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Hanging by a Thread
Summer is the best part of the year in Winston, California, and the Fourth of July is the highlight of the season. But the perfect town Clare remembers has changed, and everyone is praying that this summer will be different from the last two—that this year's Fourth of July festival won't see one of their own vanish without a trace, leaving no leads and no suspects. The media are in a frenzy predicting a third disappearance, but the town depends on tourist dollars, so the residents of Winston are trying desperately to pretend nothing's wrong.
And they're not the only ones hiding something.
Clare, a seamstress who redesigns vintage clothing, has been blessed—or perhaps cursed—with a gift: she can see people's pasts when she touches their clothes. When she stumbles across a denim jacket that once belonged to Amanda Stavros, last year's Fourth of July victim, Clare sees her perfect town begin to come apart at the seams.
In a town where appearance means everything, how deep beneath the surface will Clare dig to uncover a murderer?
And they're not the only ones hiding something.
Clare, a seamstress who redesigns vintage clothing, has been blessed—or perhaps cursed—with a gift: she can see people's pasts when she touches their clothes. When she stumbles across a denim jacket that once belonged to Amanda Stavros, last year's Fourth of July victim, Clare sees her perfect town begin to come apart at the seams.
In a town where appearance means everything, how deep beneath the surface will Clare dig to uncover a murderer?
288 pages, Hardcover
First published September 11, 2012
8 people are currently reading
1595 people want to read
About the author
Sophie Littlefield
37 books798 followersCalled a “writing machine” by the New York Times and a “master storyteller” by the Midwest Book Review, Sophie Littlefield has written dozens of novels for adults and teens. She has won Anthony and RT Book Awards and been shortlisted for Edgar, Barry, Crimespree, Macavity, and Goodreads Choice Awards.
Sophie also writes under the pen name Sofia Grant.
Sophie also writes under the pen name Sofia Grant.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 154 reviews
March 16, 2012
2.5 stars.
Well, this wasboring 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
Well, this was
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
October 7, 2012
"Hanging by a Thread" is actually a cool title for Sophie Littlefield's story revolving around a young woman who can read intentions and events via articles of clothing and ends up pursuing "threads" in a murder mystery going around her hometown, but it's a downer when you realize that everything about this story is, ironically, threadbare. The mystery, the characterization, the romance - almost everything about it just never measures up to the potential that the premise lends, and I felt completely disappointed by it. It's a shame because I came into it wanting to like it, intrigued by the premise, and YA mystery stories with a touch of paranormal is right up my alley in terms of stories I like.
So what went wrong with this one? I'll start by recapping the premise and going from there.
Clare is a junior in high school working as a seamstress with a special ability to read articles of clothing and uncover some of the wearer's darkest secrets. In a town defined by some very distinct tragedies, it certainly seems like a recipe for Clare to jump in and play detective, but Clare's not apt to use her ability. In a town she's just returned to after being away for some time, Clare's family has a reputation - Clare's Nana has the same ability and has been an outcast of the town for some time. Clare's mother didn't inherit the ability, but Nana's interference with her life has caused her much grief growing up as well as in her collective life. Clare doesn't want to follow in either her mother's or Nana's footsteps and just wants to blend in as best she can. But when certain visions Clare has with her ability start coming to the forefront before the anniversary of the last death, Clare can't ignore the signs, especially since it points to people in her close circles.
Clare herself is not a very likable protagonist - and I don't think she ever recovers in the course of the narrative. She constantly berates her mother, laments her ability, and she even falls for the local bad boy Jack, who might as well have three letters tacked on to his name to describe how much of a jerk he is to her as well as anyone else who crosses paths with him. Romance? What romance? There's no chemistry between the leading characters and whenever Jack does end up showing up - he's either angry, overly aggressive, beating someone up, or instaloving with Clare. Seriously, there are really not very many characters to like in this story, and they feel mostly like puppets on a stage which has a very interesting backdrop. Now I'll admit I liked the paranormal elements and some parts of the overarching mystery (because it did keep me wondering in the whodunit spectrum), but I felt the story lacked intimacy and didn't pop off the page. It fell into so many YA paranormal cliches - girl who likes bad boy even when he's abrasive and supposedly dangerous, girl who sees obvious clues into the mystery, but doesn't act on them or connect the dots, among other things. I also didn't like the fact that pretty much no one phoned the police because the general idea was that the police were useless.
By the end of the narrative, I was really to be finished with it - it frustrated me that much because I saw the potential in spurts with the story, but too many elements of it just didn't work. Add to that the massive info-dumping of details and lack of character chemistries, I think "Hanging by a Thread" is more likely to leave one dangling and wanting more from it than reeling one into its respective tale.
Overall: 1/5
Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, from the publisher Random House/Delcorte Press BFYR.
So what went wrong with this one? I'll start by recapping the premise and going from there.
Clare is a junior in high school working as a seamstress with a special ability to read articles of clothing and uncover some of the wearer's darkest secrets. In a town defined by some very distinct tragedies, it certainly seems like a recipe for Clare to jump in and play detective, but Clare's not apt to use her ability. In a town she's just returned to after being away for some time, Clare's family has a reputation - Clare's Nana has the same ability and has been an outcast of the town for some time. Clare's mother didn't inherit the ability, but Nana's interference with her life has caused her much grief growing up as well as in her collective life. Clare doesn't want to follow in either her mother's or Nana's footsteps and just wants to blend in as best she can. But when certain visions Clare has with her ability start coming to the forefront before the anniversary of the last death, Clare can't ignore the signs, especially since it points to people in her close circles.
Clare herself is not a very likable protagonist - and I don't think she ever recovers in the course of the narrative. She constantly berates her mother, laments her ability, and she even falls for the local bad boy Jack, who might as well have three letters tacked on to his name to describe how much of a jerk he is to her as well as anyone else who crosses paths with him. Romance? What romance? There's no chemistry between the leading characters and whenever Jack does end up showing up - he's either angry, overly aggressive, beating someone up, or instaloving with Clare. Seriously, there are really not very many characters to like in this story, and they feel mostly like puppets on a stage which has a very interesting backdrop. Now I'll admit I liked the paranormal elements and some parts of the overarching mystery (because it did keep me wondering in the whodunit spectrum), but I felt the story lacked intimacy and didn't pop off the page. It fell into so many YA paranormal cliches - girl who likes bad boy even when he's abrasive and supposedly dangerous, girl who sees obvious clues into the mystery, but doesn't act on them or connect the dots, among other things. I also didn't like the fact that pretty much no one phoned the police because the general idea was that the police were useless.
By the end of the narrative, I was really to be finished with it - it frustrated me that much because I saw the potential in spurts with the story, but too many elements of it just didn't work. Add to that the massive info-dumping of details and lack of character chemistries, I think "Hanging by a Thread" is more likely to leave one dangling and wanting more from it than reeling one into its respective tale.
Overall: 1/5
Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, from the publisher Random House/Delcorte Press BFYR.
September 17, 2020
2018
This book centers around the mystery of why two kids disappeared the past two summers. A girl new to town starts looking into the tragic event. And starts piecing together what happened. That in itself would have made a good story.
But I had some trouble accepting the fantasy element of it. She could touch clothing and get "stories" from them. Stories of people's pasts. What they were feeling. What they were thinking. What they were doing. When they were wearing that specific piece of clothing. Which, maybe I could have been more accepting of, but the whole reason she could do this was because her great grandmother died while she was pregnant and then the baby was born and had this power? Like, seriously? That's the story you are going with? That explanation for her "gift" just threw the whole story off for me.
