Hanging by a Thread

Mar 16, 2012 Maja rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: arc-2012, are-you-kidding-me, cover-lust, totally-saw-that-coming, netgalley, ya, wake-me-up-next-year, reviewed-in-2012

2.5 stars.
Well, this was ~~boring~~ educational.

In 1932 in Winston, Clare’s great grandmother Alma was a newlywed about to have her first baby. She was a seamstress working on a wedding dress for a young girl when the girl’s fiancé, crazed by jealousy, came into her shop and shot them both. Alma lost her life because she was in the wrong place at the wrong time, but not before she gave birth to her daughter. As the baby grew, it became clear that she acquired a unique gift through the tragic circum...more 2.5 stars.
Well, this was ~~boring~~ educational.

In 1932 in Winston, Clare’s great grandmother Alma was a newlywed about to have her first baby. She was a seamstress working on a wedding dress for a young girl when the girl’s fiancé, crazed by jealousy, came into her shop and shot them both. Alma lost her life because she was in the wrong place at the wrong time, but not before she gave birth to her daughter. As the baby grew, it became clear that she acquired a unique gift through the tragic circumstances of her birth. By touching pieces of clothing, she would sometimes have visions of people they belonged to, especially if those people were doing something they weren’t supposed to. The gift didn’t disappear with Alma’s daughter, it was transferred through generations, first to Clare’s eccentric grandmother, and then to Clare herself.

Winston seems like an idyllic little town, but for the last two years, something terrible has happened on Independence Day. Now that the big holiday is approaching again, people in Winston are starting to panic, convinced that a third tragedy is about to occur. Since Clare just recently moved back with her mom, she has no idea whom to trust or how serious the threat is. Then she accidentally finds a jacket that belonged to a missing girl, and she can’t avoid getting involved anymore.

At first, I was oddly intrigued by Littlefield’s many descriptions of clothing Clare made (I say oddly because I’m a conservative dresser and couldn’t care less about fashion experiments), so it took me a while to notice that I’d gone through a third of the book and that there still wasn’t a plot to speak of. Sure, I needed to know that Clare started a business with her friend and that she sells her clothes, but did I absolutely have to know all the details about her landlord and her stand? Same goes for many other things: it was perfectly fine to describe one or two items of clothing Clare salvaged and restyled, but after the seventh jacket and maybe the third purse, I admit to losing my patience just a teeny tiny bit. So when, on top of that, she started describing her vintage sewing machine in detail, with all the technical, incredibly boring things it can and cannot do, I was in danger of falling backwards from rolling my eyes too much. Woman, I couldn’t sew a button if my life depended on it, now can we please just move on?! Finally, around 35% mark, things start happening. We got two very exciting moments at a party, and then… pages and pages of seam-ripping tips.

On the other hand, I was pleasantly surprised by the way Clare’s gift was described and used. At first, the idea of psychometry limited to clothing alone sounded a bit silly and I didn’t think I’d believe/enjoy that part, but I thought it was handled pretty well and I ended up liking the idea very much.

I never really bought the relationship between Clare and Jack. It didn’t give me that creepy feeling instalove usually does, but I certainly didn’t understand where the attraction was coming from. Oh, I could see why she liked him: he had that gorgeous bad boy thing going on, but I never felt the chemistry between them at all, or not until the very end, at least.

I’m pretty sure this book will have many fans, as Littlefield’s books usually do, but I can’t honestly recommend it to anyone. It simply didn’t work for me, but that doesn’t mean that it won’t work for the rest of you. I can’t wait to compare notes with my friends since I fully expect to be the odd one out, just like I was with Aftertime.

Oh, and another small-ish thing: Joan Baez never rasped her way through a song in her life. She has one of the clearest voices in existence.
Also posted at The Nocturnal Library (less)

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Sep 11, 2012 Madame X rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya-or-teen-protagonist, mystery

BY A THREAD is a grim little thing, for all that it’s got the usual trappings of a YA hit: quirky girl moves to new town, meets cute boy, solves murder while struggling to fit in.

Sounds like something you’ve read before, maybe? When I add that the cute boy, Jack, has a violent temper and a checkered past, does that sound familiar? I usually like bad boys, and Jack might not be so awful, but Clare’s attraction to him? Wow. Unhealthy. He runs hot and cold, alternately making passes and scoffing a...more BY A THREAD is a grim little thing, for all that it’s got the usual trappings of a YA hit: quirky girl moves to new town, meets cute boy, solves murder while struggling to fit in.

Sounds like something you’ve read before, maybe? When I add that the cute boy, Jack, has a violent temper and a checkered past, does that sound familiar? I usually like bad boys, and Jack might not be so awful, but Clare’s attraction to him? Wow. Unhealthy. He runs hot and cold, alternately making passes and scoffing at her, but every rude comment makes Clare pant harder. She gets a vision of him vandalizing someone’s house and it turns her on. And she makes constant, horrible excuses for her own feelings: “Despite the powerful rage I’d sensed in his memories, I didn’t believe it could ever be directed at me.” Really? She’s known him a day and she’s already so sure? Poor fool.

As it turns out, Jack is one of the nicer characters in the book. Everyone here is so messed up, every relationship strained and unhappy. Clare has a miserable relationship with her uptight, controlling mother. She has a miserable relationship with her popular, unstable friend Rachel. She’s ashamed of her hippie grandmother, gobbling up her Nana’s affection while trying hard never to be seen with her in public.

It occurred to me, more than once, that maybe the problem was Clare. She’s got such a sour, unflattering view of the world. But as events unfurl and Clare uses her talent to dig into the secrets her friends and family have been keeping it becomes clear that Clare’s attitude is entirely justified. There’s a sordid tale in every garment, unraveling years of pent-up misery.

