The Devil You Know - Trish Doller

The Devil You Know by Trish Doller
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's
Publication Date: June 2, 2015
Source/Format: Publisher (Thanks!) || ARC
[I received this book for review. This in no way affects my review.]

Eighteen-year-old Arcadia wants adventure. Living in a tiny Florida town with her dad and four-year-old brother, Cadie spends most of her time working, going to school, and taking care of her family. So when she meets two handsome cousins at a campfire party, she finally has a chance for fun. They invite her and friend to join them on a road trip, and it's just the risk she's been craving-the opportunity to escape. But what starts out as a fun, sexy journey quickly becomes dangerous when she discovers that one of them is not at all who he claims to be. One of them has deadly intentions.

I don't often go out of my way to read thrillers. But since The Devil You Know is penned by author Trish Doller (who I love), I didn't hesitate when I was given the opportunity to read it. This novel is very different from her previous two contemporaries. Both Something Like Normal and Where the Stars Still Shine are centered around teen characters going through a lot of personal growth as they confront the issues and circumstances life has dealt them; I was incredibly moved by both reads. While The Devil You Know has a similar teen lead as the others, the focus is central on the shenanigans that ensues when she spontaneously decides to join the two cousins, Noah and Mark, on their road trip. 

I admire the fact that Ms. Doller has broken new ground in terms for genre for herself with The Devil You Know. Her writing style is still so consistently good, and I'm particularly enamored with her descriptive turns of phrase and her attention to details. But, and though it pains me to admit it, this novel was just not for me. The characters were underdeveloped, even Cadie, though she does have moments where she feels real to the reader. The plot was definitely full of zigs and zags, but certain twists felt predictable and certain situations felt unnecessary. If it was Ms. Doller's intent to leave the reader feeling confused, she succeeded with me - though maybe not in exactly the way she was hoping, as I was mostly mixed up in terms of how I felt about this story.

Unfortunately, The Devil You Know wasn't my particular cup of tea. But if there's one thing that I can take away from this reading experience, it's that Trish Doller is a great writer who knows how to tell a good yarn. Though I still prefer her other novels, I don't regret reading The Devil You Know and experiencing something a little different from her usual work. 

Have you ever tried to see if a ghost story or myth was real?

I'm honestly not a fan of the scary stuff, so I never go out of my way to challenge any stories about the paranormal world. But I have encountered a ghostly presence in my basement! I was having a sleepover with some of my best friends. We are all in the 5th grade, and one of my best friends was a big horror buff back then. She was telling a story when the lights shut off, and something began to glow lightly in a corner of the room. We froze for all of ten seconds before we screamed and threw ourselves onto the bed. In about ten minutes, the lights went on again. Ever since then, that room has had more ghostly light apparitions show up whenever there are big groups of people sleeping over. It seems friendly though, since it doesn't harm anyone and just appears. Weird, right?