Review of Sketchy by Olivia Samms

Title: Sketchy

Author: Olivia Samms

Published by: Amazon Childrens Publishing

Released: April 30, 2013

Summary: Bea Washington just got out of rehab. She's been clean for 3 months and change. Upon returning home, she discovers that her parents don't trust her and urine tests become the norm. She must attend AA meetings, and she's forced to start a new school. As if that wasn't bad enough, Bea also has the strange ability to see into people's minds and sketch the images that appear. It's an involuntary power that Bea wishes she didn't have. One art class, Bea sees into the mind of Willa Pressman, a popular girl who was recently the victim of a rape and attempted murder. Bea is pulled into Willa's memories and it is up to her to uncover the killer before he is able to strike again.

My Thoughts: I just want to thank Netgalley and Amazon Children's Publishing for letting me review an ARC of this book. I really enjoyed this story, from the first scene I was hooked. The opening scene of the story was so creepy and perfectly executed and from there I was just sucked into the story. It's a great start to a new series and I can't wait to read more of Bea's adventures.

I loved Bea's unique ability and just her awesome artistic skills. I've always wished that I had fantastic art skills, so reading about a character who could draw anything was very interesting. I also enjoyed the  character of Bea and how she was trying to fight her drug addiction. The drug addiction itself was another interesting aspect of the story that was believable and well written. I wanted Bea to prevail against it and find the killer all at the same time. I was rooting for Bea in my head.

There were only a couple aspects of the story that bugged me. One was the gay best friend. He just showed up too suddenly, their friendship was too instantaneous to really be believable, and he just felt like a gay stereotype. I think cultivation of a real friend for Bea would have been better than the sort of place holder that he was.

Another thing that bugged me was some of Bea's decisions that she made, especially when she was in pursuit of the killer. She just didn't make smart decisions and she's lucky someone showed up to save her. 

Overall, I thought Sketchy was a great book and a fantastic introduction to a new series. It had a great, dark edge to it and I can't wait to read more of Bea's adventures.

BOOKCITMENT LEVEL 4/5

Intense! Great Start to a New Series.