Early Review – Daughter of Deep Silence by Carrie Ryan (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal
Length: 384 pages
Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers
Release Date: May 26, 2015
ISBN-13: 978-0525426509
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone?
Source: ARC through Amazon Vine
Rating: 4/5 stars

I got a copy of this book through the Amazon Vine program to review. This was a very engaging read that was hard to put down. It’s primarily a revenge story.

Frances is on a cruise ship when it is attacked by armed men. Her and her best friend Libby escape but they are out at sea for so long awaiting rescue that Libby doesn’t make it. When Frances is rescued she finds out that the news says the cruise ship was attacked by a rogue wave…not armed men.

To make matters worse a Senator and his son were supposedly the only survivors and are lying about the truth of what happened. Frances gets it in her head that if that Senator hadn’t lied, then the rescuers would have kept looking for survivors and Libby would have lived. Frances and Libby’s father then devise a scheme for Frances to assume Libby’s identity and take the revenge she is so desperate for. And that’s just the beginning of the story…

This primarily a revenge story and the main driver in the story is the mystery behind what really happened the day the main character, Frances, escaped a cruise ship and was left to drift on the ocean.

This was a very easy read and, as mentioned, very hard to put down. It wasn’t really what I thought it was going to be but it was enjoyable all the same. Frances is an interesting character, she is just so absolutely driven by revenge that it consumes every aspect of her. I enjoyed watching her being pulled between her desire for revenge and her desire to be loved.

This wasn’t one of those books that was life changing…and I doubt I will think about it much in the future…however it was an entertaining little diversion. The story at the end feels a bit contrived…like maybe everything is just a bit too conveniently wrapped up. The very end is left somewhat open, which matched the tone of the rest of the story well.

Overall this was a fun and quick little read. It’s a revenge story that has some interesting twists and turns and takes an interesting look into the head of a girl absolutely obsessed with revenge. I enjoyed it but didn’t find that it was a story that really stuck with me. It was a quick and entertaining diversion, that’s pretty much it. I guess I would recommend to young adult fans who enjoy revenge stories with some romance.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge