Review: Slide by Jill Hathaway

Title:  Slide  

Author:  Jill Hathaway

Genre:  Young Adult

Publisher:  HarperCollins

Format:  NetGalley Digital Galley

Release Date:  March 27, 2012

Sylvia “Vee” Bell hates that, like her deceased mother, she has narcolepsy. But this embarrassing condition is nowhere near as bad as what happens during these episodes: when Vee passes out she actually slides into somebody else’s consciousness and experiences the world through that person’s eyes. This is how Vee finds herself in the head of a killer, standing over a classmate’s slashed and murdered body.

When another cheerleader turns up dead, Vee realizes that someone is killing off her sister’s friends. Suddenly everyone is a suspect, and Vee finds herself enmeshed in a terrifying web of secrets, lies and danger. She must face up to the fact that she can trust no one—not even the family and friends she thought she knew (summary via NetGalley).

I was really impressed with the beginning of Slide. I couldn’t wait to discover more about Vee and her story. Living life with narcolepsy and having the added burden of “sliding” into another person’s consciousness was an interesting premise and one that I was excited to explore. It had a lot of twists and turns, and a great mystery. But after awhile, it began to have a very familiar ring to it.  If you have ever read Wake by Lisa McCann, then you will know what I mean. Granted, there are differences, some of them minor and some of them major, but the stories are still similar. In both books, the main characters are able to see into other people’s lives, one through their dreams when she sleeps and another “slides” into the consciousness of others when sleeping. Both books involve a mystery to be solved and it can only be solved by the main characters learning to take control of what their minds can do.   

Slide is fast-moving and easy to read. It grabs and keeps your interest throughout the book. Hathaway also throws in a few twist and turns to keep the reader guessing.  But for some reason Slide was just a “blah” book for me. I liked it, it was an easy read and the story was good, so I can’t really explain why the book left me feeling, well, nothing. You know how sometimes you just love a book and you can’t even explain why? And sometimes you just don’t feel anything about a book and you can’t explain why. That is me with Slide. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this book, it is well-written and Hathaway appears to be a great author. I guess it just wasn’t my cup of tea.  

While I didn’t enjoy Slide as much as I had hoped, I am sure others will enjoy it.  What I really recommend is that you pick it up and see if it is a book you will enjoy, because maybe it will be your cup of tea.


My grade for Slide by Jill Hathaway: