Wednesday 12 June 2013

Book Review: Another Little Piece by Kate Karyus Quinn


On a cool autumn night, Annaliese Rose Gordon stumbled out of the woods and into a high school party. She was screaming. Drenched in blood. Then she vanished.

A year later, Annaliese is found wandering down a road hundreds of miles away. She doesn't know who she is. She doesn't know how she got there. She only knows one thing: She is not the real Annaliese Rose Gordon.

Now Annaliese is haunted by strange visions and broken memories. Memories of a reckless, desperate wish . . . a bloody razor . . . and the faces of other girls who disappeared. Piece by piece, Annaliese's fractured memories come together to reveal a violent, endless cycle that she will never escape—unless she can unlock the twisted secrets of her past.

It is very rare to come across a book that is completely new, especially in YA and the paranormal/fantasy genre but I can honestly say I have never read anything like Another Little Piece before. It was explosively original and completely impossible it put down.

This book had me hooked from the first page until the last. It was complex, difficult and twisty. Half the time I had no idea what was going on and when I finally figured something out another twist appeared to grip me. It was gory, sexy and dark and I absolutely revelled in it. There were themes that some will find disturbing I think I was probably disturbed for most of the book but in the best possible way. Did everything make sense in the end? No, and maybe things could have been explained in a little bit more detail (it was a little rushed at the end) but I liked the mystery this book retains at the finish.

The writing was absolutely beautiful. I loved Quinn’s tone and her world building was superb, I lost myself in this book and didn’t come up for air until I had finished. Every single character, including the parents was full of personality. Kate Karyus Quinn clearly has an amazing imagination and an ability to get all that creativity on paper, without going over the top.

I really liked Annaliese/Anna. She was morbid, morose and dark but I liked it. She was so obviously lost and confused and that endeared her to me. Her relationship with the parents was beautiful, so often I moan about the atrocious parenting in YA but in Another Little Piece they were amazing, especially the mum. I often found myself getting emotional over the strength of the mothers love and affection for a daughter she barely recognised she loved her without question and fiercely tried to protect her.

Annaliese is not the only complex character the nerdy and disturbed Dex also has issues, I was never quite sure what Dex was but I really loved him. He was the perfect love interest for me. His vulnerability was at times heart breaking and although he knew exactly who he was and where he came from he was as lost as Anna.

The romance was great, it was not the main storyline so wasn’t overdone yet it still managed to get my heart racing. They were perfectly suited and I really liked them together.

I could talk about all the other aspects of this book, like the flashbacks, or other characters like the evil Eric and the mysterious Physician but I do not want to give anything away.

If I had to compare this book to something I would say it was Jennifer’s Body meets The Craft with a dash of Dexter but really Another Little Piece is in a world of its own. It is smart and compelling, it is one of the best YA thrillers I have ever read and in my opinion it is an absolute must read.

5 stars



Published June 11th 2013 by HarperTeen.  A free copy was provided for review.  Image courtesy of Goodreads.

Review by Kate Phillips



6 comments:

  1. Great review!!! I've heard nothing but great things about this book. I can't wait to read it now!

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  2. I want to read this book so much!!!! Glad you liked it so much:)
    K @ My Favorite Escape

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  3. I'm so intrigued by this novel. I've read three other reviews on it I think, and still not sure what the heck it's all about- LOL! But, it sounds amazing from the descriptions, so mysterious. Great review ;)

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  4. Wow so glad this one worked out for you! It sounds really dark and mysterious which is right up my street at the moment. It's always a relief when the romance doesn't overtake the main plot :)
    Great review, Kate!

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  5. I love the thought of something new on the YA scene. And something dark, too! There's just not enough of that. Great review :)

    -Taylor @ Reading is the Thing

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  6. I thought this book was really cool too though a bit on the icky side for my weak stomach (the hearts!) I wanted to see Jennifer's Body when it first came out but never got around to it; as yours is the second review I've seen to mention the film, I kind of want to give it a shot now.

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