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Meliora by Ghost

10.0 (2 Ratings) Rate It

Album

Meliora, the third long-player by Sweden's Ghost, looks back at what made their 2011 debut, Opus...

How to Hypnotise Anyone - Confessions of a Rogue Hypnotist

The Rogue Hypnotist

9.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

Book

The number 1 Amazon kindle bestseller on hypnosis is now available in paperback! Finally the hidden...

Hazel (1853 KP) rated The Deviants in Books

Dec 14, 2018

This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

The Deviants by British author C. J. Skuse is an addictive, shocking young adult thriller about friendship, secrets and revenge. Set in a seaside town in the South West of England five friends are reunited through getting revenge on people causing difficulties in their lives. However some people are holding back secrets from the others, ones that cause more problems than not revealing them protects.

Ella has been with her boyfriend Max for five years but cracks are beginning to show in their relationship. Max is desperate to take their relationship to the next level, however Ella seems reluctant, if not scared, to do so. It is clear that something happened in Ella’s past that she refuses to acknowledge, relying on brutal training for the Commonwealth Games as a way of releasing her feelings. When circumstances cause Ella and Max to reconnect with schoolmates Fallon and Corey, Ella is quick to plot revenge on the people antagonizing them, using this as a new method of dealing with her past.

Through interactions with other characters, readers piece together the secret Ella has buried inside herself. By withholding these horrible experiences from everyone, Ella is slowly destroying herself. She believes she is protecting the people she loves, but is soon to realize that she is causing others to jump to dangerous conclusions.

Ella tells the story as if she is looking back on what has happened during the summer break from school. It is evident that she is opening up to an anonymous person, whom readers may initially presume to be a therapist. It is not until the shocking, heart-breaking conclusion that we eventually learn this character’s identity.

From the beginning it is not clear what the storyline of The Deviants is. For a very long time it is impossible to guess where the author is going with the narrative, however that does not stop it from being enjoyable. Ella’s account is occasionally amusing with realistic situations teenagers may find themselves in, although perhaps not all in one friendship circle: romantic relationships, pregnancy, exams, bullying, physical disability, homosexuality… As a result of the wishy-washy plot line, the ending is all the more shocking.

It is easy to relate to all of the main characters – although not necessarily like them all. Each represents a different set of feelings and personalities that all young adult readers will be familiar with, thus The Deviants is a book everyone can relate to.

I honestly did not know what to expect when I began this novel, however I easily got into the narrative and enjoyed reading about Ella and her friends. There are a few topics that are difficult to read about, so some readers may feel uncomfortable especially if they have ever been *SPOILER* abused. The Deviants is a book that fans of contemporary young adult readers should enjoy, and has the potential to become quite popular.