2.5. I don’t mind unreliable narrators, nor do I have to only read books with likable characters. However, I have to love to hate them, find them interesting, or at the very least...care. I didn’t not like nor care about one character in this story. None jumped off the page and held my interest. The book was entertaining, and I think many younger readers or novices to the thriller genre may like this. I actually recommend it to my niece. However, I guessed every plot twist very early on, so nothing about this one really stood out or held my attention. The book was written fairly well and I did enjoy reading a book set in my State near places I’m familiar with. Still, I just wasn’t that impressed with this offering. ( )

When the town’s golden girl goes missing, Skye uses her psychic visions to help find her. There’s a catch, however—Skye isn’t psychic. She’s faked tarot card readings for years & she’s using insider knowledge now. But what starts as a harmless payday turns dark & Skye’s mistakes might come back to haunt her.

I’ve always been interested in stories that deal with being able to discern the future; even when it’s a story about a scam artist. I find the way the predictions influence the behaviours of others is intriguing. So, it was quite predictable that I’d pick up a copy of The Hanging Girl because seventeen year old Skye gives tarot card readings to fellow high school students. She becomes part of what is supposed to end up with no one getting hurt, but that’s not how the story ends.
I liked that there are twists that are not easily seen and I liked the truthful voice of Skye. Can’t tell you what I didn’t like because that would give too much away.
I will be putting this on my classroom shelf for others to read. ( )

Skye Thorn reads tarot cards, but unkown to others her readings are faked. When Paige, a girl at Skye's school goes missing things start to get out of control. Skye has visions which are meant to help find Paige but things don't go as planned.

This book is a YA which I don't normally read. What drew me to the book was the cover which features a tarot card. I have an interest in tarot so any book to feature tarot readers is for me.

The story started so well and I was drawn in instantly. I enjoyed the narrative by Skye and enjoyed following her around. Things become clear what's really being going on and I have to say I didn't guess so it added a little twist.

The next section will contain spoilers.

I did find towards the end I felt the story was dragging and it went a bit flat. I really didn't like the ending at all and the big reveal of who had been responsible. To me it just didn't really add up. If Skye's mom did have a vision where it all went wrong and Skye was going to be in big trouble surely she could have solved it differently.

I liked the book at times but I felt the ending let it down badly.

Thank you to the publisher via Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review the book. ( )

"I wasn't sure which was worse - to know you were a liar or to believe your own bullshit."

Candi "Skye" Thorn, a senior in highschool, has been giving out tarot card readings for years and getting paid for her psychic services. Having a natural ability to read people, a sneaky way of gathering dirt on her peers, and picking up a few things from her "psychic" and highly eccentric mother, Skye has been fooling everyone with her "lucky hunches". Well, almost everyone. There are a select few who know her secret.

While Skye might not have any plans to go to college right after graduation, she and her best friend Drew have been planning to move to NYC and become roommates. However, despite working a part time job and reading people's future in her spare time, she still hasn't been able to save up enough money to make the move. Whether its having to help with the bills or paying for rent, something always seems to come up. Until one day, that is, when the universe presents her with a seemingly golden opportunity that would be silly for her to turn down.

She's been contacted by a person, who insists on being called by their code name "Pluto", with a risky but supposedly harmless and carefully planned out idea. Pluto plans on abducting Paige - the popular, teenaged daughter of a local and well known judge, and holding her for ransome. All Skye would have to do is use her "Psychic" abilities to help the police solve the case. The catch? Pluto will split the Ransome money with Skye 50/50, which would earn her a whopping $12,000.

But even the most carefully thought out plans can go wrong. What will Skye do when their harmless prank ends up with a tragic murder and no ransom money? With reporters constantly at her door, the police investigating her, a possible prison sentence looming over her head, graduation nearing - Skye is in over her head. She needs to figure out who else knew about their plan or risk either being found out or becoming murder victim #2.

"Most people aren't the kind of people they like to think they are."

The Hanging Girl by Eileen Cook is a thrilling YA mystery that will literally keep you guessing til the last page. I don't normally read many YA books in this genre because I usually find it fairly easy to guess who did what and why, however, that was NOT the case for me with this book. There are just so many twists and turns in this story that's its honestly hard to put down.

This story is mostly written in Skye's POV, but we do get to have a few chapters written in Paige's perspective, too. Sometimes when authors throw in a couple of chapters from another character's POV it can feel a little out of place and random, but Elieen Cook definitely pulled it off. I was glad to read from Paige's POV and I feel like it really added that something extra to her story.

Unfortunately, lot of the characters fell a little flat for me. I didn't really connect with any of them to be honest. And there was one character, Ryan, who kind of seemed like he was just put in the story with no real purpose. Unless, his purpose was to throw the readers off and add to the mystery? Lol. But truthfully, I didn't mind all that too much. Getting too deep into the characters would've spoiled all the surprises the author was able to give us. I'm glad she focused more on the story than the characters because that kept everything mysterious and made everyone a possible suspect.

I wasn't much of a fan of the MC at first, I thought she was a little too harsh sometimes and I felt bad that she never told her friend about her financial situation. Plus, shes a bit of a scam artist, haha. But the more I read, the less I cared about those things and the more I cared about the story line. By the end of the book I found Skye to be a really interesting character.

Overall, I really enjoyed The Hanging Girl. I recommend this book to anyone who's interested in reading a thrilling YA mystery story that's sure to keep you on your toes. Its fast paced, easy to read and full of shocking twists and turns.

**** I received an eBook copy of this title via Nrtgalley in exchange for an honest review. **** ( )