Hysteria by Megan Miranda

Title: Hysteria
Author: Megan Miranda
Publisher: Walker Childrens
Release Date: February 5,2013
Pages: 336 Hardcover
Rating: 2.5 Stars

Summary from Goodreads:
Mallory killed her boyfriend, Brian. She can't remember the details of that night but everyone knows it was self-defense, so she isn't charged. But Mallory still feels Brian's presence in her life. Is it all in her head? Or is it something more? In desperate need of a fresh start, Mallory is sent to Monroe, a fancy prep school where no one knows her . . . or anything about her past.But the feeling follows her, as do her secrets. Then, one of her new classmates turns up dead. As suspicion falls on Mallory, she must find a way to remember the details of both deadly nights so she can prove her innocence-to herself and others.

In another riveting tale of life and death, Megan Miranda's masterful storytelling brings readers along for a ride to the edge of sanity and back again.

"Reid slept on while the words seared themselves into my brain. Psychological. Hallucinations. Hysteria"

So I was pretty excited to start Hysteria, the summary sounded pretty creepy and even the cover looked cool. The book was a little bit of a letdown for me. The story starts with Mallory being sent off to a boarding school for a ‘new start;’ her dad was able to pull strings at his old high school, Monroe. Mallory is forced to her new start because she killed her ex-boyfriend; even though it was self-defense the whole event and Brian continue to haunt her dreams. Upon arriving to Monroe, Mallory reconnects with Reid, her father’s best friend’s son. Reid is there for Mallory as she spirals down further into hysteria. Mallory has to figure out why  Brian’s presence continues to follow her before her hysteria drives her crazy and she goes to jail for another murder.

The Good: Friendship, Mallory and Colleen have a powerful friendship that withstands all the drama thrown at Mallory. Colleen never has any doubt in Mallory and is always on her side trying to help. I also like Reid; he wouldn't give up on Mallory and tried to make her transition to Monroe smoother.

The Meh: The ending, Miranda did a good job of resolving the loose ends and explaining the reasons for certain events. Hysteria was a very quick read. Her parents irritated me bit, while they do love her they do not seem to always be on her side.

The Bad: The constant boom boom boom that haunted Mallory’s mind got a bit old. I usually enjoy alternating narrators/time frames but I was not a fan of the back and forth between current Mallory and her past memories. I felt like the story lacked something; Megan’s hysteria was not super believable. The hand-print on her back that got more intense every night, the bloody hand-prints  and the cliche mean girls who gave her a hard time all seemed to lack some originality.

Overall, Hysteria was a 2.5 star read. While it was a quick read I felt the plot lack some substance and actual thrill. Might be a good read if you really enjoy psychological thrillers that focus more on what can happen to a person  (the psychology) than focusing on the eerie/thriller aspects and plot of the book.