This book centers around the mystery of why two kids disappeared the past two summers. A girl new to town starts looking into the tragic event. And starts piecing together what happened. That in itself would have made a good story.
But I had some trouble accepting the fantasy element of it. She could touch clothing and get "stories" from them. Stories of people's pasts. What they were feeling. What they were thinking. What they were doing. When they were wearing that specific piece of clothing. Which, maybe I could have been more accepting of, but the whole reason she could do this was because her great grandmother died while she was pregnant and then the baby was born and had this power? Like, seriously? That's the story you are going with? That explanation for her "gift" just threw the whole story off for me.
September 22, 2012
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 see people's past by touching their clothes, the storyline is a little jilted.
At times we get way too much information about things that don't really seem important, like some of her clothing designs and her old school and friends, which made the read a little slow going. And then other times it is almost like we don't get enough information about the visions themselves and her family history.
This book didn't feel complete at the end. I felt a little put down and almost lost with how things wrapped up so quickly. It just didn't feel right to me.
I did really like Clare and Jack and I wish their relationship would have had a little more focus and detail to it. I think the story just could have been so much better if the author would have concentrated a little more on her visions and Jack and less on her artist ability and old school and friends.
This wasn't a bad read just not a great one either. It wouldn't keep me from trying her other books but it wouldn't make me buy them either if I didn't already own them.
Over all I am going to give this one 3 stars because the characters were likeable and I think they were pretty good, there just wasn't enough depth and detail to really hold my interest and the storyline was lacking in areas, otherwise I would have no problem with giving it a higher rating but I don't think that would be fair to other readers if I did.
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 see people's past by touching their clothes, the storyline is a little jilted.
At times we get way too much information about things that don't really seem important, like some of her clothing designs and her old school and friends, which made the read a little slow going. And then other times it is almost like we don't get enough information about the visions themselves and her family history.
This book didn't feel complete at the end. I felt a little put down and almost lost with how things wrapped up so quickly. It just didn't feel right to me.
I did really like Clare and Jack and I wish their relationship would have had a little more focus and detail to it. I think the story just could have been so much better if the author would have concentrated a little more on her visions and Jack and less on her artist ability and old school and friends.
This wasn't a bad read just not a great one either. It wouldn't keep me from trying her other books but it wouldn't make me buy them either if I didn't already own them.
Over all I am going to give this one 3 stars because the characters were likeable and I think they were pretty good, there just wasn't enough depth and detail to really hold my interest and the storyline was lacking in areas, otherwise I would have no problem with giving it a higher rating but I don't think that would be fair to other readers if I did.
September 3, 2012
*Genre* YA Mystery
*Rating* 3.0 <- Note: Just because I give a book 3 stars, doesn't mean I didn't like it!
*Review*
“Hanging by the Thread” is a mystery novel that focuses on the life of 16 year old Clare Knight. Clare is a person who loves to make her own clothing. In fact, she and her friend Rachel run a booth called “NewToYou” where she sells her latest creations in hopes of going to fashion college when she graduates from High School. She lives in the small town of Winston, California (population 2,000) and in the same house her great grandmother did. However, this isn't the whole story behind Hanging by the Thread.
You see, Clare has the unique ability that when she touches clothes, they speak to her. Not all clothes, and not all the time. By touching them, she can see certain events and learn things about people. She can tell if the person who wore a piece of clothing was up to no good or not. This ability has been handed down from her great, great, Grandmother Alma who was shot to death while being pregnant with Clare's great, Grandmother Josie who also had the ability. It was later passed down to her own grandmother Nana Raley, but, not to her mother Susie. This, it seems, has caused nothing but problems between mother and daughter. Clare fully believes that her family has been given this gift to right certain wrongs.
The story gets interesting when Clare touches a jacket found on her doorstep. It triggers a vision that leads Clare down the road to discovering who killed Dillon Granger, and Amanda Stavros two kids who disappeared a year apart from each other. It’s the perfect timing as well since the town of Winston is in the process of celebrating the Fourth of July in hopes of putting the past behind them.
The gift of psychometry isn't a new idea or concept. Yet, it's still interesting when a person is given this ability to right some wrongs, even at the expense of their own relationship with their parents who abhor the idea behind psychometry. Just read Jennifer Estep’s Mythos Academy series if you want to learn more about psychometry.
I was totally lost in the fashion aspects of this book. I mean, I realize there are probably people out there who can't wait to read the different types of stitching and material that Clare uses to make outfits she wears with. Personally, I found it to be a snore fest. Maybe had I grown up in a household where the women were clothing makers, I would feel differently about this story. But, alas, I wasn't. My mother and grandmother made quilts and blankets, not clothing.
I found the idea behind the romance with Jack Dimaunahan kind of touching, yet maybe a little unrealistic. Clare kept thinking about having that one night reckless stands not caring what anyone thought about it. She felt that fitting in with her best friend Rachel, was more important than anything else. She was so obsessed with having sex, that she pretty much throws herself at Jack who is a troubled character.
In the end, while this book is interesting enough, it wasn’t as engaging as her Aftertime trilogy and that's just my opinion. Reviews are like anything else in the world. They are subjective to what the actual reader/reviewer likes in their reading stashes. I’m glad I was given a copy thru Netgalley to read this book. Littlefield knows how to write, and she knows how to create a unique world for her characters. This appears to be a standalone and NOT part of any series.
*ARC Recvd via NetGalley for Delacorte Books for Young Readers*
*Expected publication: September 11th 2012
*Rating* 3.0 <- Note: Just because I give a book 3 stars, doesn't mean I didn't like it!
*Review*
“Hanging by the Thread” is a mystery novel that focuses on the life of 16 year old Clare Knight. Clare is a person who loves to make her own clothing. In fact, she and her friend Rachel run a booth called “NewToYou” where she sells her latest creations in hopes of going to fashion college when she graduates from High School. She lives in the small town of Winston, California (population 2,000) and in the same house her great grandmother did. However, this isn't the whole story behind Hanging by the Thread.
You see, Clare has the unique ability that when she touches clothes, they speak to her. Not all clothes, and not all the time. By touching them, she can see certain events and learn things about people. She can tell if the person who wore a piece of clothing was up to no good or not. This ability has been handed down from her great, great, Grandmother Alma who was shot to death while being pregnant with Clare's great, Grandmother Josie who also had the ability. It was later passed down to her own grandmother Nana Raley, but, not to her mother Susie. This, it seems, has caused nothing but problems between mother and daughter. Clare fully believes that her family has been given this gift to right certain wrongs.
The story gets interesting when Clare touches a jacket found on her doorstep. It triggers a vision that leads Clare down the road to discovering who killed Dillon Granger, and Amanda Stavros two kids who disappeared a year apart from each other. It’s the perfect timing as well since the town of Winston is in the process of celebrating the Fourth of July in hopes of putting the past behind them.
The gift of psychometry isn't a new idea or concept. Yet, it's still interesting when a person is given this ability to right some wrongs, even at the expense of their own relationship with their parents who abhor the idea behind psychometry. Just read Jennifer Estep’s Mythos Academy series if you want to learn more about psychometry.
