Review of Impostor by Jill Hathaway

ByJen
30 Comments

Impostor by Jill Hathaway

To be published by Balzer + Bray

Source: ARC sent by publisher for review




Summary (adapted from Goodreads:) Vee Bell’s gift (or curse) of “sliding”—slipping into the mind of another person and experiencing life, briefly, through his or her eyes—has been somewhat under control since she unwillingly witnessed the horrific deaths of her classmates six months ago. But just as things are getting back to normal, Vee finds herself in stranger and stranger situations with no memory of getting there, she begins to suspect that someone she knows has the ability to slide—and that this “slider” is using Vee to exact revenge on his or her enemies.

Review of Impostor by Jill Hathaway

I’ve always loved mysteries. As a kid, I watched Scooby Doo and read Nancy Drew. In the summers, I worked my way through shelves of my mom’s old Agatha Christie books. I’m always looking for great new YA mysteries.

I really enjoyed Slide, the first book in this series. 

While Slide was definitely a mystery — with main character Vee convinced that mysterious “suicides” at her school are actually murders and trying to solve the crimes by sliding into the consciousness of the suspects, Impostor starts out as more of a creepy suspense story.  

When Vee finds herself at the side of a road in her father’s wrecked car with no memory of how she got there, she’s convinced that there’s another “Slider” out there — someone who is sliding into Vee’s consciousness and making her do his or her bidding. Creepy! 
Problem is, Vee doesn’t know who the person is or what their agenda could be. But then, when a seemingly harmless revenge prank against a fellow student does turn to murder, Vee’s unsure who’s to blame. Could she have been the killer when she was being controlled by this other slider?

As in Slide, Impostor features plenty of suspects and tons of weird happenings. Jill Hathaway excels at fast-paced plotting and twisty writing. In Impostor, I was never sure what was going to happen or who to suspect. There are also a few romantic complications for poor Vee, which had me chewing my nails, as Rollins – with his leather jacket and his zine — is one of my favorite YA book guys.  

As in Slide, the killer seemed to come a bit out of nowhere. But I liked the fact that the mean cheerleaders in Slide were given a lot more emotional depth in this book, and I loved the new developments in the relationship between Vee and her sister Mattie.

I have really enjoyed this series and am excited to see what happens next. There’s a revelation near the end of Impostor that suggests that things might get even more interesting for Vee in books to come.

Jen has been blogging about books since 2011. In that time, she has read and reviewed over 1500 books. She loves helping readers find their perfect next read and helping books find their audience.

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30 Comments

  1. Ooh, a mention of a sister-that's getting me right where I'm interested! These books are ones that I'd read if I saw at the library but I haven't been very motivated to buy or put on hold myself because they don't seem like must-reads. Is that too harsh? It's just my main impression.

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    1. Their sisterly relationship changes a lot between the two books — at least if I'm remembering correctly.
      Definitely try these out when you're in the mood for a fun paranormal mystery.

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  4. I've heard so much about this series but I haven't had the chance to really check it out. I don't understand much about this series but I love a good mystery so I'll have to read the first book soon.

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  6. I love Rollins! I hope the romance heats up a bit! I loved Slide! Very suspenseful and I think sliding is such a cool power well until someone slides into you and takes over! That is so violating! LOL

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  15. Well, this sounds like Imposter is even better than Slide, and I really enjoyed Slide! 🙂 Rollins didn't really leave an impact on me on the first book, but maybe he'll leave a good impression now. 😉

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  17. Ooh, intriguing! LOL, I've always liked creepy suspense more than mystery, but I haven't read Slide yet. (Oh, and I was a fan of Nancy and Scooby too!) Vee sounds like a fairly good main character, but Rollins…that description…*sighs* Fab review, Jen! (:

    Loves,
    Megan@The Book Babe

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  18. I loved this book. That whole revenge plot was sooo awesome, especially when it went all wrong. And that revelation at the end! Sooo good. Hoping to get my review written today and posted tomorrow. I'm sososo behind. 🙁 All I did over vacation was read. 😛

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  19. oh gosh I feel so silly I didn't even realize that's what this series is about..really looking at the cover I couldn't tell. They look really good reading your review now. I must have skipped over them a few times 🙁 guilty. I love a good mystery myself and it's been a while for me hehe. Slide and Imposter look like good reads 😀

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  20. I really liked Slide too, so I'm exited to read this one! Glad to hear you enjoyed it and that it keeps up the suspense and mystery. Hooray for mean girl depth too; I hate cartoonish mean girl villains. Great review!

    Reply