The mystery here is very good. The book opens with the central question – two years in a row, a local kid died mysteriously on July 4 – and with the holiday rolling around again, people are wondering who killed those kids, fearing a serial killer who will strike again. Clare finds a jacket that belongs to one of the victims and feels called to solve the case. The clues are neatly laid out, and following them leads to a plausible, chilling conclusion.

To give credit where credit is due, once I picked up BY A THREAD I could not put it down. It sucked me in. I had to find out if Clare would fall in line with Rachel’s popular-girl clique or find her own way, and what would happen with her and jerky Jack. I wanted to find out what happened to the dead kids. So I kept turning that pages, even after I’d come to the conclusion that I didn’t like any of these characters and didn’t want to spend any more time with them.

So three stars for a well-written book by an author who knows her craft. I’d read another book by her, but I wouldn’t pick it at random. I’d wait until the reviews come out and find one with more sympathetic characters. If such a thing exists.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review(less)

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Sep 21, 2012 Mlpmom (Book Reviewer) rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: arc-book-read, kindle-books

I will admit that this is the first book I have read by Sophie Littlefield and it is also my understanding that this is her first YA book.

I saw some of the low reviews on this before reading it but really wanted to come into it without any prejudices whatsoever.

However, sadly I am going to have to agree with some of the lower rating reviews.

While the author had a brilliant idea for this book, a girl who comes from a long line of seamstresses and a rocky history gets gifted with the ability to s...more

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Apr 23, 2013 Pinkie Pie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Hanging by a Thread was really interesting, and not like any book I've read before. I've read a ton of paranormals, books about psychic girls, or girls who have prophetic visions. But I've never read about psychometry, the ability to see visions from touching an object. Clare has a specific form of psychometry wherein she gets these visions from clothing, and they're often sinister, showing an evil deed the owner committed while wearing the piece. I thought this was really cool, since I hadn't h...more Hanging by a Thread was really interesting, and not like any book I've read before. I've read a ton of paranormals, books about psychic girls, or girls who have prophetic visions. But I've never read about psychometry, the ability to see visions from touching an object. Clare has a specific form of psychometry wherein she gets these visions from clothing, and they're often sinister, showing an evil deed the owner committed while wearing the piece. I thought this was really cool, since I hadn't heard of it until now, and also that the gift related to Clare's fashion designing talents.

Clare inherited her gift from her grandmother (and they both believe it is a gift) and her grandmother inherited from a deceased ancestor who was murdered in the family dress shop. Because of this murder, and Nana's eccentricities Clare's family has always been branded as outcasts. But when Clare and her mother return to the town of Winston, Clare is determined to change that. She makes every effort to get in with the popular crowd, following around her best friend Rachel wherever she goes.

I really despised Rachel. It was clear from the start that she wasn't a very good friend. She kept stepping all over Clare like she was her mother, telling her where she could go, and who she could date. When Jack shows up, Rachel totally dismisses him, and tries everything she can to get Clare to stop seeing him. And for what? It didn't make any sense.

I liked Clare okay. She was interesting and obviously talented, and I'm happy that she had other things going for her besides her boyfriend. Her relationship with her mother was sweet, and I liked how Clare finally stood up to her mom about everything -- her gift, her grandmother, her school. She was a little fickle, though -- in one moment she would be totally confident, but once she was complimented she'd fight tooth and nail to make that person take it back and realize they were wrong. Typical YA 'heroine.' Also, I wish she was a little older. She was only supposed to be 15 or 16, but she was out drinking and sneaking out with boys in the middle of the night. If she were 17 or ever closer to 17 than she was, it would sit better with me. I mean, I know I was doing the same thing when I was that age, but maybe getting older has turned me into a prude.

The ending was a little anticlimactic for me. Clare had all the tools she needed to solve the mystery herself, but instead it just turned into a bunch of info-dumping. I was expecting a kick-ass heroine to come out of Clare, but I was let down. The end did provide a lot of closure, there were no tangled up loose ends or anything like that. It was simple and sweet, too, and you do see a lot of growth from Clare, her mom, and Rachel. It was also a bit of a shocker, once the murder mystery is solved.

All in all, Hanging by a Thread was just okay. I enjoyed it, but was let down a little by the end. I did love seeing the characters change and evolve, and loved that not one single person in the story was left the same in the end as the beginning. That so rarely happens. I will keep an eye out for Sophie Littlefield in the future.(less)

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Jan 28, 2013 Stephanie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Two mysterious murders, a risky romance, friendships shrouded in secrets, and magnificent narration. Who wouldn’t want to read Hanging by a Thread by Sophie Littlefield?

The murder-mystery plot is what drives this novel. After Clare’s love of fashion and ability to learn people’s secrets by touching their clothes is established, Clare immediately gets involved in the murders that have made the hometown she has just moved back to a much less safe place than it used to be. After just a few days of...more Two mysterious murders, a risky romance, friendships shrouded in secrets, and magnificent narration. Who wouldn’t want to read Hanging by a Thread by Sophie Littlefield?

The murder-mystery plot is what drives this novel. After Clare’s love of fashion and ability to learn people’s secrets by touching their clothes is established, Clare immediately gets involved in the murders that have made the hometown she has just moved back to a much less safe place than it used to be. After just a few days of being back in town, Clare has her most powerful vision to date when she touches a denim jacket. Clare is able to place the vision as Amanda Starvos’s. From the night she died.

From then on, Clare continues to have visions about those close to her and about people in town she barely knows. Jack was once extremely angry when he was wearing the shirt he first kisses Clare in. Rachel might not be the innocent, perfect girl she pretends to be. Could it be that Jack and Rachel are involved in the murders? Or is it someone else entirely?