I was totally lost in the fashion aspects of this book. I mean, I realize there are probably people out there who can't wait to read the different types of stitching and material that Clare uses to make outfits she wears with. Personally, I found it to be a snore fest. Maybe had I grown up in a household where the women were clothing makers, I would feel differently about this story. But, alas, I wasn't. My mother and grandmother made quilts and blankets, not clothing.
I found the idea behind the romance with Jack Dimaunahan kind of touching, yet maybe a little unrealistic. Clare kept thinking about having that one night reckless stands not caring what anyone thought about it. She felt that fitting in with her best friend Rachel, was more important than anything else. She was so obsessed with having sex, that she pretty much throws herself at Jack who is a troubled character.
In the end, while this book is interesting enough, it wasn’t as engaging as her Aftertime trilogy and that's just my opinion. Reviews are like anything else in the world. They are subjective to what the actual reader/reviewer likes in their reading stashes. I’m glad I was given a copy thru Netgalley to read this book. Littlefield knows how to write, and she knows how to create a unique world for her characters. This appears to be a standalone and NOT part of any series.
*ARC Recvd via NetGalley for Delacorte Books for Young Readers*
*Expected publication: September 11th 2012
September 12, 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 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.
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.
September 25, 2012
Clare and her mom have just moved back to her hometown of Winston having left it six years previous. But while she's been gone, the town has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. On the previous two Independence weekends, there have been incidences involving children. The first year, a little boy was murdered, the following year, a girl went missing on the same day. There's talk of a serial killer. Tourism has suffered. Now all the adults are worrying about the kids this holiday weekend and trying to organise events that will keep them all together.
Clare has a special gift that has passed down through her family. The curse began with the murder of her descendent Alma, who was shot in her dress shop by a jealous husband, along with the bride to be. Alma was pregnant at the time and the baby was delivered before she died. Clare can see the memories of clothes she touches, what happened to the wearer while they had it on, and how they felt at the time. Clare's hobby is creating new styles of clothing from old clothes that she picks up at flea markets, garage sales etc. Can you see where this is going? It was fairly predictable.
Clare comes across a badly destroyed denim jacket which happened to belong to the dead girl, Amanda. Clare can't let go and feels like the jacket wants her to help so she speaks with Jack, Amanda's boyfriend at the time, and Amanda's mother. Clare's best friend is acting weird, and Clare discovers that she's been keeping secrets from her about Amanda, she gets suspicious of Rachel's involvement in the girls death.
This was kind of suspenseful but there was a definite anti-climax when the truth was revealed. I had expected something a bit more sinister and so, was disappointed. There's a smidgeon of romance and even though I liked Jack, it just didn't light any fires in me. There would have been no difference to the book if the romance hadn't been there. Romance for the sake of a romance.
Overall, not one of my most enjoyable reads, but something did keep me turning those pages. If you're a fan of paranormal mysteries and thrillers, then you may enjoy this more than I did.
Clare has a special gift that has passed down through her family. The curse began with the murder of her descendent Alma, who was shot in her dress shop by a jealous husband, along with the bride to be. Alma was pregnant at the time and the baby was delivered before she died. Clare can see the memories of clothes she touches, what happened to the wearer while they had it on, and how they felt at the time. Clare's hobby is creating new styles of clothing from old clothes that she picks up at flea markets, garage sales etc. Can you see where this is going? It was fairly predictable.
Clare comes across a badly destroyed denim jacket which happened to belong to the dead girl, Amanda. Clare can't let go and feels like the jacket wants her to help so she speaks with Jack, Amanda's boyfriend at the time, and Amanda's mother. Clare's best friend is acting weird, and Clare discovers that she's been keeping secrets from her about Amanda, she gets suspicious of Rachel's involvement in the girls death.
This was kind of suspenseful but there was a definite anti-climax when the truth was revealed. I had expected something a bit more sinister and so, was disappointed. There's a smidgeon of romance and even though I liked Jack, it just didn't light any fires in me. There would have been no difference to the book if the romance hadn't been there. Romance for the sake of a romance.
Overall, not one of my most enjoyable reads, but something did keep me turning those pages. If you're a fan of paranormal mysteries and thrillers, then you may enjoy this more than I did.
March 20, 2012
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 confessing, “I read old clothing.” (you should have seen how far my eyes rolled back into my head.) and if at first, I simply found it tooodd ridiculous, the reader in me who reads of vampires, werewolves and faeries got used to it… and even eventually appreciated how the whole “sliding into someone else” was executed.
but dear god, sometimes all her talk on her trade put me to sleep. there’s a lot of descriptives that could have been done without. i knew she sews, but i didn’t need to know on what. i knew she made clothes, but i didn’t need to know how quirky/cute/funky her creations might have been. sure, it was interesting at first and she even had me curious. but it did get old. mainly, because it got in the way of the story. the meat of which had to do with a would-be serial killer on the prowl and how those around her know more than they’re willing to let on.
as to the requisite love, jack read interesting. yes, there may have been some of the old new girl + bad boy in the works… but at least he made things more interesting by being up front and being all bad-boy charming.
frankly, it read like a movie… just not the most exciting one. it's got an interesting idea but too many things got in the way.
thanks net galley!
2/5
now, what made clare special anyway? (aside from her re-purposing old clothes, that is) well, her special-ness links to her maybe confessing, “I read old clothing.” (you should have seen how far my eyes rolled back into my head.) and if at first, I simply found it too
but dear god, sometimes all her talk on her trade put me to sleep. there’s a lot of descriptives that could have been done without. i knew she sews, but i didn’t need to know on what. i knew she made clothes, but i didn’t need to know how quirky/cute/funky her creations might have been. sure, it was interesting at first and she even had me curious. but it did get old. mainly, because it got in the way of the story. the meat of which had to do with a would-be serial killer on the prowl and how those around her know more than they’re willing to let on.
as to the requisite love, jack read interesting. yes, there may have been some of the old new girl + bad boy in the works… but at least he made things more interesting by being up front and being all bad-boy charming.
frankly, it read like a movie… just not the most exciting one. it's got an interesting idea but too many things got in the way.
thanks net galley!
2/5
April 11, 2012
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 seconds they are telling her their deepest, darkest secrets. And why? She already knows from touching the fabric of their clothes! So don't read this if you are looking for a good mystery.
I know I wrote this backwards, with the bad in the beginning and the good at the end, but I want to point out what really worked in this story. First, Clare's relationships with her mom and Nana. I found her connections with them and the family's history really cool. The house in which Clare lives with her mom sparked my imagination. In fact, the entire town of Winston is in itself a character with a charming personality. I loved Clare. She was artsy and smart and more than a little nosy. I didn't "feel" the relationship with Jack (if one could call it that).
I wish more time would have been spent examining Clare's gift and I am a little sad that there is a way to rid oneself of this gift. It's a great gift! Me, I would break into museums and touch the clothes of famous dead people. Where's Blackbeard's treasure? Who shot JFK? Etc.
So, not too shabby (chic?) and not great either. Why are they releasing this in September when the story takes place on Fourth of July weekend? Why do we not see Clare's outfit on the cover? I wish I could touch a publisher's t shirt and get the answers...
