a criminal mastermind with, oh yeah, an army of mercenaries. Can the flock save themselves and the ocean, and the world, from utter destruction? Now for the rules : The Maximum Ride: Max Promotion is open to legal US residents who are at least 13 years of age as of August 24, 200

Author Q & A - Jan Eldredge Stops By!

Next Wednesday y'all will be getting my oh-so-humble opinion of Evangeline of the Bayou , the Summer 2018 Kids' Indie Next List selection! (That means it was picked via booksellers at independent bookstores countrywide.) Until then, I have a Q&A with the Louisiana born and raised author herself: Jan Eldredge! (Don't forget to come back next week for my review!!) A Conversation with JAN ELDRIDGE Author of Evangeline of the Bayou 1) The glossary in the back of the book is so helpful! Where did you learn about all these creatures? Which creature from the book is your favorite? I have a small, but growing, collection of books about mythical creatures around the world. If I couldn’t find what I was looking for there, I researched library books, online websites, and the occasional documentary. Something that really surprised me as I started learning more about mythical monsters was the number of different cultures that share very similar