Oana @All Fantasy Worlds

Amazon          Goodreads

This is one of the rare times when I don’t know how to start my review because, well… I enjoyed this book so much that I forgot to take notes, I didn’t stop to think about anything, I just went with it and loved every word! So, “Stitch”… “Stitch” is one of those very few books that pull you in and make you think about the characters and “OMG, what’s going to happen next” even when you should be working or going about your daily routines. Every time I got some free minutes, I’d just grab my Kindle and steal two or three pages. That’s how good “Stitch” was!

Samantha Durante managed to create a compelling universe where nothing is what it seems to be and the reader is as clueless as the characters themselves. Her novel has everything it needs to keep you on the edge until the very last pages: fast-paced action, incredibly well developed characters, a sweet romance story, a complex plot, a major twist and some very well placed clues that somehow prepare you for what’s to come, yet when IT happens you’re taken by surprise. “Stitch” has easily earned its place on my list of favorite dystopian novels.

Alessa Khole is a student at the Eastern State University and is struggling to build a new life after her parents’ death. But she’s got only one friend, Janie, and she can’t care less about the campus life and the sorority parties, so everything seems pointless… she can’t bring herself to move on. Until she starts seeing… a ghost. What’s even stranger than being the only one in the house who can see the apparition, is that she feels like she knows this blue-eyed boy and craves to hold him and keep him safe. Confused by these unexplainable feelings, she is determined to find out who the boy is and how he died, hoping this will bring her peace. This is how Alessa learns his name is Isaac Mason and he died in a fire in 1917 along with his entire family. Sounds like a ghost story until now, right? Well… you need to brace yourselves because Isaac is no ghost, he didn’t die in a fire, Janie is not Alessa’s best friend and Alessa is not even a student at the ESU! Confused much? Yeah, I’ve warned you you’ll be just as clueless as the characters, because someone is playing tricks with their minds and their memories… they don’t know what’s real anymore and what if everything is just a… show?

Ok, I’m not going to tell you anything else about the plot because I really don’t want to spoil your surprise. So I’ll tell you about the characters. I loved the fact that the author took her time to thoroughly describe the characters and their emotions, following all their thoughts, plans, hopes and insecurities. I could really relate to them and I genuinely cared about Alessa, Isaac and Janie. They are realistic, alive and palpable. Also, the plot was well-thought and the story kept me glued to the pages no matter if it was a ghost story and a sweet romance (the first half of the book) or a complex, intriguing dystopia (the second half).

Samantha Durante’s debut novel, “Stitch”, is a book you won’t easily forget. I can’t wait to read the next novel in the trilogy – “Shudder” – and see how Alessa and Isaac manage to survive in the desolate world they’ve been thrown into and bring freedom to all those who are trapped in the cruel game created by a higher, privileged class.