Review: The Half Life of Ryan Davis by Melinda Szymanik

Summary-

A contemporary psychological mystery/thriller for young teens.
Playing second fiddle to a 'missing, presumed dead' sister is soul-sucking for fifteen year old Ryan. As he tries to move on with his life he begins to appreciate just how difficult growing up can be. And now there's a stranger watching him. Will his family ever be whole again? Or did Mallory light the fuse that will blow it apart forever...

 

Review-

The Half Life of Ryan Davis was an entertaining novel that I finished in an afternoon. I began reading this book without seeing any reviews, blurbs or excerpts regarding the story so I had a completely open mind. After the first several chapters and finding out that Ryan's older sister had been missing for three years, the thought that this book might be a heavier read than I anticipated crossed my mind. Fortunately, it wasn't one of those stories where the entire plot revolved around the missing Mallory and frantic searches for her. We got to follow Ryan through first love, divorce of his parents, a younger sibling, responsibility, first jobs, school dances, and other very ordinary events. Perhaps it is the fact that the main character was a male, but I found the words and thoughts of Ryan very logical and straightforward with no outbursts or heavy emotions. There is really no way to give much description since this would give away several plot twists, however, Ryan handled some very intense situations with a calm that I found very admirable in such a young person. This book was a firm four stars for a great story, cool character, and the discussion of some very real and important teen topics.

 

Publisher-Pear Jam Books   

Reviewer Rating: 4 Stars

Reviewed by~Cindi

Thank you to the author for the donation of this book to the Read for your future Book program in exchange of a honest review!