I know I wrote this backwards, with the bad in the beginning and the good at the end, but I want to point out what really worked in this story. First, Clare's relationships with her mom and Nana. I found her connections with them and the family's history really cool. The house in which Clare lives with her mom sparked my imagination. In fact, the entire town of Winston is in itself a character with a charming personality. I loved Clare. She was artsy and smart and more than a little nosy. I didn't "feel" the relationship with Jack (if one could call it that).
I wish more time would have been spent examining Clare's gift and I am a little sad that there is a way to rid oneself of this gift. It's a great gift! Me, I would break into museums and touch the clothes of famous dead people. Where's Blackbeard's treasure? Who shot JFK? Etc.
So, not too shabby (chic?) and not great either. Why are they releasing this in September when the story takes place on Fourth of July weekend? Why do we not see Clare's outfit on the cover? I wish I could touch a publisher's t shirt and get the answers...
April 30, 2012
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 make new stuff...but this jacket sends visions of blood and pain, lies and fear. Somehow, Clare's best friend is tied up in Amanda's disappearance. Clare has to constantly decide whether finding the truth is worth messing up her life for.
This was one of those books that just didn't work for me. The motive was too weak, there wasn't enough menace and the love interest was meh. I loved the setting, Clare's talents in making clothes - bc I SO lack that myself - but the plot was a thick stew of read-this-before-somewhere.
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 make new stuff...but this jacket sends visions of blood and pain, lies and fear. Somehow, Clare's best friend is tied up in Amanda's disappearance. Clare has to constantly decide whether finding the truth is worth messing up her life for.
This was one of those books that just didn't work for me. The motive was too weak, there wasn't enough menace and the love interest was meh. I loved the setting, Clare's talents in making clothes - bc I SO lack that myself - but the plot was a thick stew of read-this-before-somewhere.
September 25, 2014
Clare has a gift; she can ‘see’ events when she touches a piece of clothing, but her gift has never sought her out as much as it has this summer.
Clare and her mother move back to the town where they used to live. Things have really changed; most notably there have been two murders in two years. The victims seem totally random and the town seems to be holding its breath as the anniversaries of the disappearances comes closer.
When Clare comes across the jacket of one of the victims she gets a vision about the night it happened. The vision isn’t exactly clear, so Clare reluctantly starts investigating the two disappearances. Will she be able to solve the murders before someone else is taken?
Overall this was an ok book. The premise was very cool, but the execution was a little weak. Some of the characters were hard to believe.
I received an advance reading copy of this book from netgalley(dot)com.
Clare and her mother move back to the town where they used to live. Things have really changed; most notably there have been two murders in two years. The victims seem totally random and the town seems to be holding its breath as the anniversaries of the disappearances comes closer.
When Clare comes across the jacket of one of the victims she gets a vision about the night it happened. The vision isn’t exactly clear, so Clare reluctantly starts investigating the two disappearances. Will she be able to solve the murders before someone else is taken?
Overall this was an ok book. The premise was very cool, but the execution was a little weak. Some of the characters were hard to believe.
I received an advance reading copy of this book from netgalley(dot)com.
September 13, 2012
Something about Hanging by a Thread by Sophie Littlefield drew me like a magnet. It was probably partially because it takes place on California’s beautiful Central coast but there was also something about the concept that aroused my curiosity. Maybe it was that the central character is very creative, or maybe I’m just a sucker for stories about teens overcoming adversity. If you like YA mysteries with a touch of the paranormal, this one might draw you in as well. Read the rest of my review at http://popcornreads.com/?p=4595.
June 20, 2014
Book Review originally published here: http://www.iheartreading.net/mini-rev...
An interesting, original topic, but unfortunately entirely screwed up by the way too long narrative. The characters and plot don’t live up to the potential of the premise either. Clare is a pencil-thin character, with the personality of a cardboard figure. The plot takes too long to pick up – I went through half of the book, before I even got the feeling there was some plot to speak of. Not recommended.
An interesting, original topic, but unfortunately entirely screwed up by the way too long narrative. The characters and plot don’t live up to the potential of the premise either. Clare is a pencil-thin character, with the personality of a cardboard figure. The plot takes too long to pick up – I went through half of the book, before I even got the feeling there was some plot to speak of. Not recommended.
February 29, 2024
The main characters are Clare Knight, her friend Rachel, Jack, and Clare’s mom and grandmother. The setting is in Winston, California leading up to the 4th of July. Clare and her mom have just moved back into their family's 100-year-old house, which used to be a dress and alterations shop. Clare has an ability passed down to her in which she can touch clothing and see the past of the person who wore it. The conflict is that for the past two years right before the 4th of July, kids go missing or get killed and they don’t know who is behind it. My initial reaction to the book was I was wondering how Clare’s ability was going to tie into the mystery of the disappearances and killings happening in Winston. How was she going to help find the culprit? It did hook me initially, but I started to get bored when the plot would deviate from the main conflict for a long time. What first grabbed my attention as I was reading was the first sentence in the book which is, “They say our house is cursed, and maybe it’s true” (Littlefield 1). It made me want to read further and learn more about why the house may be cursed.
The rising action is when Clare buys a bag of used clothes to use for her sewing projects when suddenly, one of the jackets she picks up gives her a vision. The vision she gets is a violent one that seemingly displays the painful last moments before someone's death. “The sensation of being thrown sideways, a sharp pain as my knee struck something, a second impact, a lurching stop” (Littlefield 57). She is determined to figure out who the jacket belonged to and what led to such a death. She eventually finds a picture online of a girl wearing the same jacket, Amanda Stravos, who was killed the past year. I think the characters are not likable. Clare and her mom have a strained relationship over Clare’s use of her ability, but this leads to a lot of unnecessary anger on the part of Clare. She yells and argues with her mom a lot for no good reason, which I don’t like. “Suddenly I realized that I was doing exactly the same thing my mother had done to Nana– threatening her with pushing her out of my life, just to get my way” (Littlefield 189). The most suspenseful part is towards the very end when Clare is searching through someone’s house, trying to find clothing she can use to confirm her suspicions. She then almost gets attacked with a knife by the killer, but is saved by Jack. My initial impressions were pretty accurate. There was a lot of what felt like filler, and a lot of the book has very little to do with the killings. Something that surprised me was the amount of partying that takes place when the book isn’t centered around that. I predicted that Clare and Jack would become love interests and I was correct about that.
This was a pretty easy read in terms of language and length, but I found myself struggling to be engaged with the story at some points. I felt that it was only interesting in the very beginning and the very end. The events in the middle just aren’t important to the main conflict. I did finish my book. The only reason I fully finished it was because it wasn’t very long and I had already gotten mostly through it before I lost interest. The ending was satisfying, but I felt that the romance was just thrown in there and the characters don’t have any chemistry. I would rate this book a 3 out of 5. I give it this rating because I didn’t find the characters relatable or likable, and it felt like the killings were not as important as the romance. I think people who like fashion design or sewing would like this book because there are a lot of good details about that in this book.