The answers unfold through fast-paced scenes and gripping descriptions. Although Clare is missing the coming-of-age character arc I am so used to seeing in the narrators of young adult novels, her narration makes up for what she lacks in character. Particularly when Clare has a vision, her emotions are expertly described. Littlefield’s use of fragments fits perfectly with the way Clare experiences her visions: disjointed from her life and the person's life she is seeing and desperate to make connections. The narration really is what made this novel excellent: “Regret, certainly—a part of me wished I’d never brought up her name. Suspicion—wondering what Amanda had really meant to him and whether he’d had anything to do with what happened to her. And underneath it, that thread of attraction I couldn’t ignore, even when I told myself this was a dangerous game to play.”

Since Clare is more of a static character than a narrator should be, Clare’s mother serves as the dynamic character who makes up for Clare’s lack of change. As an accountant, Clare’s mother wants her life to look just like the numbers: neat and normal. She doesn’t want her mother and daughter to have visions, and she hates that her divorce puts a stain on her otherwise white life. But Clare’s mother learns to accept that she cannot control everything and work toward something she has not had in awhile: happiness.

The best way to test the merit of a book is to see if you can put it down. I could not put Hanging by a Thread by Sophie Littlefield down, and I am sure you won’t be able to either.(less)

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Nov 25, 2012 Sharon Tyler rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Hanging by a Thread by Sophie Littlefield is a young adult novel that includes a chilling mystery and coming to terms with yourself and your family. Clare Knight has a secret. she has inherited a 'gift'. She can see emotions and past actions just by touching clothes. Since she loves to re-purpose clothes, she has the opportunity to touch a lot of clothes. Clare and her mother have just returned to the town where Clare (and her mother) grew up, and are trying to find their place in a new town. Li...more Hanging by a Thread by Sophie Littlefield is a young adult novel that includes a chilling mystery and coming to terms with yourself and your family. Clare Knight has a secret. she has inherited a 'gift'. She can see emotions and past actions just by touching clothes. Since she loves to re-purpose clothes, she has the opportunity to touch a lot of clothes. Clare and her mother have just returned to the town where Clare (and her mother) grew up, and are trying to find their place in a new town. Like any teen, Clare just wants to be accepted and her less than stellar relationship with her mother, her activist grandmother, and the stories surrounding her family have her on edge. To make matters worse, there have been tragedies in the small town on July 4th two years in a row, and the date is rapidly approaching again. could there really be a serial killer poised to strike again, or were the deaths tragic coincidences? When Clare finds a jacket that belongs to one of the victims, she is propelled on a personal quest to solve the mystery.

Hanging by a Thread is a novel with some dark themes. Clare's friend Rachel is unstable, but the collection of friends that she introduces Clare to are the typical group of good and bad teens you might see in any teen novel, movie, or television show. Then there is Jack, the bad boy that Clare is warned away from and of course wants even more because of it. Jack has anger issues, and while I was initially annoyed by Clare's immediate trust in him, despite what she sees when she touches his jacket, he turns out to be one of the most stable and sympathetic characters in the book. Clare's mom is distant and lost in her own troubles, while Clare's attitude towards her completely loving (and in my opinion awesome, grandmother made me a little sad.

Hanging by a Thread had a few issues, but as a whole it was a gripping story. I did not like all the characters, but they were believable, which is rather scary. I recommend the book to readers that like their mysteries with a leaning towards the paranormal.(less)

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Oct 13, 2012 Jeannie and Louis Rigod rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Winston, California has two of it's native children back this summer. Mother and daughter, the Knights have moved back after an absence of ten years. Nana Raley had remained in the town and is delighted to have them back. It was divorce that sent them away, and now the same divorce is what brings them back.

Winston isn't the same as it was a decade earlier though. Since then, two shocking murders, each on the others anniversary date, July 4th, has the town scared and tightening up it's police pre...more

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Sep 20, 2012 Amy Lignor rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Clare Knight and her Mom have moved back home to their small town. You would think Winston, California would be a quiet, peaceful place…but this year the only thing that’s going on is a whole lot of praying. Soon July 4th will be upon them, and for the last two years this is the day where someone simply vanished.

Clare doesn’t like to think about that stuff. When she moved back home she hooked up with her old best friend, Rachel, who is doing her best to get Clare in with the ‘in-crowd.‘ Now Cla...more Clare Knight and her Mom have moved back home to their small town. You would think Winston, California would be a quiet, peaceful place…but this year the only thing that’s going on is a whole lot of praying. Soon July 4th will be upon them, and for the last two years this is the day where someone simply vanished.

Clare doesn’t like to think about that stuff. When she moved back home she hooked up with her old best friend, Rachel, who is doing her best to get Clare in with the ‘in-crowd.‘ Now Clare is very cool…in a way. She’s coming from San Francisco and is truly into fashion. She makes her own designs by using clothes she’s found at flea markets, vintage shops, etc. and redesigning them to be the hippest fashions around.

Moving back into the house that the townsfolk refer to as “The Haunted Dress Shop” because of a past filled with oddities, is just one thing Clare has to deal with. The other is the fact that one of these oddities is the fact that Clare has been handed down a family ‘gift’ from her Nana; she can touch old clothing and get visions from them. Unfortunately, there is one piece of clothing she’s purchased that gives her a vision of a truly violent crime that has something to do with the July 4th disappearances. If she does nothing about the visions they fade, but Clare has always had a hard time doing that. She wants nothing more than to help and solve the things she’s ‘seen’ happen.

