Wow. I didn't imagine myself enjoying this. But I guess my "imagination" can be wrong sometimes. Because Placid Girl really pulled me in. It kept its story at a slow pace at first, but then speed up a lot more and became very interesting. The laughter and tension in Placid Girl intertwined with each other, gave the story its gripping plot. The characters are great, and the drama in this book is, what I would say, very interesting.
There are parts of these book that just make all your goosebumps go up, which created a very unique atmosphere for the story (which I absolutely love). Also, the best, best part about Placid Girl is the song's lyrics. I must say, if Brenna Ehrlich decided to become a songwriter, she's gonna be famous, because the lyrics and words are greatly on point and flowing, which is simply awesome. Last advice: Read it! It's a very enjoyable read. And although I know the writing might not be everyone's taste, the plot worth it (or like I said, interesting). ( )

I received this book from NetGallery in exchange for an honest review.

Summary:

Hallie is just like every other girl living in a small town: she wants to escape. Within the confines of her own mind she struggles with living up to her vivacious best friend, Sarah. Their band, My Friend’s Band, has recently gotten some hype and as excited as Hallie is, she still feels small. Then a message from a stranger comes in, and her life begins to finally take the exciting turn she wants. In all this craziness, she meets Steve, who just so happens to have a cousin in Hallie’s favorite band, Haze. After hearing about the return of Haze after 5 years of absence, Hallie convinces Sarah and Steve to accompany her to the concert. When they arrive though, something goes very, very wrong, and Hallie has to decide what to risk. Is keeping her friends or meeting Haze more important?

Main Characters:

Hallie: Our protagonist who actually deals with emotions like a normal human would. Haley is funny and human and real. She adds depth to the story, and makes you get invested in the story. Some people might call her a “pushover”, but to me, that makes her all the more real. Many people in life are “pushovers”, even though they would never admit it.
Sarah: The one friend that we all have. The one who gets the guys, who’s confident and outspoken, who’s never afraid to say her opinion. Sarah has some real depth to her, which surprised me. The way she deals with circumstances is the way I’ve seen “that friend” deal with things, which makes her even more real.
Steve: For once, a main romantic interest who isn’t perfectly shaped or sculpted, but is just very human and vulnerable. Steve’s circumstances create him into the human that he is, and although he’s not what he appears at first, the author is able to slowly peel off those masks that we all tend to wear.

I will not be doing Haze to avoid spoilers.

Review:
4 stars
I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. The title seemed weird to me, and I wasn’t super excited to get into it. After I started however, I didn’t want to stop. The characters drew me in with their humanness, and the storyline trapped me with the twists and turns. The author does a wonderful job of creating suspense, while at the same time dropping hints throughout the story that you don’t notice until the end. There are a few parts towards the end that I felt were a little too predictable, and could have been done differently. Overall though, I enjoyed the book thoroughly, and would definitely recommend it. ( )

A very different, fast-paced young adult thriller in which much of the action is the result of a deep connection via a photo-sharing app. The plot centers around Hallie, our narrator, a shy girl drummer who is obsessed with the little-known band, Haze. Haze only ever had one album, and Hallie can’t get enough of listening to it, even though it was released five years earlier. One night, after her band has a gig, Hallie receives a message via a photo-sharing app … and she finds herself not only falling for the person at the other end, but also wondering if the person could indeed be Haze himself!

Hallie always seems to be in the shadow of her extrovert best friend and band-mate, Sarah. We see her get a little stage fright in the first chapter when she is performing, but later Hallie drives the action when it comes to getting to Haze's comeback gig. That's when the action kicks into high-gear, when Hallie, Sarah, and new next door neighbor (who also happens to run the preeminent Haze fan-site) go on a road trip to Haze’s show. There were so many twists and turns, and I was not expecting that ending at all!

The book did have its problems -- such as not giving enough attention to Very Real Issues that the supporting characters deal with, like coping with loss, child abuse, and neglect. Hallie's story remains central, despite the tragedy peppering the sidelines.

What I loved most about this book is the exploration of how deeply we can become entrenched in our social media lives, and how easily a stranger on the other end can manage to seep his or her way into our heads and hearts. The exploration of this type of relationship, and the looming danger these relationships ALWAYS have, is what made the book a standout for me. ( )

I won this in a GOODREADS giveaway. ( )