Ari Bookzilla

Yep, this was creepy.I'm a huge fan of Australian lit and I always get a kick out of reading Australian authors because it's different than the usual, and this did not disappoint. Kirsty Eagar's writing paints a picture and sets the scene right before your eyes. I loved that. My palms were sweating, my heart was jumping out of my chest, and I was creeped out by everything Abbie was experiencing. And I was fascinated, more than anything else, by how her mind works.Her obsession with Kane was...not very healthy, but it was very realistic for a teenage girl.Although I though Kane was a douchebag. Hollywood (who I absolutely loved) was right about him - when you take out the surfing he was just a painter loser, and not a very nice one, either, he wouldn't give Abbie the time of the day and she totally deserved that because she really is something. I didn't like him at all. I was hoping he would turn around, be what she needs him to be, but meh, I didn't care that much. Actually, when she says he's dead I did a little whoop, good riddance, but sadly, it didn't last long. Also, if a character kills a dog, he makes it on my hate list, I don't care about the circumstances.I did love Max and Hollywood, though. I wish we saw more of them. I wish Abbie wanted more of Hollywood, too.The other element of the story, little Joey with her creepy imaginary friend - that scared the shhh out of me because my little sister used to have a creepy imaginary friend, and it was all too familiar. I was reading this late last night and when I came to that part I had to stop and continue in the morning, otherwise I would get no sleep.I'm taking a star off this review because the mystery never gets really solved and that, plus the weak ending are the things that bother me. It leaves you with the "did it happen or didn't it happen" feeling in the end, and not in a good way that has you wondering, more like it's over now, so who cares if it really happened. Nothing is actually explained, what the shadow was, why it wanted Abbie, about Toby A, etc. But despite this, I loved the book and definitely recommend it. It was not too long, but still on the long side, and I finished it in one sitting!