Trying to simply fit in and sell her “NewToYou” designs to make some cash, Clare’s life soon turns into a serious mystery. Add in the fact that she stumbles across a young man by the name of Jack who is the picture of the ultimate ‘bad boy’ and was also the boyfriend of the girl who disappeared, and Clare finds herself on the hunt to stay alive, fall in love and find reveal the truth that a town has been hiding…

This author has done a great job of combining a YA with all levels of romance, friendship, and the harshness of returning to a small town when you’ve tried so hard to leave it behind - with the ultimate chilling mystery that readers will never guess.

Until Next Time, Everybody,
Amy(less)

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Sep 11, 2012 Kristin (Blood,Sweat, and Books) rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

*I was given the opportunity to read this book through Netgalley. All opinions are my own and I was not compensated in any way for them.

Hanging by a thread centers around a young woman named Clare who has recently moved back to her hometown of Winston. Clare like most girls has a passion for fashion and has always enjoyed deconstructing and reconstructing vintage clothes. Unlike most girls Clare can read fabric. Each piece tells a story and Clare enjoys figuring them out until she comes across a...more

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Aug 29, 2012 Jenn rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya

I adored AFTERTIME, the first book in Sophie Littlefield's dystopian series but I'd never tried any of her YA stuff so I wasn't sure what to expect from HANGING BY A THREAD. It's quite different from the Aftertime series but I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Clare and seeing Winston's seedy underbelly. The author has written a lovely suspenseful novel with a hint of the paranormal that has something to appeal to just about anyone.

Clare has just moved back to Winston with her mother, years aft...more I adored AFTERTIME, the first book in Sophie Littlefield's dystopian series but I'd never tried any of her YA stuff so I wasn't sure what to expect from HANGING BY A THREAD. It's quite different from the Aftertime series but I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Clare and seeing Winston's seedy underbelly. The author has written a lovely suspenseful novel with a hint of the paranormal that has something to appeal to just about anyone.

Clare has just moved back to Winston with her mother, years after leaving. She's kept in touch with her childhood best friend, Rachel, who seems like your typical popular girl -- she's popular and rich, does well in school, and is a cheerleader and member of the Golden Key club (basically a society of civic-minded young women). Clare, on the other hand, is more of an individual. She makes and sells one-of-a-kind clothes, she doesn't join for the sake of joining...all of the time..., and she has a secret: she has a touch of psychometry when it comes to clothes. It's a gift (or curse, depending on whose perspective you adopt) that runs in her family and something she's had for years. It was fascinating that the things that can hurt her the most are also what she loves to create. Clare can get these terrible vibes off clothes and learn awful secrets but she loves to buy items at yard sales and vintage stores and create new clothing and accessories from them, despite the danger they might possess to her. That alone should tell you that Clare is gutsy. She's also not stupid, which is great. She finds herself getting sucked into the disappearance of Amanda Stavros but asks for help when she thinks she needs it. In many ways, young Clare is years ahead of her fictional peers, who can often be found walking towards the scary dark alley instead of running for help. It's something I really appreciated, and hope you will, too. =)

The overall plot of the book is somewhat predictable but that didn't detract from my enjoyment of the story. The mystery surrounding Amanda Stavros' disappearance (and presumed death/murder) unfolds in a way that keeps you engaged, even if you know where there story is going. I was excited to see if Clare would figure it out and what she would do when she did. There aren't as many twists and turns as you might find in an adult book but there's definitely enough to make sure you want to get to the end as soon as possible, to see if Clare will solve Amanda's disappearance and survive to bring the felon to justice.

For romance lovers, there is a bit of that, though it's not the focus of HANGING BY A THREAD. Clare's eye is caught by local bad boy Jake, who ends up having a surprising amount of depth. (Surprising in the best way possible!) Their budding relationship is a sweet spot in the novel, even with the bumps they go through on the way.

As always, Sophie Jordan's prose does not disappoint. I felt instantly connected to Clare and completely immersed in this small California town. You get a great sense of the community and Clare's life from the start and it makes HANGING BY A THREAD a very easy read. This book will appeal to mystery lovers, particularly those who enjoy a supernatural flair in their stories. There may not be as much meat as you'd find in an adult book but HANGING BY A THREAD delivers a satisfying mystery and a plucky protagonist that you'll be rooting for.

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Aug 23, 2012 FicTalk Blog rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed-in-2012

Reviewed by Heather

Clare is a young girl who loves to design her own clothes. She uses vintage items that she gets from garage sales and consignment shops to make the clothes that she wears herself and sells. The only thing is, when Clare touches the clothes, she can see what the person was doing when they wore it last.

When Clare comes upon a ripped up jean jacket her visions are debilitating. She finds that the young girl whom the jacket belonged to, Amanda Stavros, has been missing for over a...more

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Aug 02, 2012 Dark Faerie Tales rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed-by-michelle

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: Maternal relationships throughout the generations can withstand dangerous challenges in this paranormal read.

Opening Sentence: They say our house is cursed, and maybe it’s true.