The rising action is when Clare buys a bag of used clothes to use for her sewing projects when suddenly, one of the jackets she picks up gives her a vision. The vision she gets is a violent one that seemingly displays the painful last moments before someone's death. “The sensation of being thrown sideways, a sharp pain as my knee struck something, a second impact, a lurching stop” (Littlefield 57). She is determined to figure out who the jacket belonged to and what led to such a death. She eventually finds a picture online of a girl wearing the same jacket, Amanda Stravos, who was killed the past year. I think the characters are not likable. Clare and her mom have a strained relationship over Clare’s use of her ability, but this leads to a lot of unnecessary anger on the part of Clare. She yells and argues with her mom a lot for no good reason, which I don’t like. “Suddenly I realized that I was doing exactly the same thing my mother had done to Nana– threatening her with pushing her out of my life, just to get my way” (Littlefield 189). The most suspenseful part is towards the very end when Clare is searching through someone’s house, trying to find clothing she can use to confirm her suspicions. She then almost gets attacked with a knife by the killer, but is saved by Jack. My initial impressions were pretty accurate. There was a lot of what felt like filler, and a lot of the book has very little to do with the killings. Something that surprised me was the amount of partying that takes place when the book isn’t centered around that. I predicted that Clare and Jack would become love interests and I was correct about that.
This was a pretty easy read in terms of language and length, but I found myself struggling to be engaged with the story at some points. I felt that it was only interesting in the very beginning and the very end. The events in the middle just aren’t important to the main conflict. I did finish my book. The only reason I fully finished it was because it wasn’t very long and I had already gotten mostly through it before I lost interest. The ending was satisfying, but I felt that the romance was just thrown in there and the characters don’t have any chemistry. I would rate this book a 3 out of 5. I give it this rating because I didn’t find the characters relatable or likable, and it felt like the killings were not as important as the romance. I think people who like fashion design or sewing would like this book because there are a lot of good details about that in this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 2, 2017
I gave this book four stars for a couple different reasons.
Things I did not like about this book:
1. The beginning was very boring and did not hold my attention.
2. Throughout the book, there are multiple occasions where the author has put thoughts of the main character in that don't really have any relevance. It isn't off topic, but it is not useful or interesting content that you really need to know.
Good things about this book:
1. After the boring part was the author did a very good job keeping my attention.
2. Toward the end, it became one of those books to me that I think about throughout the day and wonder what is going to happen next. I couldn't wait to read more.
3. It has a pretty descriptive description about the murder of Amanda Stavros and I like that because it was just one more way that the author made it impossible to put the book down.
4. I love that Jack, who is known as the bad boy, helps Clare and how he protects her.
5. I like the plot twist about who murdered Amanda Stavros.
6. Clare understood where Rachel was coming from and didn't turn her back against her. That was true friendship.
Needless to say, the good outweighs the bad!
Things I did not like about this book:
1. The beginning was very boring and did not hold my attention.
2. Throughout the book, there are multiple occasions where the author has put thoughts of the main character in that don't really have any relevance. It isn't off topic, but it is not useful or interesting content that you really need to know.
Good things about this book:
1. After the boring part was the author did a very good job keeping my attention.
2. Toward the end, it became one of those books to me that I think about throughout the day and wonder what is going to happen next. I couldn't wait to read more.
3. It has a pretty descriptive description about the murder of Amanda Stavros and I like that because it was just one more way that the author made it impossible to put the book down.
4. I love that Jack, who is known as the bad boy, helps Clare and how he protects her.
5. I like the plot twist about who murdered Amanda Stavros.
6. Clare understood where Rachel was coming from and didn't turn her back against her. That was true friendship.
Needless to say, the good outweighs the bad!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 25, 2012
I won this book from a giveaway through Adventures in YA Publishing.
FYI: I haven't read any of the author's work before this so it's completely new and reading it as a stand alone novel.
I thought this book was okay. I liked it but not really liked it. It could have been better. I think the characters were done well. Their relationships were dynamic and made sense. The love interest was instant yet they didn't try to make it deeper by talking much about common interests. It's flimsy and I'm not an insta-noodle-love fan. Lust? Yeah, got it. Love, though, I don't buy the ramen noodle approach to it. Usually there's some dire circumstances pushing them together or a paranormal connection like soul mates to make it work. This time around it's Jake pretending to care about clothes and the teenagers are model hot of course. I'm wondering now what will happen next when old friends meet new and Jack learns the little secret about Clare. The characters did progress, which usually I'm head over heels for but in the total package there just wasn't enough for me. But is it enough to go on to the next book? I don't know. I really don't care and probably won't think about it at all once I'm done with this review. I think it will depend on what's the next mystery.
For me:
Mystery is not knowing all the information leading the characters to dig around to find out.
Suspense I think of as tension. As nail biting "what's going to happen next?" feeling.
As much as the book builds on this mysterious serial killer I didn't feel the threat at all. I mean no one in the book but Clare's family really made any "be careful" comments. Those comments really felt more like the normal parental worry, like "Don't go into the water at night. Stay with a buddy. Don't drink and drive". There was talk of the news coverage but with no clues leaked on how the two murders were connected or a real police presence currently in residence. The main characters weren't worried either. Everyone just assumes and I couldn't. I've read too many mysteries and crime shows to buy into it when there's no information to cause such a response.
It's a mystery but I didn't feel the suspense. I wasn't worried at all about people dying or anything happening besides Clare ruining her chance at being 'in' with the cool kids. The real threat didn't come out until the climax, then that threat fell flat as well.
The ending I have a hard time buying it. I mean It was just another let down for me. The lack of danger, suspense and a dull ending really hurt this story for me.
I think it boils down to a balance issue. There's Clare not feeling fear and caring about clothes a lot. Then there's suppose to be this scary serial killer destroying a town and killing star kids. Clare came through fine but the serial killer didn't. I think the complaints talking so much about the clothes would be lessened if the suspense was pumped up more. Or if there were less details of clothes and sewing it wouldn't be found such a drab drag of a read and the mystery would be more pronounced as is. Or if anyone felt fear besides the mother clinging to life through her daughter. Everyone in the forefront didn't really care or change their ways while people in the fuzzy background did, which made it hard to feel through all the layers of separation.
Even with Claire reliving bits of the attacks, it wasn't emotionally impacting for me. I can't put my finger on why but I didn't connect with this book. Which is probably the biggest reason why it felt average and "meh, okay, yea".
Claire felt real and true to character. She goes on about clothes and sewing because that's her passion. I think it's suppose to help the reader connect with her and understand her as well as being accurate to how she thinks. I'm not big on fashion in general and don't know how to sew so I didn't really get involved. It was interesting in an off handed kind of way. Like how you try to listen when your friend goes on about something they care about.
As it is due to the lack suspense and emotional impact it ends up an average tale about a girl struggling to fit in at a small town. For me it felt like a longer book than just 300 pages because of this. It's good if you like clothes or day to day details of characters and a little mystery. Usually, this is my kind of book but something was missing, something off in the formula.
I've read other stories where a character has the ability to see memories and emotions from clothes. It didn't feel particularly original or creative to me. That's not damning in itself since there's only so many stories with only so many was to tell it. I just didn't find anything in this book particularly compelling. It's okay but nothing really stands out or is gripping. If there's a sequel I'll look into it to decide but I'm not anxiously awaiting it. There's potential but it doesn't live up to it in this book and have no idea if the author will step it up in the next one.
FYI: I haven't read any of the author's work before this so it's completely new and reading it as a stand alone novel.
