Review--Nearly Gone by Elle Cosimano

Keeping secrets is second nature to Nearly Boswell. Living in a trailer park outside Washington, DC, with a mom who works as an exotic dancer, she knows better than to share anything that would make her a target with her classmates. Only her best friends know about her obsession with the personal ads, and Nearly hasn't told anyone about the emotions she can taste when she brushes against someone's skin.

Then a serial killer goes on a murder spree and starts attacking students, leaving cryptic ads in the newspaper. Nearly might be the one person who can put all the clues together, and if she doesn't figure it out soon--she'll be next.

I finally picked up Elle Cosimano's Nearly Gone and I can't believe I waited so long! It was so amazing! As you know, I am a paranormal and fantasy reader for the most part, but I do enjoy the occasional thriller. Because as I might have said, here the monsters wear human faces! Nearly Gone has what I enjoyed from Kimberly Derting's Body Finder series, in that Nearly has a special talent of her own. It doesn't get explained in details, she's not even sure how or why she has it, she just knows when she touches someone she can "taste" or see/sense/feel their feelings. So she avoids touching people at every turn!

What I liked about this from the getgo is that Nearly isn't like your normal YA heroine. She lives in a trailer park, her mother is an exotic dancer, her father walked out on her family years ago. She's damaged before we even get to know her. But the one thing she longs to do is leave Sunny Trails--her trailer park home--behind. Her mother wants it for her too, so she's devoted her life to studying and trying to get a scholarship that would get her to a good college far away from here. The problem is that her best friend, Anh, is going for the same scholarship. Their friendship seems almost hesitant since they are both after the same thing, and only one student will receive said scholarship. So there's always that tension and pressure surrounding them both, yet there are times when you can see the depths of their friendship, even if it's a bit stilted.

Every Friday, Nearly reads the Missed Connections section of the newspaper. It's sort of like a personals section. One day years ago, she read a message that she was just sure was from her father. And its caused her to read the ads every Friday from then on. And that's when she sees the first clue. She doesn't know it's a clue at the time, just an odd little message with no rhyme or reason. Then the first student is attacked and a number is left on her arm. And so begins the onslaught of bodies connected to Nearly. The killer chooses its victims by going after the people who Nearly have tutored.

In this mess is also Reece, a juvie who ends up being her next tutor assignment, but he has a secret and Nearly already knows it. He's a narc for the police; Nearly had gone to the police for help but with no evidence or clear cut answers, they thought she was joking or lying, but still there was a need to put an eye on her and that eye was Reece. Reece was an enjoyable character. He was dark and dangerous like all good YA heroes are. I mean it's not heard to be swooning and I'm past the age limit for these reads! LOL! While it was easy to see a love connection in the works, I was glad that it was so far from insta-love though. Sure, you see these "moments" of looks or curiosity, but nothing romantic happens right away.

I loved how complex this mystery was! I was so certain I had it all figured out, but I was so off base! And that never seems to bother me for some reason! LOL! I love building my own theories and reasons and while it is perfectly logical, I still love being taken by surprise! Even a few other theories I started to devise as "backups" were wrong! Granted I only had about 1 and half of those! The last one didn't mesh well with me so I dismissed it!

The pacing to this one was exceedingly good! It was just the right amount of drawing out. And I loved how the twist in solving the puzzle came about too! I never would have thought of that until Nearly put the pieces together!

Another silly thing that I liked and have to add here is that I loved how Nearly wore glasses! Yes, it's a small, almost nonsensical thing, but seriously how many YA heroines wear glasses all the time? Granted there were times I almost forgot Nearly wore them or wondered if she just needed them for reading or something. I wear mine all the time, and it seemed Nearly did too by the story's end! It was such a little thing, but yet I loved it! I seriously think she was the first heroine I've read to ever wear glasses all the time. The first, naturally was Harry Potter!

Nearly Gone was a sensational read and I am so looking forward to diving into Nearly Found soon!



Overall Rating 5/5 stars