The Review:

In the third book of the Banished series, Sophie Littlefield’s Hanging by a Thread changes momentum, allowing Clare to voice the story. Murder and mystery graces the pages, presenting the reader with a thrilling read for the paranormal genre. A mother’s lov...more

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May 20, 2012 Teri rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

What it your future was just hanging by a thread? Clare's family has just moved back to her old town of Winston to the haunted house in town. Their huge historical home had a tragic past of murder and betrayal with a touch of magic woven in between. In a past filled with secrets, Clare has been kept back from the reality of her family's curse, but soon the past may just be catching up with the residents on Winston.
Clare has a passion for fashion and while selling her creations Clare finds her...more

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May 19, 2012 Mallory Anne-Marie Forbes rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: YA Paranormal

Recommended to Mallory Anne-Marie by: Great Minds Think Aloud

Shelves: may-2012-reads

A YA paranormal mystery which fully engrossed even this much older reviewer, “Hanging by a Thread” pivots around Clare, an about-to-be high school junior who returns with her mother to Winston, California, to the town where Clare was born and spent her formative years. In fact, Winston had been the home of Clare’s maternal ancestors since her great-great-grandmother Alma operated a seamstress shop. Alma and one of her clients were killed by the client’s pathologically jealous fiancé, but her unb...more

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May 08, 2012 Pamela Todd rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ebook, paranormal, read-in-2012, romance, ya-mg

Clare has a talent. Where most people see a scrap of ruined fabric, Clare sees potential. She has a keen eye for fashion, able to take something old and discarded and turn it into something new and fresh. Not only does she make kick-ass clothes, but she also has a connection with any that she touches.

Clare gets visions when she touches the clothes people wear. She can see what they did when they wore it, especially if they were doing something they weren’t supposed to. As if that wasn’t enough...more

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Apr 30, 2012 Melodie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm always excited to read YA mysteries - it's my own genre and one I hope to see grow exponentially in the next few years.

Littlefield's debut focuses on Clare, a girl who's just returned to her mother's hometown after several years in the big city. Clare can 'see' pasts when she touches clothing, a gift which soon sends her on a quest to discover what really killed a girl whose jacket she bought as scrap. Clare is a vintage clothing designer (very cool!) and she's always ripping stuff up to mak...more

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Apr 10, 2012 Kwinks rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have read Littlefield before, and especially liked Banished. Now, as I am learning to sew myself the premise of Hanging By A Thread really appealed to me. Here is what's up: overall there are several stories going on here and the least interesting is the mystery. In some ways, it reminded me of a Scooby Doo episode. The "bad guys" spill their guts the second someone looks at them suspiciously. In fact, there is too much spilling going on here. People barely know or remember Clare, but within s...more

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Mar 19, 2012 Isamlq rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: arc-galley

one of my favorite movies is of that teeny tiny boy confessing at just above a whisper of “I see dead people.” the protag in this one goes through something similar. hints are dropped at the beginning, but never really stated outright until after the yawn inducing laying of groundwork, where she describes in detail where she is, what she does and how she does it.

now, what made clare special anyway? (aside from her re-purposing old clothes, that is) well, her special-ness links to her maybe conf...more

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Feb 06, 2013 Connie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Clare can sense others emotions and see their memories when she touches clothing they wore during significant events, and the jacket she discovered at a garage sale definately has a story to tell.

Caught as the one character who knows nothing about Winston and its inhabitants since she moved away, Clare, upon her return, discovers that two mysterious deaths have occurred on the same day a year apart, and the jacket ties her to them so strongly she feels compeled to figure it all out.

I liked Clare...more

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Sep 28, 2012 Siavahda rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: general-fiction, urban-real-world-fantasy, ya, best-published-and-read-in-2012, original-superpowers-or-magic

I LOVED this book. If it had been a little less detective-y I would have loved it a lot more, but that's personal preference only. As a book, it completely deserves five stars.

The number one reason for that is the main character Clare, and her superpower (magical talent? special ability? What do you call them?) First off, Clare is wonderfully unique in a genre where nearly all mcs seem struck from the same mould: she designs, makes and sells her own clothing out of vintage bits and pieces that...more I LOVED this book. If it had been a little less detective-y I would have loved it a lot more, but that's personal preference only. As a book, it completely deserves five stars.

The number one reason for that is the main character Clare, and her superpower (magical talent? special ability? What do you call them?) First off, Clare is wonderfully unique in a genre where nearly all mcs seem struck from the same mould: she designs, makes and sells her own clothing out of vintage bits and pieces that she picks up. She wants to go to fashion school. She reminds me of Zara from Carrie Jones' Need in that both girls are immediately set apart from the cookie-cutter heroines stocking this genre by having their own particular desires, aims and hobbies; Zara with her letter-writing and Clare her sewing. I know it sounds like a very small detail - because, really, it is. But it's a small detail that most authors forget about. How many heroines can you think of that have their own hobby? Not reading or going for walks, but something they do and enjoy that is uniquely themselves? No?

Exactly.

So I loved Clare for that. But even better is her superpower. There've been lots of YA books recently about girls (or boys) who can see ghosts or talk to the dead. I have zero interest in ghosts, but it bothers me because authors keep writing about the same superpower - and without coming up with new ways to explore it. You might have noticed this happens a lot: YA has it's fads - vampires, werewolves, angels, zombies - and sticks to them for a while, until the next Big Thing. Littlefield has completely broken from the pack (yay!) because Clare a) is perfectly human, and b) possesses a superpower I've never seen before: she can 'read' cloth, seeing images, memories, and sensing emotions from other people's clothing.

It's wonderful because it fits so well with her personality, and it's really, really wonderful because it's so unique. Hanging by a Thread is a book to treasure just for that, for its utter refusal to give the reader what they expect. The mystery of the serial killer leads us in one direction before doing a 180; red herrings are dropped throughout, and Littlefield plays her reader the whole way through. I loved every minute of it!

So, yeah. Go read this! It's a great read, with fantastic characters (especially the main one) and an ending I, for one, certainly didn't see coming!(less)

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Sep 02, 2012 Kathy Martin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

HANGING BY A THREAD is a murder mystery with a paranormal twist. In the summer before her junior year in high school, Clare Knight and her mother move back to the small California town where she lived the first ten years of her life. The same small town that has seen the death of a promising 10-year-old athlete and one year later the death of a star cheerleader. The anniversary of both those deaths is coming up and everyone is worried that there will be another death.

