The Half Life of Molly Pierce

by Katrina Leno

Overview

An intricately woven debut psychological mystery and a profound coming of age story for fans of Made You Up by Francesca Zappia and All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven.  

“Introduces a fierce new presence.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“5 out of 5 bright, beautiful stars.” —Teenreads.com

“A fascinating debut...something original indeed. Readers will absolutely need to know the end of this unique inward-facing mystery.” —ALA Booklist

For all of her seventeen years, Molly feels like she’s missed bits and pieces of her life. Her memory is perforated with holes and gaps. But then a horrible accident changes everything.

Now she’s starting to remember her own disturbing secrets. And bit by bit, Molly uncovers the separate life she seems to have led—and the love that she can’t let go.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062231192
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	07/08/2014
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	338 KB
Age Range:	13 - 17 Years

About the Author

Katrina Leno is the author of Everything All at Once, The Lost & Found, The Half Life of Molly Pierce, and Summer of Salt. In real life, she lives in Los Angeles. But in her head, she lives on an imaginary island off the coast of New England where it sometimes rains a lot. Visit her online at www.katrinaleno.com.

Editorial Reviews

Introduces a fierce new presence.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“A fascinating debut . . . something original indeed. Readers will absolutely need to know the end of this unique inward-facing mystery.” — ALA Booklist

“A fast-moving thriller . . . relentless.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Possibly the most thrilling, suspenseful, and mysterious book of 2014 . . A must-read that should be read in book clubs worldwide. 5 out of 5 bright, beautiful stars.” — Teenreads.com

“A smart, seductive page turner, deeply felt and full of surprises.” — Madeleine George, author of The Difference Between You and Me

“Unfolds its careful origami slowly and hypnotically, taking on one shape after another before finally revealing itself as something stranger and more beautiful than I’d anticipated. A moving, expertly wrought story that will keep surprising you past the last page.” — Bennet Madison, author of September Girls

“The race to uncover Molly’s truth will keep readers turning pages.” — School Library Journal

“A Tilt-A-Whirl of a first novel, a breathtaking thrill ride that takes you in one direction and then spins you off in another, over and over, keeping you guessing with every turn of the page.” — Michael Thomas Ford, author of Suicide Notes

From the Publisher

A fascinating debut . . . something original indeed. Readers will absolutely need to know the end of this unique inward-facing mystery.

ALA Booklist

A smart, seductive page turner, deeply felt and full of surprises.

Madeleine George

A Tilt-A-Whirl of a first novel, a breathtaking thrill ride that takes you in one direction and then spins you off in another, over and over, keeping you guessing with every turn of the page.

Michael Thomas Ford

Possibly the most thrilling, suspenseful, and mysterious book of 2014 . . A must-read that should be read in book clubs worldwide. 5 out of 5 bright, beautiful stars.

Teenreads.com

Unfolds its careful origami slowly and hypnotically, taking on one shape after another before finally revealing itself as something stranger and more beautiful than I’d anticipated. A moving, expertly wrought story that will keep surprising you past the last page.

Bennet Madison

With a distinct and mysterious voice that matches its mood, The Half Life of Molly Pierce will pull you into Molly’s—and Mabel’s—world.

April Henry

2014-05-14
In a fast-moving thriller, a depressed teen must piece together why she keeps blacking out and losing time and why everyone around her seems to know a secret.Ever since her suicide attempt a year earlier, Molly explains to the reader in breathless and moody prose, "[t]here are long stretches where I don't remember anything." Coming back to consciousness one afternoon in her car, having apparently skipped school, she sees a boy on a motorcycle weave through traffic and collide violently with a truck. Thrown both by the accident, which leads to the boy Lyle's death, and by Lyle's insistence that he knows her, Molly withdraws further. Her one comfort is Sayer, Lyle's brother, with whom Molly feels an instant bond, though she quickly realizes Sayer knows more than he's telling. The book has an almost noir tone. Molly's confusion, fear and pervasive depression create a dark atmosphere, even as short paragraphs and sentence fragments establish a relentless pace. What readers learn as Molly's memories start to come back answers most of the story's questions, but a touch anticlimactically: No one really needed to die in a motorcycle accident for the truth to be revealed.Enjoyably suspenseful, even if the stakes aren't as high as they seem. (Suspense. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews