HOLY SHIT. THAT ENDING. I DID NOT SEE THAT COMING. MY MIND IS BLOWN. THIS IS EVERYTHING I WANT IN A YA MYSTERY/THRILLER.

Okay, let's be honest. I saw this book and thought it had the most beautiful cover I had ever seen and I wanted to read it. I mean, look at that cover, it's GORGEOUS. I didn't even know what genre this book was going into it. I knew nothing. I was hooked by the first page, and that rarely ever happens for me. It usually takes me at least 50 pages to get into the story, but this literally hooked me right away. I finished this book in a few hours because I could not put it down. This story was fast-paced and confusing and I needed answers so I kept reading and reading. Steven Nell was so creepy, even though he was an evil genius, and all of his chapters scared the hell out of me. I liked that I had suspicions about so many characters like Olive, Tristan, Joaquin, and all the other locals. I did not trust Tristan for one second. I could tell they all knew something was up and they were hiding something and it was driving me crazy. I loved the mysterious feel of Juniper Landing and how all the people living there were creepily similar. I even questioned Darcy and questioned whether she was blacking out or what her problem was. I questioned if our main character Rory was losing her mind (because most of the time I truly thought she was.) I was so confused by all of her nightmare scenes and her "flashes" I didn't know what was reality and what was fake, but I liked that because it made me question everything. I'm sure this book would make a lot more sense if you re-read it a second time and see all the foreshadows and hints about the ending. I, for one, did not see that ending coming at all. Some people would argue that the cover doesn't match the story but I disagree because this cover is mysterious and it has fog on it and birds which are talked about throughout the book. The cover got my attention and made me want to read it in the first place so I think the cover is perfect.

This is a book that promotes discussion, and sure it will piss some people off, but for people like me who love books/movies that promote discussion, I absolutely loved it. I had to re-read the last few chapters 3 times just to fully grasp what was happening and I still don't even know for sure what happened, even though I have theories. This book is not straight forward, but I like it because of that. Mysterious should keep you guessing right up until the very end, and this did exactly that. My mouth was hanging open when I read the very last line of this book because I did not expect it.

This book is very difficult to review without giving any spoilers, but just know that it is amazing and it makes you think. If you are a fan of movies like Prisoners (2013), Inception (2010), or Enemy (2013), then you will like this book. Because like those movies, it makes your mind spin and you have to actually pay attention to every little detail in this book to fully understand and appreciate it. You have to go back and analyze every little part and it leaves your mind throbbing. This is probably the best YA mystery/thriller I've ever read. I tend to get disappointed with YA mystery/thrillers (like We Were Liars and Mara Dyer) and this book just blows those two out of the water. Not only were the characters better in this book (and more developed), but I actually cared about what was happening to them. This is the kind of book that will keep your mind spinning for days. After I finished reading it, I spent the next 45 minutes discussing it with my sister and freaking out because I needed to wrap my head around all the shit that went down in this book. It is captivating, creepy as hell, and a great read. Highly recommend. I'm curious to see how the 2nd book will be because it's hard to imagine what it will be like.