Clare is a fun, quirky chara...more

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Nov 22, 2012 Vanya D. rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2012, netgalley, paranormal-urban-fantasy

NOTE: I received this title from Netgalley to review.

I just finished reading the book, and thought I should go ahead and write the review right away, while the story and characters are still fresh in my mind.

So, here's what I have to say: The story was original, as in I haven't read anything like it before. It was a unique concept, where the heroine had this special ability to read people's thoughts, memories etc. by simply touching their clothes. I thought that was pretty cool skill, though I...more

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Oct 10, 2012 Traci rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley-arcs

Hanging by a Thread is different take on the idea of psychic gifts. We tend to read lots of stories about girls with the ability to have visions, to see things that have happened or that will happen, but not someone that has visions simply by touching fabric or the clothes that someone has worn. Clare has this gift and in Hanging by a Thread, she uses it to help bring a murderer to justice.

Clare's story follows a somewhat same plot that some YA novels follow. A teen that has had a rough past, a...more

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Mar 18, 2012 Marsha rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Young Adults

Besides being an avid reader, I am also a quilting addict; so, the concept of a paranormal story line involving fabric and sewing was utterly intriguing. “Hanging by a Thread” is a story about a junior in high school, Clare who moves back to Winston, California with her mother after the economy goes bad. What is so special about that? Well, Clare has the unique ability to see glimpses of people’s negative actions when she touches their clothing. This is a gift/curse that was passed down to her f...more
Besides being an avid reader, I am also a quilting addict; so, the concept of a paranormal story line involving fabric and sewing was utterly intriguing. “Hanging by a Thread” is a story about a junior in high school, Clare who moves back to Winston, California with her mother after the economy goes bad. What is so special about that? Well, Clare has the unique ability to see glimpses of people’s negative actions when she touches their clothing. This is a gift/curse that was passed down to her from her great grandmother.

While living in San Francisco, Clare kept in contact with one her friends in Winston, Rachel. Rachel is very popular and will be Clare’s opening in getting acquainted with the high school crowd. She is painfully aware that the house she lives in is considered by most to be haunted and that her grandmother is also considered a little eccentric. So, Clare is concern about blending in.

Clare has another talent. She has the ability to take vintage clothes and turn them into unique new style that is attracting quite a following in town. She also has a unique way of dressing as well that does not go unnoticed by Jack, the bad boy of town. Winston is coming upon the second year anniversary when two kids had been murdered. The first was a ten year old boy who was killed when he was pushed over the edge of a cliff while riding his bicycle and second was a missing teenage girl who mysteriously disappeared. Clare locates a piece of clothing belonging to the girl and is instantaneously drawn in to discovering who killed her and why.

This story was a little too disjointed. The author bounces from tale to tale often leaving some of the details unresolved. Quite frankly the plot was ‘sluggish’ leaving the reader with nothing but verbose inner dialogues and a serious lack of action. I continually awaited the big fight scene of the anticipation of an attack by the killer but it just never occurs. I also had one other problem with this book, Clare mentions that she is planning to have random sex for the first time and although it does not occur there is no solid explanation for why the author thought this was a good idea to include in the story line. It just doesn’t make sense or add any value. Overall, this book was just okay. It could have improved greatly if action had been added to the plot.

(less)

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Dec 19, 2012 Kris rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary, mystery, ya-books, books-reviewed

Clare is a unique character with a flair for resdesigning vintage clothing. She also has a gift for looking into people's pasts when she touches a piece of their clothing. She doesn't have control over when or where the visions take place, only sometimes the visions are so powerful that they compel her to take action. Upon returning to Winston, Clare finds herself pulled into a murder mystery closer to home than she would have thought possible.

As a heroine, Clare doesn't stand out much other tha...more Clare is a unique character with a flair for resdesigning vintage clothing. She also has a gift for looking into people's pasts when she touches a piece of their clothing. She doesn't have control over when or where the visions take place, only sometimes the visions are so powerful that they compel her to take action. Upon returning to Winston, Clare finds herself pulled into a murder mystery closer to home than she would have thought possible.

As a heroine, Clare doesn't stand out much other than her way of dress. She's the best friend, nice and unassuming. She hangs out with the in crowd but doesn't take part in the hard-core partying; she lives in a single-mom family; and she feels inexplicably drawn to trouble-boy Jack. Overall, she falls flat as a character and doesn't grow much as a person over the course of the novel.. Clare never interacts enough with any one character for a defining relationship to emerge; though she seems to be close with certain people, her relationship with them is complex, oscillating between trust mistrust. Her relationship with Jack also moves quickly in spite of her doubts of his trustworthiness, doubts that don't linger long.

More than the characters, the plot is what drew me into the story. The mystery behind the crimes does take time to unfold. Looking back, the twists aren't all that big or exciting; however, the way that they're handled heightens the tension and intrigue surrounding the mystery. There were so many directions I could see the plot heading in that I didn't see the truth until it was practically upon me. By the time the plot reaches its climax, I was creeped out and ready for the murderer to be caught, so my poor heart could rest. Clare's gift adds a nice supernatural element to the story that gives us insight into events and emotions we wouldn't have learned about in such vivid detail otherwise.

Overall, the story flows well, the plot is nicely handled, and the characters likable. This is a quick read that I would recommend to those looking for a good crime novel with a supernatural element.

