Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Last fall I was lucky enough to win an Instagram giveaway from indie author Christiane Erwin for a copy of her YA supernatural thriller Jude’s Diary. It took me too long to get around to reading it, and even longer to post my review—but it’s never too late to get the word out. This is one author I look forward to supporting and reading more of in the future.

Summary:

It’s senior year, and Alissa is at the top of her game: she’s gotten into her dream school, is acing all her classes, and is about to graduate as valedictorian. But it seems someone is out to sabotage her. Alissa isn’t one to take that kind of insult lying down. She’ll do anything in her power—including manipulating the school outcast Jude Peary—to come out on top. Jude is always scribbling in her notebook, so Alissa plans to use whatever information she can find inside it to her advantage. But Jude isn’t quite who she seems to be, and this plan of Alissa’s may end up being more complicated than she’d anticipated. How far will Alissa go to get what she wants?

***

Jude’s Diary certainly kept me turning the pages to see what would happen next. Alissa is a capable schemer and it’s fun to watch her machinations succeed and fail. She’s so compelling as a flawed main character, and seems so on top of everything at the beginning. It’s interesting to see control slowly slipping from her hands even as the seemingly hapless Jude seems to be lucking out at every turn.

My only complaints about this novel were that the ending felt rushed—just a little too neatly wrapped up—and certain details (which I won’t go into to avoid spoilers) didn’t make sense to me. Still, it’s a suspenseful romp and I look forward to reading more of what I now know is a series. Yes, it turns out that Jude’s Diary is Erwin’s first installment in a series of books featuring Alissa. Can’t wait for the next one!