I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Unfortunates by Kim Liggett Published by Tor Teen on July 10 2018
Genres: Young adult, Thriller
Pages: 224
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: A short, sharp gut punch of a story that will keep you guessing and jumping at shadows. Read after dark at your own risk!
This is the third book I’ve read by Kim Liggett, and I can honestly say she’s getting better with each book. And that’s not to say I didn’t enjoy her first two books! But this is my favorite so far and it seems she continues to grow as a writer. The Unfortunates is rather short, but I thought it was the perfect length for this twisty thriller. Liggett doesn’t waste time with unnecessary filler and gets right into her story.
Grant Franklin Tavish V is the son of a powerful and wealthy family, and his father also just happens to be a senator. But despite his privileged life, he’s in a shitload of trouble at the moment. Several months ago, Grant was involved in a fatal car accident, but his memories of that evening are foggy at best. Right after the accident, his father’s lawyer stepped in and now Grant is about to get off with little more than a slap on the wrist: sixty days of probation and weekly drug tests, and the last step is the trial, where his lawyer has advised him to declare that he “doesn’t remember anything.” In a matter of days, all of Grant’s problems will be over, and the accident relegated to nothing but bad memories.
But Grant isn’t happy about any of it and feels an immense guilt about being the cause of someone’s death, even if it wasn’t technically his fault. And he has a solution to set things right. He’s about to embark on a family rite of passage, a weekend spent making his way through a local cave system, armed with only a few survival supplies (no food or water allowed). His plan is to stage his own death and make it look like an accident. Crawling through caves can be dangerous business, after all. But things don’t go quite as planned, and Grant finds himself struggling to survive—for real.
The less I say about the plot the better. I went into this book blind and I’m glad I didn’t know much about the story. Liggett explores the psychological implications of guilt and what happens when someone as privileged as Grant realizes the pull his father has and that money can literally make his problems go away. We get the story from Grant’s first person POV, and it was interesting being in his head as he tried to work through his issues.
I won’t give you plot details, but I do want to talk about some of the other characters because they’re important to the discussion. When Grant is down in the cave tunnels, he runs into four other teens who are also lost. These teens are on the opposite end of the socioeconomic spectrum from Grant, and they come from families who all struggle to make ends meet. As Grant gets to know them, he realizes how lucky he’s been his entire life, never having to worry about anything. The other teens resent him at first, but gradually all five of them come to rely on each other to survive. I loved how Grant’s outlook on life seems to shift after his encounter with Shy, Maria, Darryl and Kit.
Liggett teases the reader by slowly giving us details about Grant’s accident, and you don’t find out exactly what happened until the end of the story. It definitely added a sense of urgency and tension to her tale, and when you combine that with the terror that Grant is facing in the tunnels, you can see how this turned out to be a real page-turner. Liggett gives us all kinds of cool details about caves, bats and the dangers of shifting rocks, and she weaves these details effortlessly into her story—it turns out Grant has been spelunking for years and knows quite a bit about caves. This could have come across as a way too convenient detail, but I thought it was handled really well.
At about three-quarters of the way through, the action ramps up and the story takes a crazy turn. I flew through the rest of the book because I had to find out WTF was going on! I’m sure there are readers out there who will figure things out before the end, but I can honestly say I wasn’t one of them. I was floored when everything was revealed, and I’m still reeling from the ending.
Liggett has created a spooky and tense thriller that met all my expectations, and then some. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next!
Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.
Oh, this sounds great, it’s been a while since I’ve read any thrillers!
This is a good one, quick and fast paced and lost of mystery:-)
Wow, this sounds like a really good story. Consider me intrigued!
That was the idea, to intrigue and tempt:-)
I enjoyed Blood and Salt and am very curious about this one too. After reading your thoughts, I’m going to have to check it out. She is one author I always pay attention to and I can’t wait to see what she comes out with in the future as well.
She’s really impressed me, I enjoyed this more than her last book, which was really good too.
I love it when authors tease you doling out the smallest of details over the course of the book: it’s frustrating as hell, granted, but as you said it adds to the sense of impending… whatever that carries a story forward on quick feet.
I will have to give this one a chance, so thank you very much for sharing! 🙂
Maddalena@spaceandsorcery recently posted…NEVERNIGHT (The Nevernight Chronicle #1), by Jay Kristoff
It’s so well done, in my opinion, and worth the agony!
This sounds like an intense read. The build up to the details about the accident would drive me insane wondering what happened, but it sounds like it’s well done in this novel. I’m interested in reading it to find out what happened (and what will happen with the plot twist)!
Crystal @ Lost in Storyland recently posted…Sea Witch by Sarah Henning: Magic, Darkness, and Tragedy by the Sea
Luckily the book is short so you don’t have to wait long for answers:-)
Thank you for an excellent review, Tammy! I love the sound of this one – but I’m definitely going to harden my heart.
I get it, we can’t read everything, that’s for sure:-)
Wonderful review, Tammy. Sounds like the author really is getting better, especially with them characters! Got to admit that I thought this was an erotica… with a lot of blood, because of that cover hahaha 😀
LOL Erotica!! It’s those manly hands on the cover, right?? Nope, no erotica, sorry Lashaan!
Wow, spooky and tense, and not to read after dark? I just thought it was straight up thriller, I had no idea this one had elements of horror in it, if horror is indeed the case? Needless to say, that is AWESOME! Going to bump this one up the tbr (and now I’m kicking myself, wishing I had chosen to read this over #MurderTrending, lol)
I can’t really spoil it, but yes it had spooky moments:-) Really fun and lots to think about too. Ha ha, and much better than #murdertrending, lol.
I never read thrillers (I’m spooked way to easily lol) but your review really intrigued me, I want to know about the creepy cage and the accident! So many books, so little time aaah…
Story of ours lives, never enough time to read everything…
ohh a thriller that is so scary that borders in horror? Sounds like it does puts your through a lot of tension spoon- feeding you the details! LOVE THOSE! I’m writing about caves so I would greatly enjoy those descriptions! Glad to hear the end floored you! Book Bloggers aren’t the easiest creatures to surprise!
Daniela Ark recently posted…A Religious Cult. A Controlling Leader. Manipulation. Lies. Physical Punishment.
Oh cool, you’re writing about caves? Such a great setting for a story, you don’t see very many cave settings out there:-)
Oh wow, this sounds so intense and so scary! If I read it, I’ll definitely take your advice and not read it after dark, lol.
Yeah, I jumped a few times while I was reading this in bed at night, lol!
I’ve been eyeing this one. I might have to try it now! Great review. 🙂
Lauren @ Always Me recently posted…Make Me Read It Readathon 2018 – Announcement & Poll
Thanks Lauren, definitely check it out if you get the chance:-)
Oooh this sounds wonderful (and a book that without your review I wouldn’t give a second look at due to the cover). Adding to my TBR for a potential October read!
Kaleena @ Reader Voracious recently posted…Announcing the Fall Traveling Book Review
October would be the perfect time for this:-)
Oooh, yay! I’m excited to read your review. I loved The Last Harvest by her. I will need to read this!
You’d love this, Jennifer, I hope you get the chance to check it out:-)