I thought this book was okay. I liked it but not really liked it. It could have been better. I think the characters were done well. Their relationships were dynamic and made sense. The love interest was instant yet they didn't try to make it deeper by talking much about common interests. It's flimsy and I'm not an insta-noodle-love fan. Lust? Yeah, got it. Love, though, I don't buy the ramen noodle approach to it. Usually there's some dire circumstances pushing them together or a paranormal connection like soul mates to make it work. This time around it's Jake pretending to care about clothes and the teenagers are model hot of course. I'm wondering now what will happen next when old friends meet new and Jack learns the little secret about Clare. The characters did progress, which usually I'm head over heels for but in the total package there just wasn't enough for me. But is it enough to go on to the next book? I don't know. I really don't care and probably won't think about it at all once I'm done with this review. I think it will depend on what's the next mystery.
For me:
Mystery is not knowing all the information leading the characters to dig around to find out.
Suspense I think of as tension. As nail biting "what's going to happen next?" feeling.
As much as the book builds on this mysterious serial killer I didn't feel the threat at all. I mean no one in the book but Clare's family really made any "be careful" comments. Those comments really felt more like the normal parental worry, like "Don't go into the water at night. Stay with a buddy. Don't drink and drive". There was talk of the news coverage but with no clues leaked on how the two murders were connected or a real police presence currently in residence. The main characters weren't worried either. Everyone just assumes and I couldn't. I've read too many mysteries and crime shows to buy into it when there's no information to cause such a response.
It's a mystery but I didn't feel the suspense. I wasn't worried at all about people dying or anything happening besides Clare ruining her chance at being 'in' with the cool kids. The real threat didn't come out until the climax, then that threat fell flat as well.
The ending I have a hard time buying it. I mean It was just another let down for me. The lack of danger, suspense and a dull ending really hurt this story for me.
I think it boils down to a balance issue. There's Clare not feeling fear and caring about clothes a lot. Then there's suppose to be this scary serial killer destroying a town and killing star kids. Clare came through fine but the serial killer didn't. I think the complaints talking so much about the clothes would be lessened if the suspense was pumped up more. Or if there were less details of clothes and sewing it wouldn't be found such a drab drag of a read and the mystery would be more pronounced as is. Or if anyone felt fear besides the mother clinging to life through her daughter. Everyone in the forefront didn't really care or change their ways while people in the fuzzy background did, which made it hard to feel through all the layers of separation.
Even with Claire reliving bits of the attacks, it wasn't emotionally impacting for me. I can't put my finger on why but I didn't connect with this book. Which is probably the biggest reason why it felt average and "meh, okay, yea".
Claire felt real and true to character. She goes on about clothes and sewing because that's her passion. I think it's suppose to help the reader connect with her and understand her as well as being accurate to how she thinks. I'm not big on fashion in general and don't know how to sew so I didn't really get involved. It was interesting in an off handed kind of way. Like how you try to listen when your friend goes on about something they care about.
As it is due to the lack suspense and emotional impact it ends up an average tale about a girl struggling to fit in at a small town. For me it felt like a longer book than just 300 pages because of this. It's good if you like clothes or day to day details of characters and a little mystery. Usually, this is my kind of book but something was missing, something off in the formula.
I've read other stories where a character has the ability to see memories and emotions from clothes. It didn't feel particularly original or creative to me. That's not damning in itself since there's only so many stories with only so many was to tell it. I just didn't find anything in this book particularly compelling. It's okay but nothing really stands out or is gripping. If there's a sequel I'll look into it to decide but I'm not anxiously awaiting it. There's potential but it doesn't live up to it in this book and have no idea if the author will step it up in the next one.
September 11, 2017
The story started off promising but as the story progressed, it became duller and duller. I liked the concept of Clare's gift. When she touches someone's clothing, she's able to see visions of what that person saw when they wore it. Using this gift, she tries to solve the mystery of two murders that have happened in their town the last two years. The story had a lot of potential but ultimately fell flat.
I didn't feel like Clare really carried the story or did anything substantial to keep my interest. Most of the time, I just felt annoyed with her character. There wasn't much change in terms of her story and her relationships. The other characters felt like they were of little to no value. Her grandmother was interesting, but I felt like there was more focus on her and her friends. Maybe it would have helped if there was more focus on her and Jack's relationship. That part just felt rushed to me. It felt more like the author was just pushing the two together because that's the role of Jack in the story. To be her love interest.
6/10
I didn't feel like Clare really carried the story or did anything substantial to keep my interest. Most of the time, I just felt annoyed with her character. There wasn't much change in terms of her story and her relationships. The other characters felt like they were of little to no value. Her grandmother was interesting, but I felt like there was more focus on her and her friends. Maybe it would have helped if there was more focus on her and Jack's relationship. That part just felt rushed to me. It felt more like the author was just pushing the two together because that's the role of Jack in the story. To be her love interest.
6/10
March 26, 2018
I liked the premise of this. I mean, seeing people's memories through clothing is a really cool power, especially for a wannabe fashion designer! The execution just wasn't all that great. Add in another hundred pages with more character development and get rid of the insta-love and it would improve a lot! Also, maybe give Clare more of a personality, so I understand why she's invested in a crime which happened before she even lived in town and doesn't impact her in the slightest. I liked the twist at the end, which really reminded me of an episode of Black Mirror, but again, it was hard to be involved when I'm not emotionally invested. This book just felt kinda generic and lacking. It was somewhat entertaining though! 2.75/5 March 25 2018
September 5, 2020
The book was pretty good. The story and plot lines were pretty predictable though. The main character facing in love with a hot bad boy with dark hair and muscles was pretty basic. And I could tell who killed Rachel it wasn't much of a surprise. I still enjoyed how the writing pulled me in different directions as to who the killer might be. I liked the main characters gift of seeing a person's memories from touching their clothes, I thought it was cool. The last chapter was really cheesy but closed up the story pretty well.
February 5, 2018
The writing was great, the story well told and the characters were interesting. My only problem with this book is that it seemed to scratch the surface of what could have been a more detailed and stunning novel. Another 150 pages or so would have gone far to flesh out better back stories for each of the characters, and all the individual story lines could have wrapped up and come together more solidly at the end.
January 5, 2020
This book was okay. The twists weren’t that big and the mystery wasn’t too hard to solve. It did keep me interested but it didn’t have too much substance.
June 23, 2020
Review to Come
November 17, 2021
keeps you on edge and allows you to stay interested. i love the mystery the story holds and how it never felt boring
December 24, 2021
I have to admit that I didn’t finish the book. I had so many other books that were more I interesting and more believable.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 14, 2022
Pretty good book and I really liked the ending
October 10, 2022
This is a great young adult mystery included solving a murder, and finding love.
July 17, 2024
honestly not bad, but then i remember that she can see visions through clothes?? like what im sorry could have been better
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 25, 2024
I wasn't expecting that particular person to be the killer.
September 23, 2012
Originally posted at http://smexybooks.com/2012/09/review-...
Favorite Quote: “I wondered if I could live with the version of me that Rachel was trying to create.”
Clare, a budding fashion designer and clothing repurposer, doesn’t remember a whole lot about the sleepy seaside town of Winston, California, having moved away as a child. After her parents get divorced, she and her mother move back into the “haunted” family home and are attempting to start their lives over.
The town is getting ready to celebrate it’s annual Fourth Of July festival, but this year, a somber pall falls over the town. A suspected serial killer has struck twice and the town and it’s residents wait on pin and needles for him to strike again.
When Clare’s “gift” resurfaces with a vengeance, Clare knows that the sleepy town of Winston is holding some dark secrets, secrets that could shatter the town and her life forever.
