Review: Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff

Paper Valentine

By: Brenna Yovanoff

Pub. Date: January 8, 2013

Publisher: Razorbill

Pages: 368

Source: Netgalley

The city of Ludlow is gripped by the hottest July on record. The asphalt is melting, the birds are dying, petty crime is on the rise, and someone in Hannah Wagnor’s peaceful suburban community is killing girls.

For Hannah, the summer is a complicated one. Her best friend Lillian died six months ago, and Hannah just wants her life to go back to normal. But how can things be normal when Lillian’s ghost is haunting her bedroom, pushing her to investigate the mysterious string of murders? Hannah’s just trying to understand why her friend self-destructed, and where she fits now that Lillian isn’t there to save her a place among the social elite. And she must stop thinking about Finny Boone, the big, enigmatic delinquent whose main hobbies seem to include petty larceny and surprising acts of kindness.

With the entire city in a panic, Hannah soon finds herself drawn into a world of ghost girls and horrifying secrets. She realizes that only by confronting the Valentine Killer will she be able move on with her life—and it’s up to her to put together the pieces before he strikes again.

Paper Valentine is a hauntingly poetic tale of love and death by the New York Times bestselling author of The Replacement and The Space Between.

This is my first book by Brenna Yovanoff, and I was not disappointed. Paper Valentine started off extremely slow for me, but once the story took off, I could not put it down! It had a little bit of everything in it, and I especially loved the ghost story aspect of it!

Hannah is just a normal teenage girl, who just happens to be able to see and talk to her best friend, Lillian, who died sixth months ago. When a murderer begins targeting young women, Lillian convinces Hannah to dig deeper into what is happening in their town. Around the same time, she begins a friendship with bad boy and loner, Finny, who people suspect is the murderer, but Hannah has seen the sweet side of him, and knows he couldn't hurt anyone. That is until Lillian starts to convince her otherwise.

Hannah works at a local photo shop, that is often visited by the local police so she has seen the gruesome pictures of the murders of the young girls. Her curiosity is peeked, and it turns out that when Lillian was alive, she too was obsessed with a murder that happened in the town the year before. Thinking there is a connection,  the two of them try to figure out who the killer is before he can strike again.

I really loved the mystery aspect of the story, and I had no clue who the murderer was going to be. The ending was very creepy, and I was very scared for Hannah.

I also loved the sweet friendship between Hannah and Finny. I felt bad for him and everything he went though. It sucked when the police were blaming him for the murders, but Finny was used to be blamed for everything bad, and it didn't even phase him when he was arrested. Which made me feel even worse for him.

I really enjoyed Paper Valentine. I had no idea where the story was going to go, and I loved that about it. I am looking forward to reading more from this very talented author!