2011: #19 – The Raising (Laura Kasischke)

Book #19 was The Raising by Laura Kasischke. The back of the book reads:

Last year Godwin Honors Hall was draped in black. The university was mourning the loss of one of its own: Nicole Werner, a blond, beautiful, straight-A sorority sister tragically killed in a car accident that left her boyfriend, who was driving, remarkably—some say suspiciously—unscathed.

Although a year has passed, as winter begins and the nights darken, obsession with Nicole and her death reignites: She was so pretty. So sweet-tempered. So innocent. Too young to die.

Unless she didn’t.

Because rumor has it that she’s back.

The Raising was an incredibly well-crafted novel. Kasischke takes us by the hand and pulls us through, bouncing from the time before the accident, to after, without ever confusing the reader about "when" we are. The pacing in the latter half of the novel is exquisite, and she really takes to heart the advice "Never take the reader where they want to go."

Plot-wise, it’s difficult to not feel sorry for some of the characters. Particularly, Shelly and Mira, whose lives are irrevocably changed by an event that had nothing to do with them.  They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. The students are conflicted and confused and a little bit crazy, just like real college students. The entire conspiracy is a bit far-fetched, but the story is told so well that it doesn’t really matter how well it holds together in the end.

Kasischke is a new author for me, and I definitely would pick her up again.

This book was a review copy.

Other reviews:

#316 ~ The Raising : literatehousewife.com
Life in the Thumb: ‘The Raising‘ by Laura Kasischke (TLC Tour Stop)
Reading Extravaganza: The Raising by Laura Kasischke
DeSeRt RoSe BoOkLoGuE: The Raising by Laura Kasischke
The Raising by Laura Kasischke Will Keep You Guessing Until The End!

Page count: 496 (’11 total: 4,948) | Approximate word count: 124,000 (’11 total: 1,778,552)

2010: London Bridges (James Patterson)
2009: Undead and Unemployed (MaryJanice Davidson)
2008: Caught Stealing (Charlie Huston)
2007: Die Trying (Lee Child)
2006: Skinny Dip (Carl Hiaasen)
2005: The Haunting of Hill House (Shirley Jackson)

Used in these Challenges: Countdown Challenge 2011; 2011 E-book Reading Challenge; ARC Reading Challenge 2011; New Author Challenge 2011; Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge 2011;