The story begins with a look into Clare’s family history. Claire’s pregnant great grandmother was the victim of a violent crime. In the instance between her baby being born and herself dying, a gift developed. The women of her family are psychometric. They are able to see and sense emotions from clothing. Sometimes benign, sometimes violent, the gift skipped Clare’s mom and landed solely on Clare. Clare was warned as a child to ignore her gift for it will only cause her grief. Clare does her best but when she comes across an old designer jacket, one touch sends her into oblivion and her gift kicks back in with a vengeance. Clare searches for the the jacket’s owner and comes to find out it belongs to Amanda Stavros, a supposed victim of the serial killer. Further investigation leads her to the town’s #1 suspect, Jack Dimaunahan. Local bad boy and a serious crush for Clare.
Hanging By A Thread is a lightweight supernatural YA. I have been told this is the third book of her Banishing series but was unable to confirm that. Though smoothly written with a steady pace, the premise promised more than what was delivered. I expected more action, suspense, and definite inclusion of Clare’s unique gift. While the book was entertaining to a certain extent it was a low key entertainment, not eliciting much emotion either way for me. I’d classify this as a romantic contemporary with paranormal aspects.
We spend a great deal of time learning about Clare. Littlefield seems to do an in depth character analysis of her life and her passions (repurposing clothing) yet for all that is written, I ended the story feeling like I never really got to know the true Clare. Perhaps it’s because it was written in Clare’s voice, you miss the other characters observations which can sometimes bring us a deeper look at our protagonist. I did enjoy meeting her though. The repurposing of clothing is a particular interest of mine since I dabble in it and I like how Littlefield uses that to link her to the other “gifted” members of her family while creating friction between Clare and her mother. In the beginning, Clare has a nice bit of snark to her but it’s soon buried under a more mature attitude that had me having to reminding myself exactly how old she was.
Our secondary characters are abundant and personable, but again, we don’t get to an in depth look into their psyche. Jack is the typical misunderstood bad boy and I felt that his and Clare’s romance was a bit rushed. We get a “soul mate” feeling from Clare even while she questions his guilt but the chemistry is missing something. Her best friend Rachel was a little more developed but the build up of her character and her part in the drama feel flat once details were revealed and the main conflict played out. Again, I wanted more from her characters and the storyline then Littlefield was willing to give.
There are multiple sub stories running through out the story that cause confusion at times. I found myself wondering why certain aspects were added as they really didn’t add to the story and faded away without explanation. The action is minimal and very benign for what I expected of a supernatural thriller. At times I was hooked by the story and other times I had to stop myself from slipping through boring scenes. I enjoyed the conflict between Clare’s Nana and her mom. Nana is a very interesting character that made me smile on more than one occasion.
The mystery itself is solid and interesting with injects of suspense and intrigue but the solving of it and resolution of the main conflict was anti climatic. Again, I expected more. More information on the villains. More inclusion of the villains into the main storyline. It’s solved and were done.
As I stated earlier, this is a lightweight paranormal YA. I never quite got over the feeling that I was being “told” a story rather than reliving someone’s story with them. A quick read that I’d save for a put it in my beach and/or rainy day read. The appeal of it is more geared towards a younger YA crowd, in my opinion.
Overall Rating: C-
Favorite Quote: “I wondered if I could live with the version of me that Rachel was trying to create.”
Clare, a budding fashion designer and clothing repurposer, doesn’t remember a whole lot about the sleepy seaside town of Winston, California, having moved away as a child. After her parents get divorced, she and her mother move back into the “haunted” family home and are attempting to start their lives over.
The town is getting ready to celebrate it’s annual Fourth Of July festival, but this year, a somber pall falls over the town. A suspected serial killer has struck twice and the town and it’s residents wait on pin and needles for him to strike again.
When Clare’s “gift” resurfaces with a vengeance, Clare knows that the sleepy town of Winston is holding some dark secrets, secrets that could shatter the town and her life forever.
The story begins with a look into Clare’s family history. Claire’s pregnant great grandmother was the victim of a violent crime. In the instance between her baby being born and herself dying, a gift developed. The women of her family are psychometric. They are able to see and sense emotions from clothing. Sometimes benign, sometimes violent, the gift skipped Clare’s mom and landed solely on Clare. Clare was warned as a child to ignore her gift for it will only cause her grief. Clare does her best but when she comes across an old designer jacket, one touch sends her into oblivion and her gift kicks back in with a vengeance. Clare searches for the the jacket’s owner and comes to find out it belongs to Amanda Stavros, a supposed victim of the serial killer. Further investigation leads her to the town’s #1 suspect, Jack Dimaunahan. Local bad boy and a serious crush for Clare.
Hanging By A Thread is a lightweight supernatural YA. I have been told this is the third book of her Banishing series but was unable to confirm that. Though smoothly written with a steady pace, the premise promised more than what was delivered. I expected more action, suspense, and definite inclusion of Clare’s unique gift. While the book was entertaining to a certain extent it was a low key entertainment, not eliciting much emotion either way for me. I’d classify this as a romantic contemporary with paranormal aspects.
We spend a great deal of time learning about Clare. Littlefield seems to do an in depth character analysis of her life and her passions (repurposing clothing) yet for all that is written, I ended the story feeling like I never really got to know the true Clare. Perhaps it’s because it was written in Clare’s voice, you miss the other characters observations which can sometimes bring us a deeper look at our protagonist. I did enjoy meeting her though. The repurposing of clothing is a particular interest of mine since I dabble in it and I like how Littlefield uses that to link her to the other “gifted” members of her family while creating friction between Clare and her mother. In the beginning, Clare has a nice bit of snark to her but it’s soon buried under a more mature attitude that had me having to reminding myself exactly how old she was.
Our secondary characters are abundant and personable, but again, we don’t get to an in depth look into their psyche. Jack is the typical misunderstood bad boy and I felt that his and Clare’s romance was a bit rushed. We get a “soul mate” feeling from Clare even while she questions his guilt but the chemistry is missing something. Her best friend Rachel was a little more developed but the build up of her character and her part in the drama feel flat once details were revealed and the main conflict played out. Again, I wanted more from her characters and the storyline then Littlefield was willing to give.
There are multiple sub stories running through out the story that cause confusion at times. I found myself wondering why certain aspects were added as they really didn’t add to the story and faded away without explanation. The action is minimal and very benign for what I expected of a supernatural thriller. At times I was hooked by the story and other times I had to stop myself from slipping through boring scenes. I enjoyed the conflict between Clare’s Nana and her mom. Nana is a very interesting character that made me smile on more than one occasion.
The mystery itself is solid and interesting with injects of suspense and intrigue but the solving of it and resolution of the main conflict was anti climatic. Again, I expected more. More information on the villains. More inclusion of the villains into the main storyline. It’s solved and were done.
As I stated earlier, this is a lightweight paranormal YA. I never quite got over the feeling that I was being “told” a story rather than reliving someone’s story with them. A quick read that I’d save for a put it in my beach and/or rainy day read. The appeal of it is more geared towards a younger YA crowd, in my opinion.
Overall Rating: C-
August 30, 2012
This and other reviews can be found on Reading Between Classes
Cover Impressions: Not impressed with this particular cover. It appears that she is lying on a bloody comforter on a bed (is that what everyone else sees?). This never happens in the book. Clare spends page after page describing her wacky designs, but all I see pictured is a simple lace top and VERY traditional necklace. The pose is boring, the color is bland and there is nothing to make me pick this one up off the shelf.
