Review: Premeditated by Josin McQuein


Premeditated
Josin McQuein
Series: None
Released: October 8th, 2013
Publisher: Delacorte BFYR
Rating: 5 stars
Word Rating: YESYESYES
Reviewed by: Blythe

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A week ago, Dinah’s cousin Claire cut her wrists.

Five days ago, Dinah found Claire’s diary and discovered why.

Three days ago, Dinah stopped crying and came up with a plan.

Two days ago, she ditched her piercings and bleached the black dye from her hair.

Yesterday, knee socks and uniform plaid became a predator’s camouflage.

Today, she’ll find the boy who broke Claire.

By tomorrow, he’ll wish he were dead.

It's a true testament to Premeditated's quality that I am actually able to write this review right now, months after finishing this novel, given the fact that I have an absolutely awful memory. I normally forget a novel's details within a week or two at most, but I am able to say that, nearly two months after finishing Premeditated, I remember it practically vividly; from the amazingly developed characters and their relationships, the utterly fantastic plot twists, to the brilliantly built conflicts--I remember nearly everything from this excellent novel.

With that having been said, however, I feel that, more than anything, expectations are crucial for your enjoyment in Premeditated. Despite what the synopsis may indicate, Premeditated is probably not as hardcore and revenge-focused as you would think. While revenge (with undertones of hardcore) is definitely a huge factor in Premeditated and is the driving point for most of Dinah's actions throughout the novel, the major factor in Premeditated is the outstanding relationship and character development.

Dinah is an incredibly strong and fantastically developed character, and her relationship with her cousin, Claire, was one of the strongest and most touching ones I've ever had the pleasure to read. This is made even more notable considering the fact that Claire is in a coma throughout pretty much the entirety of the novel. As well as being a determined character, the conflicts Dinah experiences throughout Premeditated is in simplest terms awe-inspiring and complex. Quite frankly, they're all something you'll just have to experience for yourself in order to capture the true brilliance that it is.

As well as the fantastic character and relationship development in Premeditated, the mystery aspect to the novel and the plot are just as commendable and stunning as literally everything else in the novel. While the mystery and novel itself does move at a rather slow pace, the unraveling of the plot twists and the evidence alongside the character development makes each and every revelation made more and more shell-shocking and powerful. And although the final twist was something I had initially suspected but eventually discarded, that didn't make it any less of an emotional, fantastic, and unbelievable ending for me.

With characters you'll inevitably care for, as well as characters you'll hate to find yourself loving, with witty, light, and often hysterical dialogue occurring amidst the serious and daunting atmosphere expertly crafted throughout the novel, I am thrilled to be able to say that Premeditated is a truly outstanding sophomore novel. Having also read and thoroughly enjoyed McQuein's debut novel Arclight, I can say with absolutely no doubt in my mind that Josin McQuein is a talented author whose works you should keep your eye on if you're looking for an amazing and remarkably lingering read.

(Unrelated: the Divergent readalong starts today! If you haven't read the trilogy or Allegiant yet, sign up and read it with me! Be sure to tag your tweets with #DivergentRAL so we can discuss on Twitter, too!)

10 comments :

  1. This book is brilliant, this book is perfect, this book is the best, yesyesyesyesyes.

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  2. I think that without reading your review I would have went into this story thinking that it's about hardcore revenge and nothing else. I'm glad that it has other elements too and that there's great character development. Great review! I have to read this one soon!

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  3. I was so not a fan of Arclight, nothing about it worked for me. But I have been seeing a bunch of 4-5 star reviews on her latest work so I will have to reconsider. Love the synopsis!

    Fantastic review, Blythe! <33

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  4. Your word rating has me sold, basically. I haven't heard of this book before but I like the broken glass on the cover. Reminds me of this cover, though I can't remember the title. Great review Blythe :)

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  5. Great review Blythe! The cover for this book actually reminds me a lot of the Aussie version of Indelible. https://www.goodreads.com/book/photo/18071563-indelible

    Jeann @ Happy Indulgence

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  6. I absolutely love this synopsis. It really works to make me want to read it myself. And then these super positive reviews like yours make me even more eager to read this for myself. And if the plot had to be less revenge-focused than initially implied, I am more than fine with a huge focus being on female friendships. Seriously, I get so happy whenever an author decides to either forgo a relationship or else delegates it to the background in favor of friendships. This sounds fantastic and I can't wait to read it myself!

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  7. I really enjoyed Arclight so I'm definitely up for reading another book by this author. I love books with great characters that you care about...great review! ~Pam

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  8. Hmmm, I actually thought the revenge was fairly hardcore, but only due to the context of reasons. Brooks gets a pretty harsh deal actually.

    I had some issues with the character development, almost like it was trying to hard, but eh they were still really fun, and it was different from the norm.

    YOU DID NOT EXPECT THE FINAL TWIST? I was sure halfway through. O_o Blythe, you surprise me.

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    1. I felt baaaad for Brooks. And the twist was actually one of the first things I guessed, but I didn't see the WHO coming. Even though I reeeeally should have.

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  9. I just really skimmed your review and looked at the rating because I REALLY want to read it (and sometimes I tend to be a bit influenced :P) but I am so glad to see that you really enjoyed this one! I think I might push it up closer to the top of my TBR :)

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