--
For more of my reviews, visit my blog Imaginary Reads.(less)

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Jun 22, 2012 Ashlie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The first words that comes to mind as I sit down to write this review is SWEET REDEMPTION! I loved this book! I was not a fan of Littlefield's book Banished, but it was just different and I can't blame my taste on her! I'm so glad I didn't give up on her writing (she has plenty of other books I'd like to give a try as well.). This book was fun, even though a bit darker than I expected. I loved the quirky cast: Nana was awesome, and I loved that Clare didn't run away from her gift, even though it...more The first words that comes to mind as I sit down to write this review is SWEET REDEMPTION! I loved this book! I was not a fan of Littlefield's book Banished, but it was just different and I can't blame my taste on her! I'm so glad I didn't give up on her writing (she has plenty of other books I'd like to give a try as well.). This book was fun, even though a bit darker than I expected. I loved the quirky cast: Nana was awesome, and I loved that Clare didn't run away from her gift, even though it was hard. She realized it was a part of her and she learned how to take care of it. She protected her friend, let a missing girl's family gain a little bit of peace, helped mend some strained family relationships, snagged the guy, and she stayed true to herself in the process. How can you not like that it (generally) had a happy ending?

Clare knew who she was, but she seemed to be a casual observer of the life happening around her: her parents divorce, her mother & grandmother's strained relationship, returning to her former bff Rachel when they move back to Winston, starting a new school year at the end of the summer, trying to fit in with the kids she'll attend her new school with... But she's special. She doesn't realize it, but she the gift she has will change everything this summer. It can be a good thing or a bad thing, but the biggest question is, what do you do with a truth you don't want to know?

I felt Clare was a character I could really connect to. She has honest intentions and just wants to start off her new school in the right crowd. She realizes her friend is hiding things from her, but she doesn't automatically jump the gun and I liked that about her. She valued her friendship with her more than she was suspicious, even though her curiosity was nearly getting the best of her. She also didn't let others opinions of Jack sway her, she went straight to him about it and ending up gaining more that way. I really enjoyed her character, even though I could tell that sometimes she wasn't sure what entirely sure of her actions. She trusted her instincts, and that is really admirable.

I liked Jack too because he seemed to be honest with Clare when she came to him with questions and he stayed consistent throughout the book. He didn't act one way with one group or people, then another way around Clare. Plus, he was helpful and reliable! Who doesn't appreciate that in a guy!?

I liked Rachel in the beginning but then I started to change my mind because I could tell she was being deceitful and then when I read about the necklace vision that Clare had, I reeeeally didn't like her! Then Clare uncovered the truth and I liked her again but just wished she'd told the truth. And that point I just recognized that she'd made an error in judgement based on emotions and fear, and she was just a kid after all. She was old enough to know better, but too young to be in a situation so scary and sad. Especially when it wasn't her fault.

I'm rating Hanging By A Thread 5 STARS because I thought this was a strong book and I really enjoyed it. I thought it was compelling and interesting. It was an original idea based on concepts taken from several cultures, that was really well written with great artistic realization. I will definitely recommend it to others. The characters were strong and the emotions and plot were well placed and well timed. It was all completely believable, from setting to premise. This book is so magnetizing that you'll turn page after page. This would be a good late night, creepy weather read. (less)

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Mar 08, 2012 Ashleigh Paige rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: could-have-been-so-much-better, arc, recieved-through-netgalley, the-decent-shelf-of-meh

Also appears on The Screaming Nitpicker. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

There are a lot of things parents will do for their children. Some will stay in unpleasant situations for the sake of keeping their children safe and happy. Some will break the law (as I learned when my own mother covered what is normally an estimated forty-five minute drive in about twenty minutes trying to get home when something happened to my brother). As well as being a satisfying mystery, Hangi...more
Also appears on The Screaming Nitpicker. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

There are a lot of things parents will do for their children. Some will stay in unpleasant situations for the sake of keeping their children safe and happy. Some will break the law (as I learned when my own mother covered what is normally an estimated forty-five minute drive in about twenty minutes trying to get home when something happened to my brother). As well as being a satisfying mystery, Hanging by a Thread is a wonderful illustration of just how far a parent can go for their child.

Clare's descriptions of what she did with clothing made little sense to me (I am not a fashion person in any sense), but they were charged with such authentic passion for what she was doing that I loved them anyway. The only element of the novel stronger than her voice and descriptions were the interpersonal relationships of Clare and her mother. No, that's not right. The relationships of multiple characters with their mothers--Clare's mom with her own mother, Rachel and her mother, and Mrs. Stavros's struggle after her daughter's death, along with Clare and her mom--together really make Hanging by a Thread shine.

Her presence could have been stronger, but I liked to see Clare's mother be given a strong personality and depth when so many books forget about the parents. Her bitterness toward her mother Nana for the trouble Nana's psychometry (a gift that Clare inherited and used relatively well) caused her, the fights she had with Clare over her life--they felt real. I honestly felt sorry for her after some of the things her daughter said to her. I thought a few times that Clare, as good as her intentions were, needed to butt out of her mother's life.

My main problem with this book? Jack. More specifically, the romantic relationship between Clare and Jack. It was insta-love from their first conversation over clothes and it never got any better. Why did they like each other? What interests do they share? I have absolutely no idea why these two people are infatuated with one another. Honestly and truly, this book would have earned itself one more star had it not been for this poorly written romance.

Once Clare gets to using everything she has learned to unravel the mystery, everything she didn't know but needed to know is dumped upon her by another character for two straight chapters. The information itself is shocking because it wasn't an obvious answer to me, but its delivery was so dry and lacking in finesse that all the shock I should have felt was drained away.

