Name: kelsey's review of You Must Not Miss by Katrina Leno
Item: You Must Not Miss
Rating: 4
Author: kelsey

Katrina Leno

"Channeling early Stephen King at his best" (Kirkus Reviews, starred review), You Must Not Miss is a twisted and suspenseful story of female rage for fans of One of Us Is Lying and Carrie. Magpie Lewis started writing in her yellow notebook the day after her family self-destructed. The day her father ruined her mother's life. The day Eryn, Magpie's sister, skipped town and left her to fend for herself. The day of Brandon Phipp's party. Now Magpie is called a slut in the hallways of her high school, her former best friend won't speak to her, and she spends her lunch period with a group of misfits who've all been as socially exiled as she has. And so, feeling trapped and forgotten, Magpie retreats to her notebook, dreaming up a magical place called Near. Near is perfect--a place where her father never cheated, her mother never drank, and Magpie's own life never derailed so suddenly. She imagines Near so completely, so fully, that she writes it into existence, right in her own backyard. At first, Near is a peaceful escape, but soon it becomes something darker, somewhere nightmares lurk and hidden truths come to light. Soon it becomes a place where Magpie can do anything she wants...even get her revenge. You Must Not Miss is an intoxicating tale of magic, menace, and the monsters that live inside us all.

You Must Not Miss

Catalina

One of Us Is Lying meets Carrie in this suspenseful story of friendship, family, and revenge. Magpie Lewis started writing in her yellow notebook the day after her family self-destructed. The day her father ruined her mother's life. The day Eryn, Magpie's sister, skipped town and left her to fend for herself. The day of Brandon Phipp's party. Now Magpie is called a slut in the hallways of her high school, her former best friend won't speak to her, and she spends her lunch period with a group of misfits who've all been as socially exiled as she has. And so, feeling trapped and forgotten, Magpie retreats to her notebook, dreaming up a magical place called Near. Near is perfect - a place where her father never cheated, her mother never drank, and Magpie's own life never derailed so suddenly. She imagines Near so completely, so fully, that she writes it into existence, right in her own backyard. At first, Near is a peaceful escape, but soon it becomes something darker, somewhere nightmares lurk and hidden truths come to light. Soon it becomes a place where Magpie can do anything she wants...even get her revenge. You Must Not Miss is an intoxicating, twisted tale of magic, menace, and the monsters that live inside us all.

kelsey

Alexa M

this was... very weird. but, i liked it!! really love Katrina Leno's writing style.

Grace O'Callaghan

CW: Alcoholism, talk of suicide, talk of eating disorders, murder, rape, slut shaming, cheating, abusive friendship, panic attack, blood

This was exactly my brand of weird. I think my favourite genre is magical realism and contemporary with a magical twist. There’s just something about magic in ordinary places that really appeals to me.

Magpie is not okay. Not since she walking in on her aunt and dad together. Not since her sister Erin left her with their alcoholic mother. Not since what happened at the party. But to escape it all Magpie writes in her yellow notebook of a place called Near. Where her dad never cheated, where Erin never left and where nothing happened at the party. But what if Near is actually real?

I don’t think there’s much I can say about the characters. Magpie is definitely intriguing and I enjoyed reading about her friendships. If you’re looking for LGBTQ+ rep Ben is trans and Jeremy is bisexual.

This book is really about rape culture and how vile it is. That even though somebody knows the real truth, they’ll still keep quiet about it because it’s easier. It’s about the fact that it doesn’t matter what the victim wore, or whether they were drunk, or whether they said yes and are now saying no. No means no regardless of how many ‘yes’s came before.

It also features many other heavy topics such as cheating, toxic friendships, suicide and more which were all handled very well in my opinion.

I absolutely adored the plot. I just love the idea that Magpie carved out her own bit of happiness to escape her reality. I think everyone can relate to feeling like that. 

Whilst Summer of Salt is a quiet book about rape, this is the complete opposite. It’s an extremely angry book with the anger bubbling under the surface until it explodes at the end. I highly enjoyed the ending, but I can see other people not liking it as it’s quite open ended.

Overall a really important story about rape culture with a fantastical twist and revenge. I prefer Summer of Salt as it’s more to my personal taste, but I still think this is a really unique story with an important message.

Sara Bean Duncan

Oh this was an uncomfortable one. Added to my TBR after loving how unsettling Horrid left me and this did not disappoint!

What if you could create a place away from your (horrible) high school life that removed everything that’s led to the downward spiral your life was on? And what if that place let you be a little revenge hungry?

Without getting spoiler-y, the ending pushed this from four to five stars for me.

