ARC Review: Rosebush

Rosebush by Michelle Jaffe
Released: December 14, 2010
Published by: Razorbill
Paperback: 326 pages
Young Adult
Source: Different Area Codes Book Tours
Overall: 3
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Instead of celebrating Memorial Day weekend on the Jersey Shore, Jane is in the hospital surrounded by teddy bears, trying to piece together what happened last night. One minute she was at a party, wearing fairy wings and cuddling with her boyfriend. The next, she was lying near-dead in a rosebush after a hit-and-run.Everyone believes it was an accident, despite the phone threats Jane swears were real. But the truth is a thorny thing. As Jane's boyfriend, friends, and admirers come to visit, more memories surface not just from the party, but from deeper in her past . . . including the night her best friend Bonnie died.
With nearly everyone in her life a suspect now, Jane must unravel the mystery before her killer attacks again. Along the way, she's forced to examine the consequences of her life choices in this compulsively readable thriller.  Synopsis via Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Michelle Jaffe brought to us a twisted story of friends, enemies and how sometimes you can't tell the difference between the two.

There really isn't much to say about Rosebush beyond not everything is as it seems.  While reading the story of how Jane ended up, left-for-dead, in a rosebush, it felt like I was driving a never ending curving road around a mountain, through a mountain and over a mountain.  The twists and turns never stopped. I was constantly peaking over the edge of the mountain too see how far up I really was. 


Every time I thought I figured out the mystery of who and why, a new turn of events left me grasping for anything within reach.  I almost felt like a crime scene investigator, putting together the evidence, reading between the lines of personal statements, and trying to figure out who had the biggest motive of all.  Though, it is hard to do that when all of your friends, and even those you never liked before, seem to all know something the other one doesn't and is trying to cover up something completely unrelated to the actual question at hand.

While there are many reasons to pick up this book I didn't find myself troubled to put it down.  I didn't make any connections with the characters, though, with a book this speed it can be a tricky feat to form a connection worth holding onto.  The plot was well thought out and formed but I felt that I watching a slightly mediocre episode of some crime-drama through a dark tunnel.  I saw it all but only at a fraction at what it could have been.


Despite the few qualms I have with Rosebush there are many reason why Rosebush is a great read.  Characters with completely different personalities from different life styles topped with mystery and suspense make this stand alone young adult thriller what it is.   

Cover: 4
Characters: 3
Plot: 4
Overall: 3

On the cover:  Couldn't be more appropriate, could it?