If I Stay meets One of Us is Lying in this gripping contemporary thriller.When band-geek Ivy and her friends get together, things start with a rousing board game and end with arguments about Star Wars. Her older sister Autumn is a different story. Enigmatic, aloof, and tough as nails, Autumn hasn’t had real friends–or trusted anyone–in years. Even Ivy. But Autumn might not be tough enough. … anyone–in years. Even Ivy.
But Autumn might not be tough enough. After a drug deal gone wrong, Autumn is beaten, bound, and held hostage. Now, trapped between life and death, she leaves her body, seeking help. No one can sense her presence–except her sister.
When Autumn doesn’t come home, Ivy just knows she’s in trouble. Unable to escape the chilling feeling that something isn’t right, Ivy follows a string of clues that bring her closer to rescuing her sister… and closer to danger.
Autumn needs Ivy to find her before time runs out. But soon, both sisters realize that finding her also means untangling the secrets that lead to the truth–about where they’re hiding Autumn, and what Autumn has been hiding.
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One of my goals for 2020 is to read more YA novels, so when I saw The Last Confession of Autumn Casterly by Meredith Tate come up on the Bookish First website and read the first few chapters, I knew I had to read the whole book.
I saw bits of myself in both Autumn, and her sister, Ivy. With Autumn I enjoyed her tough exterior which quite early on we find is hiding a soft interior that is filled with pain and anger. Ivy is the geeky person I am and a lot of my friends are, so I would fit perfectly into their nerd herd. I really enjoyed the pop culture, boardgame, and comic con references that Tate peppered throughout the story. Even if the book didn’t turn out as good as it did, I still would have enjoyed it a lot for that reason.
As to why Autumn is such a juvenile delinquent there are signs early on in the book, but I was still surprised since my mind went in the direction of one person when it was actually someone else. The red herring that Tate mentioned early in the book threw me off of thinking about the other person.
Besides the mystery as to Autumn’s behavior (and I love mysteries) there is also the one as to who has taken her and where they are keeping her. This one I did not see coming at all, so the twist was a wonderful surprise.
Besides the mystery aspects there are also the relationships between sisters, parents and children, and friends. Tate gave the characters a lot of depth and they were well developed, even the secondary characters. Because of this it was easy for me to sympathize with some of them and want to see them with a happy ending. And it also meant that there were others that I really disliked and was glad to read what happened to them at the conclusion of the book.
There is also a supernatural element to the book with Autumn being between the plain of the living and the dead so she is able to kind of communicate with Ivy. I really enjoyed that it’s never really explained and saw it more as a bond that some siblings have even if they have not been that close for awhile.
The Last Confessions of Autumn Casterly is a sweet and thrilling book, one that I highly recommend.
This tale of two sisters reads like a thriller, and with a lot of tragedy, but it’s also hopeful and beautifully written.
The characters in this book are amazing and so inspiring. The author really lived in these girls’ skin and I was blown away at how real they were. I felt their struggles and pain, their hopes and hardships.
Though this is billed as a YA crossover book, it’s very relevant for adults who like family dramas and page-turning suspense. There’s a mystery element that kept me flipping the pages long past my bedtime!
A great ending too, one that offers hope and healing.
i absolutely loved this book it was one i couldn’t put down i loved plot and all the characters what got me interested was that it was being compared to if i stay and one of us is lying which is two of my favorite books and the description interested and this is told in two point of views by two sisters who have nothing in common anymore and then after one of the sisters go missing and the other looks for her as autumn tries to chose between life and death and the only one who can sense sense this her little sister with the help of the “band geeks” search for answers i loved the plot and the authors writing and it made it so easy and fast to get through cause i didn’t want to put it down and i would totally recommended this for people who like thriller’s and mystery novels
This is a story about two sisters. Ivy Casterly is the band geek, hanging out with her friends, playing board games, talking Star Wars and all things nerdy. Autumn Casterly is the loaner. She sells pills to her classmates, and doesn’t let anyone get close. The girls lost their mother at young ages and it’s affected them. They are virtual stranger to each other, even though they live in the same house. But, when something terrible happens to Autumn, and she’s hovering between life and death, only Ivy feels that’s she must find her sister, and possibly save her life.
This was such a good book. The story was beautifully written, and you could picture everything that is happening to each character. And the characters seem to jump of led the page and you feel what they feel. This book shows you how one event can completely change a person. As it does with Autumn. And shows the bond of sisterhood doesn’t diminish, no matter the distance we put in front of us.
I really enjoyed reading this story. Its a deep story about some difficult subjects. But it’s written so well.
A sharp and biting look at the bonds of sisterhood. I loved it.
The Last Confession of Autumn Casterly hooked me from the first chapter. The sisters Ivy and Autumn lost their mother to cancer three years ago, and their father has remarried. Ivy is a nerd girl band geek and Autumn is the “bad girl”, dealing drugs and getting into trouble. They barely communicate, but when Autumn is kidnapped, Ivy knows something is very wrong and does not give up on Autumn despite others assuming that Autumn’s disappearance is just due to her own bad behavior. This book is a well written thriller with excellent characters, and skillfully explores the bond between the sisters, friendships, and families. The author also examines how girls’ lives are valued less than those of boys. It was hard to put down and thought provoking.
I don’t even know how to put into words how much I loved this book. I would’ve definitely finished it in 1 sitting if I didn’t have so much going on, but I did finish it in less than 24 hours, so that’s still a good sign. My heart is racing, I’m super emotional (and I’m a person who doesn’t tend to get emotional at all in books). This book had a lot of heavy touchy subjects, and it talked about them in a very eloquent and beautiful way. It is the story about 2 sisters who are polar opposites, but come together in the end, which I genuinely love. It should however have trigger warnings for certain things before the story begins.
Wins:
-Autumn and Ivy. I love them. Both of them. Their individual stories are absolutely amazing, their perspectives are amazing. And god bless Ivy for being thic and proud of it! MY QUEEN!
-handling very touchy subjects. I’m going to give out a few spoilers here so SPOILER WARNING. Autumn has 2 very touchy story plots that people can and will get triggered by. Her storyline addresses not only drug dealer, but also drug abuse and rape, and it’s not done in a IM DOING THIS BECAUSE ITS TRENDY kind of way, they stories that do that genuinely offend me, but in this story it is addressed very boldly in a way that people can learn from and understand
-the plot. It’s a very unique plot, the whole ghost wandering around thing is nothing new, but it’s done in a completely different way than I’ve ever read. The way that Ivy becomes a detective for her sister that’s not even close to her is amazing, I really loved it
-the romance. Super cute, the first reveal I was dying, cheering out, and then with the final reveal of the romance I was smitten and very happy. Very cute. Loved it
Opportunities
-can we throw away the “pretty skinny popular girl, versus her fat, dorky very unpopular sister” troupe, I’m sick of it. Stop doing it. I want to grab authors who flaunt it by the front for their shirts and shake them.
All in all, it was the better version of If I Stay. Please DO NOT come out with a storyline ruining sequel, I will take back every good thing I’ve said. In conclusion was the Last Confession of Autumn Casterly worth it? 1000% yes. Pick it up, again just be aware of some trigger warnings that aren’t mentioned.