Ten By Gretchen McNeil

Summary:

SHHHH!Don't spread the word!
Three-day weekend. House party.
White Rock House on Henry Island.
You do NOT want to miss it.

It was supposed to be the weekend of their lives—an exclusive house party on Henry Island. Best friends Meg and Minnie each have their reasons for being there (which involve T.J., the school’s most eligible bachelor) and look forward to three glorious days of boys, booze and fun-filled luxury.

But what they expect is definitely not what they get, and what starts out as fun turns dark and twisted after the discovery of a DVD with a sinister message: Vengeance is mine.

Suddenly people are dying, and with a storm raging, the teens are cut off from the outside world. No electricity, no phones, no internet, and a ferry that isn’t scheduled to return for two days. As the deaths become more violent and the teens turn on each other, can Meg find the killer before more people die? Or is the killer closer to her than she could ever imagine?(Summary by Goodreads.com)


My Thoughts:

I was really surprised when this book caught my attention. I normally don't step out of my paranormal/romance genres, but when I read the summary for the book, I knew that I had to read it. 

Meg is one of my new favorite female literary characters. The whole plot is a snowball of emotions. She was one of the only people in the story to hold on to her sanity when everything hit the fan. It was because of her that the reader is able to make educated guesses about who was responsible for the madness, even if she was wrong. I admired that even when Minnie proves not to be a great friend, she still stands up for her. I wanted Minnie to realize how mean she was being. I understood she had mental problems, but I was really hoping she would not give into the hysteria. 

The DVD that initially starts the whole plot rolling was creepy. The whole time they were talking about putting it in and watching it, I was having "The Ring" flashbacks. But no matter how much I begged the characters not to, they watched the creepy thing that would be the beginning of their end. Every time someone died, it was like pieces of a puzzle. All of the foreshadowing and overlaying of things came out perfectly. Gretchen McNeil is a genius and I was very impressed on how no clues were left out or didn't make sense. Everything in this story has a place, and even the most mundane conversations should be remembered and not taken lightly.

If there is no chance or a sequel doesn't make sense, the worst thing an author can do is leave parts hanging or leaving things between some characters incomplete. Thankfully, McNeil doesn't do any of that. By the end of this book, you will have no doubts on those who survive and what they mean to each other. THere are no doubts who the "killer" was, and nothing is left hanging. Almost like the book is wrapped in this neat little bow, without having a cheesy ending or being way to rushed. 

In conclusion, Ten is basically literary perfection in the mystery genre. Best one I have ever read. If you haven't read it yet, you are missing out! 

My Rating: 5 Stars!

About this Author:

Singer. Writer. Clown.

Gretchen is repped by Ginger Clark of Curtis Brown. Her YA horror/paranormal POSSESS debuts withBalzer + Bray for HarperCollins, August 23, 2011. Her second novel, TEN – YA horror/suspense about ten teens trapped on a remote island with a serial killer – also with Balzer + Bray is tentatively scheduled for aFall 2012 release.

Gretchen is a former coloratura soprano, the voice of Mary on G4's Code Monkeys and she currently sings with the LA-based circus troupe Cirque Berzerk. She is a founding member of vlog group the YARebels where she can be seen as "Monday," and she is an active member of both The Enchanted Inkpot, a group blog of YA and middle grade fantasy writers, and The Apocalypsies, a group blog of 2012 children's debut authors.

You can find Gretchen on Twitter, Facebook, and on her blog.