Book Review: The Party (Robyn Harding) @SimonSchusterCA

I was hesitant to pick up The Party, by Robyn Harding, based on a number of mediocre reviews I was reading. Well, now that I have finished, it just goes to show you that entertainment truly is in the eye of the reader because I loved this novel.

Jeff and Kim host a sweet sixteen party for their daughter, Hannah, with some rules: no alcohol, no drugs, no boys. However, rules are broken and the party turns tragic. In the aftermath, relationships are tested, secrets are revealed and nothing will be the same.

 

I found this one absolutely unputdownable; I binge read it over the course of a couple of hours. Harding has an uncanny ability to captivate her reader with quick prose and eloquent story telling. I loved the way the book was narrated; quick chapters told through the eyes of alternating characters (both teenaged and adult).