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.



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8 comments:

  1. You know I keep hearing that this book isn't that good. But I really want it to be good. I guess it's just one of those unfortunate things...

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  2. I hear a lot of mixed things about this book. Such a shame, because I was looking forward to read a creepy book. The friendship sounds great, that's how a friendship must be :) I do like psychological thrillers, so I might pick it up someday. Good review!

    Mel@thedailyprophecy.

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    1. Psychological thrillers used to not be by normal read but lately, I have read The Ruining, Hysteria and currently The Murmurings... so I guess its becoming my thing :) If you are looking forward to a creepy read I would say try The Ruining!

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  3. Oh noes. I was so hooked on the blurb, but I would love for a book like this serve its purpose as a thriller. I want to be scared, not annoyed at failed attempts. Like Christianna, I want it to be good. Definitely not buying it soon though. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. I was hoping for a higher creepy/eerie factor!

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  4. I have read a lot of not so great reviews of this book. I still can't decide if I want to try it out. Maybe sometime if I ever get my TBR pile under control I'll see if the library has it. Thanks for the review!

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  5. I really enjoyed this one too! I like how it kept you guessing until the very end, I had a million in one guesses as to what was going on but none of them were right. A real page turner indeed! Great review =)

    regards,
    rowena of Floating Candles for Wedding

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  6. I have been hearing a lot of mixed reviews about this book. I am just wondering if I should read this. Thank you for the honest and great review.

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