One of my friends gave a glowing review to one of Littlefield's other books, but I'm not sure I'll try to read any of her other works after what I've found in Hanging by a Thread. I'm scared the romantic angle will end up messing up an otherwise great book like it did here and I can only take so much of that kind of frustration per year. Meeting my quota so early in the year would not be a good idea, I think. Still, the potential shown in Hanging by a Thread to create strong relationships between family members makes it a possibility.(less)

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Sep 12, 2012 Cassi aka Snow White Haggard rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: galleys, read-in-2012

2/5 stars

Hanging by the Thread tried to have a somewhat unique concept. The main character Clare is sorta a physic detective. Only she doesn't get her visions of the future, she gets visions of the past...from vintage clothing. For me, this concept didn't work. There's a whole story about how it was passed down in her family because a dress-making ancestor was murdered. But to me, getting flashes when you touch someone's t-shirt but not when you touch the person, just seems odd.

Of course Clare l...more 2/5 stars

Hanging by the Thread tried to have a somewhat unique concept. The main character Clare is sorta a physic detective. Only she doesn't get her visions of the future, she gets visions of the past...from vintage clothing. For me, this concept didn't work. There's a whole story about how it was passed down in her family because a dress-making ancestor was murdered. But to me, getting flashes when you touch someone's t-shirt but not when you touch the person, just seems odd.

Of course Clare likes to design repurposed fashion. There wouldn't be much of a plot if she wasn't into used clothing would there? Rather than being an oddball, like most people who make their own clothes in high school, she is embraced by the popular crowd as their personal seamstress. She goes to beach party, flirts with boys and adds losing her virginity to her summer to do list. Because Clare is such a fashion maven, the reader is treated to long unnecessary description of everything that everyone wears.

A lot of things about this novel didn't work. The main character falls in insta-love with another character after an angry encounter on the beach which led to a make-out sessions. This is the second time they've met, and he immediately starts confessing his personal life problems to Clare. The relationship lacked any real development. It went from "oh he's cute" to "oh we're kissing" to "oh let me tell you about my dead father" in literally two encounters.

The whole plot of this novel revolves around two murders on consecutive July 3rds. With the anniversary looming, the town is gossiping about the possibility of a serial killer and another murder. When a junk-sale jacket starts speaking to Clare, she feels like she's meant to solve the 2 year old crime.

Her way of solving it seems to be making out with a guy, talking to her best friend, driving up a fire service road with someone that she barely knows (real safe there!) and breaking into someone's house. For the record, I hate when people try to solve crimes on their own without a logical reason. It's stupid and dangerous! This book tried to explain it, using an awkwardly placed scene where a police officer made her pick up litter. Clearly they are incompetent! Or they just hate litter...

Some books are just shallow. The storyline, the relationships, the characters don't have the depth that a novel needs to be compelling. This is one of those stories.

An ARC was provided by the publisher via netgalley.(less)

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Apr 01, 2012 Chanelle rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: arc-review

This had a great premise. In fact, I think the premise was my favourite part of the novel. When something terrible happens to Clare's great grandmother, she passes on a gift to her family allowing them to touch people's clothes and see the sins they committed while wearing them. It's a gift and a curse for budding designer Clare. And when she moves back to the town she grew up in, a town destroyed by the deaths of two kids in as many years, there's more sins Clare discovers than she ever thinks...more This had a great premise. In fact, I think the premise was my favourite part of the novel. When something terrible happens to Clare's great grandmother, she passes on a gift to her family allowing them to touch people's clothes and see the sins they committed while wearing them. It's a gift and a curse for budding designer Clare. And when she moves back to the town she grew up in, a town destroyed by the deaths of two kids in as many years, there's more sins Clare discovers than she ever thinks possible.

Clare was an okay character. I liked her well enough, and I appreciated that she asked the hard questions even though she knew the reactions she would get probably wouldn't have been the best. But she was a little unsympathetic. I especially didn't like the way she treated her nan, or the way she was so quick to judge her friends and she could be cruel with her mum. I mean, everything she did was realistic, and sometimes I was glad when she stood up for herself to her mother, but she didn't just stand up for herself. She was cutting - hitting her mother where it hurt.

There was a romance too. Jack; the first suspect in the murders. And though he isn't painted in the best light throughout the novel (has a record, anger problems, isn't liked by many people), Clare can't help but fall for him. It's not often in a YA book that the girl ends up happily ever after with the guy with massive anger problems. So I had to appreciate the realism there. He was a nice guy, but he definitely has some issues.

I liked reading along and trying to solve the mystery along with Clare, but when it was solved, I was left feeling a little cheated. I expected more from it. Littlefield did surprise me with the culprit, but I didn't get much out of the reveal. I wanted more! I wanted it to be an 'ooooh' moment, and instead it all happened really fast and by the time I realised what had happened, the book had moved on.

The visions when Clare touched the clothes were also hard to read. I get that they were supposed to be jumbled, but they shouldn't be jumbled to read. Often, I had to go back and reread to make sure I understood. There were also some discrepancies in the story. For example, Jack says that he and Amanda only dated for six weeks before she disappeared, but then the year before when the young boy was killed, Amanda was supposedly trying to sneak out to see Jack. So unless she was chasing him a full year before they got together, it didn't make sense to me.

I did enjoy reading this. I wanted it to be a little more thrilling, but otherwise it was a good mystery. 4 stars.(less)

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Mar 22, 2012 Peggy Martinez rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reviews

*Received an ARC(e-copy)via NetGalley for a fair & honest review.

I really enjoyed this book, and am a little surprised by some of the reviews I've read. The only negative thing I can think of is that I found the wording during Clare's first vision a little jumbled and hard to follow. That being said, it didn't happen again in the rest of the book, so it wasn't a big enough issue for me to dwell on it, as it didn't majorly detract from the good points of the story.
Murder, mystery, visions,...more

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