Ten (Review)

Book: Ten
Author: Gretchen McNeil
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 294
My Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Blurb:

It was supposed to be the weekend of their lives—an exclusive house party on Henry Island. Best friends Meg and Minnie each have their reasons for being there (which involve T.J., the school’s most eligible bachelor) and look forward to three glorious days of boys, booze and fun-filled luxury.

But what they expect is definitely not what they get, and what starts out as fun turns dark and twisted after the discovery of a DVD with a sinister message: Vengeance is mine.

Suddenly people are dying, and with a storm raging, the teens are cut off from the outside world. No electricity, no phones, no internet, and a ferry that isn’t scheduled to return for two days. As the deaths become more violent and the teens turn on each other, can Meg find the killer before more people die? Or is the killer closer to her than she could ever imagine?

Ok wow. I really liked this book. After reading mixed reviews about this book I had to check it out for myself. Considering this was an adaptation of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None it really is no wonder I liked it so much.

I loved the plot of this novel. There's just something about a novel that puts teens on an island and has them trying to stay alive in the face of being picked off by a killer. What better place is there than an island? Especially when being invited to a party and not being scheduled to be picked up for three whole days?

The characters were great. Well all except Minnie. I disliked her from the beginning, I found her to be really whiny and self-centered, thankfully she's not the "main" character because I would have hated this book then. I just could not deal with her. Now Meg on the other hand, I loved! She is the quiet writer who has the greatest comebacks if only she would say them! Plus she has the brains to realise something is seriously wrong. The other characters were great as well, from the know it all to the jock.

This book is told in third person but has a main focus on Meg as she progresses through the story and fights to save herself and the rest of the people in the house. It reveals many of her inner thoughts and feelings.

I loved the way that the author placed the clues and revealed things in a natural progression. I admit I had no clue who the killer was until it was revealed. The ending scenes had my heart racing and my hands flipping the pages so I could find out what was happening and how it would all play out.

The author packed this book with enough suspense to keep me guessing and the action in the novel as the story comes to a close was nerve wracking.