Emily Perkovich

This book was an easy read with a bit of a horror vibe which is exactly what I have the mental capacity to read right now. I do have to say that I have one major complaint. I cannot visualize a single character in this entire book. Not only were there no visual clues, but aside from Allison, I don’t feel like anyone had a strong enough personality for them to become solid in my mind.

Kayla Smith

Katrina Leno may become an auto-buy author for me. After just reading a few chapters, I pre-ordered her upcoming release 'Horrid' and I found a few of her past releases on ThriftBooks. Her concepts are so weird in the best way and something about it just completely works.

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I received this book from LBYR and The Novl! Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 3/5

Publication Date: April 23, 2019

Genre: YA Contemporary/Magical Realism

Recommended Age: 15+ (TW suicide, gore, TW rape, and language)

Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers

Pages: 304

Amazon Link

Synopsis: Magpie Lewis started writing in her yellow notebook the day her family self-destructed. That was the night Eryn, Magpie's sister, skipped town and left her to fend for herself. That was the night of Brandon Phipp's party.

Now, Magpie is called a slut whenever she walks down the hallways of her high school, her former best friend won't speak to her, and she spends her lunch period with a group of misfits who've all been socially exiled like she has. And so, feeling trapped and forgotten, Magpie retreats to her notebook, dreaming up a place called Near.

Near is perfect--somewhere where her father never cheated, her mother never drank, and Magpie's own life never derailed so suddenly. She imagines Near so completely, so fully, that she writes it into existence, right in her own backyard. It's a place where she can have anything she wants...even revenge. 

Review: I thought overall this was a very thought provoking book. It’s emotional and raw and it really encapsulates how divorce and family scandal and rape really affect a teenager. I really felt for Magpie and I wanted just to give her a hug. I feel like this book is well developed and the plot is interesting throughout the novel. The book is also well written.

However, I am so confused by what I just read about this book. I’m still thinking about whether it’s really a book about escapism or if it has moments of real magical realism. I feel like this book, which is supposedly set in the modern time, reaches a bit to remain modern. A lot of the issues could have been solved by simple new technological advancements. I also have a hard time believing that in a time period where kids are glued to their phones the liars are getting called out by simple things that can be solved by filming the event or photos. The ending is also sour, I feel like we were supposed to feel sympathy for this victim blamer and slut shamer because her life got a little hard, but not nearly as hard as the main character. I don’t know, I’m just overall confused.

Verdict: I’m still thinking about this book and I’m not sure if that’s good or bad.

Sarah Willhite

This book was so good and for some reason I put pause on it. I read over half of it today because I could not put it down. I read Horrid just before this one and enjoyed this one just as much. I expected none the less. I had creepy vibes at the end and I really loved that. It had got drug awareness for alcoholics. I will definitely pick up more of her novels because I love the writing style. I definitely recommend this!

Natali Topliff

Magpie is barely keeping afloat, over the last six months everything in her life has fallen apart and Magpie can hardly hold on anymore. Despite meeting some new friends that like her for her, when Magpie realises her notepad has created a new world, she knows she can use it to get revenge on those that ruined her life.

Megan

OMG I LOOOOOOOVED THIS!! Read it in this vlog hereeee: https://youtu.be/a_OEscr29z4

Belle Ellrich

*I WAS PROVIDED A PHYSICAL ARC FROM NOVL IN RETURN FOR AN HONEST REVIEW. THIS DOES NOT AFFECT MY OPINION*

Do y'know those books that just kind of surprise you and shock you into realizing they're turning into something you didn't see coming?

Well, You Must Not Miss is one of those.

Magpie is a character I'm sure we can all relate to in one way or another. Her best friend turned on her, her best friend's boyfriend forced her to do something against her will, her dad cheated on her mom with her aunt, her mom is an alcoholic, her sister left her to fend for herself, and she's pretty much losing it. Did that cover everything?

This book was angsty and dramatic; exactly what I needed after reading so many frilly, happy books for the past month and a half. However, with this came some sections that were iffy and pretty slow. Good news is that, when those came, they usually passed super quickly.

Something I found interesting was the fantasy elements in this book. After pretty much giving into life's letdowns, Magpie discovers that a world she's thought up and imagined for the longest time has come into existence... and so has her "subconscious".

Another interesting thing to pay attention to in this novel was the inner turmoil the main character dealt with. This book was a little all over the place, and the reason I state this is for those who are reading comprehension people like me. That "all over the place" vibe is due to the mental struggles Magpie faces, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

All in all, I did enjoy this book. It was different, and I definitely liked how the author implemented different genres together. All the characters developed thoroughly, and the plot moved along. For this, I rate You Must Not Miss 3.75 stars, and I do suggest you pick up this book and give it a chance.

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You Must Not Miss by Katrina Leno

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