Name: Damage Done
ISBN: 9780553507492

Amanda Panitch

"Exceedingly clever and surprisingly unsettling, Damage Done is an unforgettable read." --Melissa Marr, New York Times bestselling author of Made for You "In her incredible debut novel, Amanda Panitch leaves you on the edge of your seat. Prepare to be stunned. Prepare to be torn apart." --Roxane Gay, New York Times bestselling author of Bad Feminist "A brilliant thriller. Gillian Flynn for the YA set." --Amy Christine Parker, author of Gated 22 minutes separate Julia Vann's before and after. Before: Julia had a twin brother, a boyfriend, and a best friend. After: She has a new identity, a new hometown, and memories of those twenty-two minutes that refuse to come into focus. At least, that's what she tells the police. Now that she's Lucy Black, her fresh start has attracted the attention of one of the hottest guys in school. And someone much more dangerous. She thought her brother's crimes were behind her. But now she's being forced to confront the dark secrets she thought were safely left behind. How far will Julia go to keep her slate clean? One thing is clear: The damage done can never be erased. It's only just beginning. . . . In this deliciously twisted contemporary thriller, family can be a real killer. For fans of We Were Liars and readers who love unique multiple perspectives that leave clues like breadcrumbs until they reach the stunning conclusion. From the Hardcover edition.

Damage Done

Amelia Lang 

At first I was honestly really bored of the side characters (especially Michael who is the most white bread boy ever) and the plot seemed pretty thin, but Julia’s character and the flashbacks to the shooting were enough to get me hooked. I anticipated the ending, but even still, it was a pretty effective reveal. It also helped smooth over some of the qualms I had with the plot, narrative and characters that I had prior to the big reveal. It was pretty good overall, but I can’t help but wish it had been executed a little better so that I could’ve felt the full effect of the plot. The use of the psychiatrist's notes, for example, were promising but ended up being a weak device that really didn’t serve much of a purpose. Given the content, it was really a much lighter read than it should’ve been.

Emily C Peterson

Damage Done tells the story of high school student Julia Vann, who is the sister of a boy who killed 11 students in a band room and then killed himself. Her family moved to another town and made a new identity for her-- Lucy Black. Completely devastated about the death of her twin brother and the fall out from him choices, Lucy struggles to fit in at a new school. After one year, she finally starts to grow some roots-- a best friend, Alane, and a boyfriend, Michael. However, after she finally seems to be happy, she realizes she is being followed by her brother's old psychiatrist. But why? And what does he want?

This book has one of the most unexpected endings I've ever read. I really enjoyed the twists and turns all the way there.

That being said, I didn't enjoy a lot of the build up. I found it implausible for Michael to completely fall for Lucy so quickly. I also found Lucy's relationships with her parents unbelievable. Also, the writing was hard to follow sometimes, and I would have to read passages a couple times to figure out who was doing what actions, etc.

Overall, I enjoyed the storyline, but not the little pieces that led us to the end.

This book was given to me by the publishers at NetGalley in order for an honest review

Zoë

ive never guessed the ending to a mystery kinda book before but I figured this out by like the 30% mark? nevertheless i still enjoyed the read and i did finish it in a day. the last two chapters tho... OOF i did it and im proud and thats that

Visha Jain

"In the vein of E. Lockhart's We Were Liars and Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl, Panitch's novel delivers a heart-pounding, emotionally charged story." --SLJ 22 minutes separate Julia Vann's before and after. Before: Julia had a twin brother, a boyfriend, and a best friend. After: She has a new identity, a new hometown, and memories of those twenty-two minutes that refuse to come into focus. At least, that's what she tells the police. Now that she's Lucy Black, her fresh start has attracted the attention of one of the hottest guys in school, a boy who will do anything to protect her. But when someone much more dangerous also takes notice, Lucy's forced to confront the dark secrets she thought were safely left behind. How far will Julia go to keep her slate clean? One thing is clear: The damage done can never be erased. It's only just beginning. . . . In this deliciously twisted contemporary YA, family can be a real killer. For fans of We Were Liars and readers who love unique multiple perspectives that leave clues like breadcrumbs until they reach this thriller's stunning conclusion. "The closest we're going to get to a YA Gone Girl. . . . I was shocked and delightfully appalled by the twist and what followed. (Just read it; it's disturbingly wonderful, especially for YA.)" --Entertainment Weekly "Teen fans of Gillian Flynn and James Patterson will embrace Damage Done and clamor for more." --Booklist "Exceedingly clever and surprisingly unsettling, Damage Done is an unforgettable read." --Melissa Marr, New York Times bestselling author of Made for You "In her incredible debut novel, Amanda Panitch leaves you on the edge of your seat. Prepare to be stunned. Prepare to be torn apart." --Roxane Gay, New York Times bestselling author of Bad Feminist "A real page-turner. . . . Nothing can prepare readers for its bombshell ending." --New York Daily News "A brilliant thriller. Gillian Flynn for the YA set." --Amy Christine Parker, author of Gated "If you're a fan of shows like Pretty Little Liars or Revenge, give this book a try." --Bustle.com

Laura

I have been wanting to reread this book for a while now, and recently got my own copy to do just that. I remember reading this book for the first time, and sitting in my bedroom being completely engrossed in the story, unable to stop reading. When I finished the book, I lifted my head up, shook it a few times to get rid of the hazy book fog I was in, and decided I loved it. If I had been in the habit of making Best Of lists back in 2015 this would have been a sure-shot on there. Now, I'm not so sure. I still really liked this book, but I wasn't as in love with it as I was when I first read it. It was still a quick read (for me at least), and I loved Julia's twisted relationship with her brother, but as a whole this book was a lot slower than I remember it being and with way too much building up of her relationship with Michael (thought his name was Finn for some reason- it's been a few years okay don't judge me). I still like it more than I like most YA thrillers, though.

Read more like this review on my blog, http://wwwbookwormbasics.blogspot.com

Damage Done

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