Genuine Fraud

SLJ warned me, but I did it anyway: Definitely don't get the audiobook, the narrator can't do accents at all and a few parts are almost unlistenable because of it. As reviews have said, the opener is a real breathless action movie scene, but the story downshifts from there, explaining events in reverse. Think it will be an easy sell for booktalks, but didn't personally love it. Interested to hear kid opinions!

Rollercoaster. Read mostly in one gulp whilst doing (ignoring) laundry. Now paranoid about everyone. BRB, deleting all my social media and online banking, and untagging myself in every picture EVAR.

[b:Genuine Fraud 33843362 Genuine Fraud E. Lockhart https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1503003099l/33843362.SY75.jpg 54780211]I confess. I'm one of those people. I judge a book by it's cover. Well, in a good way of course! If the cover appeals to me then I will read the blurb and see if the story appeals as well. That was the case with Genuine Fraud. That cover is so eye-catching that I secretly hoped the blurb would be ‘my kind of thing'. Although today someone told me covers aren't always a safe bet. I will say my gambles have paid off lately go me. As you're reading my review of Genuine Fraud I think it's safe to say it ticked the right boxes! And what a wonderfully fun read it was. Yes...it's a little dark, a little murderous but you can't help but immerse yourself in this fast-paced, thrilling tale. I enjoyed the aspects of the story I feel like it adds to the story. The first thing to say is that the story is told in reverse. The reader starts at the beginning of the book with chapter 18. Towards the end of the novel, you find a chapter 19 which fills in a few of the blanks. I don't think I have read a book presented in this format before and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was exciting and different, each chapter revealing a little more of what actually happened to the characters. I was questioning everything. I believed no one. Wonderfully compulsive.I've seen a number of mixed reviews for this book. Many of the readers have previously read one or more of the author's novels. I don't fall into that category and E. Lockhart was a brand new author to me. From what I've seen, Genuine Fraud is quite different to the author's other works and maybe that's the problem? Starting Genuine Fraud with no previous experience may have helped me. I've also seen many comparisons to The Talented Mr. Ripley. Well, here's a bombshell for you, I've neither read the book nor seen the film! I will be totally honest with you now and confess to absolutely no knowledge of the plot.. Maybe that helped me enjoy this book a little more than others, maybe I missed a number of subtle nuances others got.Would I recommend this book? I would. I managed to read Genuine Fraud in a day. It would have been fairly easy to read it in less time than that had I not had other obligations. I enjoyed my first experience of E. Lockhart's writing and I'm looking forward to adding We Were Liars to the TBR in the future. It's a gripping, multilayered read which I found compulsive and thrilling.