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This is a hard review for me to write. This could have been a really good book, however there were many things that were irritating to me as a reader and they diminished my enjoyment of the book.

First the Good: I liked how Tessa’s diary was incorporated into the narrative. This was, by far, my favorite part of the novel. You really get a feel for Tessa’s state of mind, her despair, and general lack of hope. I like how we slowly found out what happened to Tessa and why she committed suicide.

I also enjoyed the last third of the book. This part just flew by and I thought that it was pretty well paced.

Then, the Bad: I think that one of my primary irritants in this novel was the main character Wicket. Yes, Wicket is her name, or Wick for short. Who names their child Wicket? I can only imagine the bullying that child would endure at school. But I digress. Wick is an annoying character. Perhaps her lack of judgment could be ascribed to her background: criminal father and lack of a mother. But – and I say but – she and her sister Lily (a nice normal name, by the way) live with middle class foster parents who are ready and able to adopt both Wick and Lily.

Wick is a hacker. She has no remorse about using her computer talent to gather information about others. She realizes that what she is doing is illegal but continues as the money is good. It was really hard to relate to Wick or the situations she found herself in as she constantly took matters into her own hands. Instead of getting help, she uses herself as bait to catch a child predator using – get this – Tessa’s Facebook account. That, in itself, smacks of poor judgment. Why didn’t she just take the diary to the police and allow Detective Carson to do his job?

Wick’s father is evil incarnate. Well, pretty close to – OK, he’s a really bad guy. Why would Wick feel intimidated into working for him and his cronies? Her life with her foster parents Bren and Todd seems ideal. Again, why isn’t she asking for help?

As for love interest, there’s Griff. Griff is from Wick’s old neighborhood and he attends the same high school as her. I really didn’t like Griff that much. It felt like he was just using Wick. Oh, and I could not stand his nickname for Wick – Wicked. Just wrong.

Overall, this was an OK read for me. While the main characters did annoy me, I did enjoy the last third of the book.

Thank you to Edelweiss and Harper Collins for a review copy of this book. 

Review also posted on Badass Book Reviews

P.S. I love how Booklikes has 1/2 stars!