Review Detail

Slide is a true mystery. It keeps you reading – clueless and near-frustranted – until the ‘big reveal.’

I really liked how the author described how Vee ‘slides.’ It was really clearly conveyed in just a few words, and I felt that opening with a scene in which Vee slides really gave us a good feel of what it was like, how it works, and what exactly Vee sees and feels. It’s also original, and filled with endless possibilities. With an ability like this, anything can happen!

But while I liked how we came to know how sliding works, it frustrated me that we didn’t know any background information on Vee and her ability to slide. The author didn’t tell us anything about how she came to discover sliding, how she got the ability to slide (was it hereditary? Did something happen to her? What?), how she discovered how it works, etc. When adding factors into a story, they need to not only make sense, but they can’t just be ‘there.’ In other words, a ‘who,’ a ‘what,’ a ‘where,’ a ‘when,’ and a ‘how,’ needs to be addressed. But they weren’t when the author talked about Vee’s sliding ability.

Also, I felt like the way the author portrayed high school and all it’s students was off. Everyone seemed to snobby, too superficial, too self-obsessed, and too clueless. Vee, Rollins, and Zane seemed to be the only rational, normal teenagers in their high school, which is pretty hard to believe. Okay, there can be some people who are too superficial, self-obsessed, snobby, and so on, but while there are those kind of people everywhere, there’s also decent people everywhere; nice people. But it didn’t seem that way in Vee’s high school.

I liked Vee and Zane’s relationship, though. Despite Slide‘s short length, it didn’t seem too fast or rushed. They were a sweet couple, too, and you could tell that Zane genuinely felt for Vee. There were a couple ‘aww’ moments that made you want to melt into a sugary puddle, and ones that made you really smile.

But I kind of felt bad for Rollins, as his feelings were really obvious from the very beginning, and Vee and Zane all but flaunted their couple-status in front of him. Then Vee goes on to be suspicious about him for leaving and acting all strange, and all I want to do is slap her, because it’s so freaking obvious that he isn’t sneaking off to kill anyone while she and Zane makes googly eyes at each other.

But while the pacing was great at the middle and the beginning, I felt like the ending was too rushed. Vee and Zane – without giving away any spoilers, it all all happened too quickly, and she got over it and all but forgot way too quickly. Also, while the murderer reveal was really shocking (the ‘why didn’t I think of that? That makes so much sense!’ kind), I felt like the author brought in the big reveal too soon. We could’ve done with a few more murders to build up on the tension and the suspense, and a couple more slides to mix everything up. At one point in all my favorite murder mysteries, everyone seems like a suspect. That’s the most tension-ridden, suspense-filled part – my favorite part. But I felt like the ‘big reveal’ was brought in too soon, and so the author didn’t really have time to hit that part. Bummer.

But overall, it’s a pretty good story – a suspenseful murder mystery containing a pink-haired heroine, some awfully sweet scenes, and an awesome ability. If you like murder mysteries, Slide might be a story for you to take a look at.