REVIEW: Minus

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BOOK SUMMARY

Beck is on her way to college, thrilled at the possibilities of the next exciting chapter, barely holding it in as she clutches her childhood favourite toy in the family car with her loving dad behind the wheel. And that’s where Beck’s shared experience with the rest of her freshman class abruptly ends and the tangled mysteries of her astonishing life start to unravel. Homeschooled and raised in isolation by the jumpy, over-protective Gill, Beck isn’t allowed online or out of the house alone. Even a quick pit stop on their quiet family road trip takes some negotiation before they finally pull into a remote gas station, where their cautiously stable peace is jolted by gunfire. Beck emerges from the restroom to find her father gone and a dead body on the floor. Beck is in the world now, and she’s beyond not ready for it.

A taut suspense thriller that challenges our perceptions of family and identity, MINUS is a coming-of-age tale where a teen’s new discoveries might be best kept in the shadows.

BOOK REVIEW

3 stars
An e-ARC was given through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I remember setting it aside around the second or third chapter just because I didn’t feel like it captivated me enough, only to get back into it another day and finishing the rest of the book in one sitting.

Minus is a fast-paced thriller, family drama that starts with a very calm car ride and the main character, Beck telling her dad that she wanted to pee. Then everything turns messy after that. Throughout the book, there was a main story and flashbacks of the past that adds on to the confusion that was happening. It didn’t really make much sense to me until it was all revealed towards the end. And even still, I was confused.

I liked the idea that someone who isn’t your biological father can be more of a father to you than the biological one. It shows that loyalty and love aren’t because of blood-relations but because of time, effort and care. I also really liked that the characters were all somehow linked which made it very interesting.

Personally, it was a little too fast-paced since half the time I was confused about the flashbacks and the whole police department/ interrogation scene/big reveal made me feel very lost about who’s who. Thankfully, everything was clear to me before the final scene.