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librarydosebykristy's review
2.0
I don't have much to say about this book. In a lot of ways, it was kind of terrible, but, in other ways, I found it rather entertaining and diversionary. It reminded me quite a bit of Christopher Pike novels I used to read in middle school...complete with terrible teenage stereotypes, cheesy dialogue, and just a touch of actual creepiness.
lindsaysc310's review
5.0
Excellent modern take on "The Turn of the Screw". I thought I knew the twist, but I was left guessing until the last few pages. The main character was very realistic and showed the dangers of addiction to prescription medication. Short but no word was wasted. I will read more of Griffin's books in the future. She has a cool literary style that doesn't alienate teens.
cjgmiranda220's review against another edition
4.0
I like a flawed characters. Perfect characters make me sick. Give someone depressed, druggie, crazy, and I'm happy. This book has a depressed, pill-popping teen that is hired as an au pair. It has a mystery and ghost story. I really enjoyed this book.
bibliophile1019's review against another edition
3.0
On one hand, I loved this book because it surpassed all my expectations. On the other hand, I hated this book because it did not meet my expectations.
Jamie is recovering from a back injury, and in the process she has become addicted to pills. The kind doesn't matter, so long as they dull her pain. She's been spiraling into depression, so her mother gets her a summer job as an au pair in a charming beach resort town for the wealthy. Isa is a precocious eleven-year old with an overly active imagination, and Jamie soon discovers that things are not right. She looks exactly like Isa's au pair from last year, who died in a plane accident with her boyfriend. Jamie looks out for Isa, but gets sucked into the story of her predecessor, and begins to see things that others cannot.
I picked this up because I was in the mood for a good ghost story/thriller. That is so not what this is. The ending completely took me by surprise, which I appreciated--hence why I loved it. But I was also disappointed because it wasn't what I was looking for, so I felt a little put off by the ending. The writing was strong and the story was suspenseful, but it was all overshadowed by the ending.
Jamie is recovering from a back injury, and in the process she has become addicted to pills. The kind doesn't matter, so long as they dull her pain. She's been spiraling into depression, so her mother gets her a summer job as an au pair in a charming beach resort town for the wealthy. Isa is a precocious eleven-year old with an overly active imagination, and Jamie soon discovers that things are not right. She looks exactly like Isa's au pair from last year, who died in a plane accident with her boyfriend. Jamie looks out for Isa, but gets sucked into the story of her predecessor, and begins to see things that others cannot.
I picked this up because I was in the mood for a good ghost story/thriller. That is so not what this is. The ending completely took me by surprise, which I appreciated--hence why I loved it. But I was also disappointed because it wasn't what I was looking for, so I felt a little put off by the ending. The writing was strong and the story was suspenseful, but it was all overshadowed by the ending.
erinld2005's review against another edition
3.0
First off I received this book for free through the goodreads giveaways.
I liked it. It seemed like a modern "Turn of the Screw" by Henry James to me. The writing was great, but I think it was just missing something extra exciting for me. "Tighter" was still a good book though.
I liked it. It seemed like a modern "Turn of the Screw" by Henry James to me. The writing was great, but I think it was just missing something extra exciting for me. "Tighter" was still a good book though.
bmg20's review against another edition
4.0
I love a good ghost story. One of my favorites of all time is Heart-Shaped Box. Now that is one freaky book. I was a little skeptical about going into this with high expectations since it is YA and all; it turned out to be one of the darker types of YA books.
Jamie is a very disturbed 17 year-old with an awful pill addiction. After suffering a back injury she hasn’t been able to quite kick the habit. Her mother, concerned with her recent behavior and thinking she may be suffering from depression, helps set her up with a job as an au pair for an old friend on the island of Little Bly in New England. Jamie is skeptical about taking this job but thinks it may in fact be a good idea; that maybe by the time she got back, they’d be gone. They being the two ghosts that haunt her, her Uncle Jim and second cousin Hank… both individuals committed suicide. Jamie has seen them both ever since the night she personally contemplated suicide.
Upon arriving at Little Bly Jamie finds out that the child, Isa, her last au pair Jessie was killed in a plane crash when her boyfriend Peter was flying. Jamie’s unsettled to see how the town residents stare at her… because Jamie is the spitting image of Jessie. It doesn’t help matters when Jamie starts to see Peter and Jessie, ghosts, just like her Uncle Jim and Hank.
The book was certainly a tad unnerving, as can be expected with ghost stories. But the author… her writing style was crazy. Jamie would be in the middle of thinking something and right in the middle she would say something else and have seemingly zero awareness of what she just said For example:
“I knew I needed more socializing than just interacting with Connie and Isa and Milo; even a daily phone call with Mags would have helped, but the longer I stuck with just myself, the more messed up I might become rapping at the windows crying at the locks and it was beginning to bother me how much.”
Crying at the locks? What the hell are you talking about?! What’s going on?? But the writing was great; I loved how it always kept me guessing. And guessing you do… right up until the very end; I gasped. It’s one of those books where when you finally realize what’s going on it makes you have to stop, think, and look back at all that’s happened… makes you rethink everything.
Interested in more of my reviews? Visit my blog!
Jamie is a very disturbed 17 year-old with an awful pill addiction. After suffering a back injury she hasn’t been able to quite kick the habit. Her mother, concerned with her recent behavior and thinking she may be suffering from depression, helps set her up with a job as an au pair for an old friend on the island of Little Bly in New England. Jamie is skeptical about taking this job but thinks it may in fact be a good idea; that maybe by the time she got back, they’d be gone. They being the two ghosts that haunt her, her Uncle Jim and second cousin Hank… both individuals committed suicide. Jamie has seen them both ever since the night she personally contemplated suicide.
Upon arriving at Little Bly Jamie finds out that the child, Isa, her last au pair Jessie was killed in a plane crash when her boyfriend Peter was flying. Jamie’s unsettled to see how the town residents stare at her… because Jamie is the spitting image of Jessie. It doesn’t help matters when Jamie starts to see Peter and Jessie, ghosts, just like her Uncle Jim and Hank.
The book was certainly a tad unnerving, as can be expected with ghost stories. But the author… her writing style was crazy. Jamie would be in the middle of thinking something and right in the middle she would say something else and have seemingly zero awareness of what she just said For example:
“I knew I needed more socializing than just interacting with Connie and Isa and Milo; even a daily phone call with Mags would have helped, but the longer I stuck with just myself, the more messed up I might become rapping at the windows crying at the locks and it was beginning to bother me how much.”
Crying at the locks? What the hell are you talking about?! What’s going on?? But the writing was great; I loved how it always kept me guessing. And guessing you do… right up until the very end; I gasped. It’s one of those books where when you finally realize what’s going on it makes you have to stop, think, and look back at all that’s happened… makes you rethink everything.
Interested in more of my reviews? Visit my blog!
pwbalto's review against another edition
3.0
http://somethingwickedcomesofage.tumblr.com/post/107142522070/tighter-by-adele-griffin
linamclane's review against another edition
4.0
The most divisive aspect of this book seems to be the ending. I loved the ending. I can't say more without spoiling the entire story but I was impressed with how it was handled. Would love to see more of this kind of thing.
karmen12's review against another edition
2.0
"Tighter" by Adele Griffin only deserves two stars for many reasons. The beginning was so good and it got me hooked right away. But after a certain point, Griffin was just repeating the same material over and over again. I lost interest but I still wanted to find out how it ended. The last thirty pages of this book took me forever to read because it kept dragging on and on. The ending that I was so looking forward to, wasn't all that great. It was horrible actually. I understand the appeal in this book and how it could be good, it just lost all its jazz half way through, which was very disappointing.