The Gist: The town of Winston, California has been rocked by tragedy for each of the past two fourth of July weekends. After moving back to the town where she grew up, Clare is simply concerned with trying to fit in with the popular kids and maybe find some summer romance. She is also trying to hide the fact that a mysterious gift allows her glimpses into people's lives just by touching their clothing. When chance brings her into contact with the jacket of Amanda, the girl who died the previous July, Clare must decide what to do with the disturbing vision.
Review: This book did not work for me at all. In theory, it had good bones: the prodigal return, a mysterious power, a possible serial killer, a bad boy love interest - but when all those things came together in Hanging By A Thread they created a big pile of "Meh". It starts off with promise, but gets bogged down once Clare starts playing Nancy Drew and each and every character is compelled to spill their guts for not apparent reason.
The writing involves a great deal of Telling rather than Showing and tons of Info Dumping. LOTS of long paragraphs explaining how events went down. Seems like everyone in this town kept their secrets for two years and then all Clare has to do is ask a simple question and they break down and confess their life story. The plot was fairly predictable and eventually, I ended up skimming paragraphs because I was getting tired of being told things that I had already figured out. Had the author thrown out a shocking twist or two, I could have been brought back on board but instead I got the standard "rich parents bail out rich kids and someone decides that they should be punished" storyline. For most of the book, Clare runs around town asking questions and when we finally did get a touch of action it was only slightly more exciting and over all too quickly.
The characters were incredibly one-dimensional. Clare was boring and spent a considerable amount of time feeling resentful of her gift and arguing with herself about whether or not she should do anything about the information that she found. She blames a lot of her problems on her mother and, despite constantly reminding us that the woman needs to slow down/find friends/reconcile with her own mother, Clare's only contribution to making these things happen is to yell at her. The other female characters were pretty boring. Rachel and her friends all sort of blended together and seemed to only serve as a way to pile on information through gossip sessions. The males, on the other hand, were all really un-likable. Clare's dad is a deadbeat, the guys she hung out with were jerks who called her a tease and a slut, and even the love interest, Jack, was an anger fueled young man with control issues.
I did not buy the romance angle for one minute. In fact, it seemed pretty unhealthy to me. Clare spent the first moments of their relationship grilling him about his murdered ex-girlfriend (to which he responded with anger and hostility) then continued to suspect he was the killer while running off to be alone with him in deserted areas of town! As with the other characters, Jack spills his guts a little too quickly and then the pair act overly familiar for kids who just met and I really doubt the validity of their connection. Clare reveals her secret (which left me yelling "what the hell, you just met like three days ago") and Jack starts throwing out lines like "Clare - it's me. Tell me what you need." (which led to a lot of eye rolling).
I normally enjoy YA Mystery and I have heard good things about Sophie Littlefield, but Hanging by a Thread just fell flat for me. On to the next book.
Teaching/Parental Notes:
Age: 16 and up
Gender: Female
Sex: Discussed, not described, kissing.
Violence: Fighting, Knifeplay
Inappropriate Language: Bitches, Shit, Jesus, God-Damn, Dick, Fuck, Slut, Pisses, Jerk, Hell, Bastard
Substance Use/Abuse: Underage drinking (and stealing of alcohol)
Unanswered Questions:
If the parents are so concerned about a serial killer, why are they letting their teens out of the house at all? It is called grounding folks (or if you want to be more PC about it - Family Game Night)
Having encountered/subdued a murderer, WHY DIDN'T YOU PHONE THE POLICE???
Cover Impressions: Not impressed with this particular cover. It appears that she is lying on a bloody comforter on a bed (is that what everyone else sees?). This never happens in the book. Clare spends page after page describing her wacky designs, but all I see pictured is a simple lace top and VERY traditional necklace. The pose is boring, the color is bland and there is nothing to make me pick this one up off the shelf.
The Gist: The town of Winston, California has been rocked by tragedy for each of the past two fourth of July weekends. After moving back to the town where she grew up, Clare is simply concerned with trying to fit in with the popular kids and maybe find some summer romance. She is also trying to hide the fact that a mysterious gift allows her glimpses into people's lives just by touching their clothing. When chance brings her into contact with the jacket of Amanda, the girl who died the previous July, Clare must decide what to do with the disturbing vision.
Review: This book did not work for me at all. In theory, it had good bones: the prodigal return, a mysterious power, a possible serial killer, a bad boy love interest - but when all those things came together in Hanging By A Thread they created a big pile of "Meh". It starts off with promise, but gets bogged down once Clare starts playing Nancy Drew and each and every character is compelled to spill their guts for not apparent reason.
The writing involves a great deal of Telling rather than Showing and tons of Info Dumping. LOTS of long paragraphs explaining how events went down. Seems like everyone in this town kept their secrets for two years and then all Clare has to do is ask a simple question and they break down and confess their life story. The plot was fairly predictable and eventually, I ended up skimming paragraphs because I was getting tired of being told things that I had already figured out. Had the author thrown out a shocking twist or two, I could have been brought back on board but instead I got the standard "rich parents bail out rich kids and someone decides that they should be punished" storyline. For most of the book, Clare runs around town asking questions and when we finally did get a touch of action it was only slightly more exciting and over all too quickly.
The characters were incredibly one-dimensional. Clare was boring and spent a considerable amount of time feeling resentful of her gift and arguing with herself about whether or not she should do anything about the information that she found. She blames a lot of her problems on her mother and, despite constantly reminding us that the woman needs to slow down/find friends/reconcile with her own mother, Clare's only contribution to making these things happen is to yell at her. The other female characters were pretty boring. Rachel and her friends all sort of blended together and seemed to only serve as a way to pile on information through gossip sessions. The males, on the other hand, were all really un-likable. Clare's dad is a deadbeat, the guys she hung out with were jerks who called her a tease and a slut, and even the love interest, Jack, was an anger fueled young man with control issues.
I did not buy the romance angle for one minute. In fact, it seemed pretty unhealthy to me. Clare spent the first moments of their relationship grilling him about his murdered ex-girlfriend (to which he responded with anger and hostility) then continued to suspect he was the killer while running off to be alone with him in deserted areas of town! As with the other characters, Jack spills his guts a little too quickly and then the pair act overly familiar for kids who just met and I really doubt the validity of their connection. Clare reveals her secret (which left me yelling "what the hell, you just met like three days ago") and Jack starts throwing out lines like "Clare - it's me. Tell me what you need." (which led to a lot of eye rolling).
I normally enjoy YA Mystery and I have heard good things about Sophie Littlefield, but Hanging by a Thread just fell flat for me. On to the next book.
Teaching/Parental Notes:
Age: 16 and up
Gender: Female
Sex: Discussed, not described, kissing.
Violence: Fighting, Knifeplay
Inappropriate Language: Bitches, Shit, Jesus, God-Damn, Dick, Fuck, Slut, Pisses, Jerk, Hell, Bastard
Substance Use/Abuse: Underage drinking (and stealing of alcohol)
Unanswered Questions:
If the parents are so concerned about a serial killer, why are they letting their teens out of the house at all? It is called grounding folks (or if you want to be more PC about it - Family Game Night)
Having encountered/subdued a murderer, WHY DIDN'T YOU PHONE THE POLICE???
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