I. Read a lot of books but this one I struggled with, I found it very confusing at times, and I had to reread the last few sentences every time to remember where I was up to
I expected a fast paced thriller from the publishers notes but was disappointed
This resulted in me not being able to complet this book

This book is a tough one for me. I'm honestly not sure how I feel. While I was intrigued it also fell a little flat for me.

Enjoyed reading this one. Intriguing, mysterious. I only gave it 3-stars because I feel like the story was a bit slow & could've benfitted from more detail. However, I would recommend it to others who would enjoy this story!

To start, let me say that I LOVED Marieke Nijkamp's YA debut This Is Where It Ends and could not wait to read this book. I began reading with very high expectations and to be honest, I was underwhelmed - at least in the beginning.

The story takes place in Lost, Alaska. Corey and Kyra are teen girls - best friends - who find themselves being separated when Corey is forced to move when her mother takes a job in Winnipeg. This is more troubling for Kyra, who has bipolar disorder. Corey, it seems, is the only one who loves Kyra in spite of her illness. The town dislikes her and treats her accordingly. The book tells the story of the girls in snippets of time both present and past. When Corey comes back to visit seven months after her move, she finds a town that is completely different than the one she left. In this case, different does not equal good.

The beginning of the book seemed monotonous to me. However, about one third of the way in, I became engaged. I was fully invested by the halfway point, and by the end, I couldn't turn the pages fast enough as I raced to the conclusion. Nijkamp did NOT disappoint with this book. By turns, it is a story of love, friendship, support, abandonment and loss. Don't let the YA label put you off - there is something for everyone in these pages. Definitely worth the read!

This book kept you guessing! When Corey learns her friend Kyra has died, and returns to Lost Creek to pay her final respects, she never expected the homecoming she received from her hometown. The entire book peels another layer off the story of how Kyra was finally accepted, and how it killed her. Small town suspense at its finest.

I received a copy of BEFORE I LET GO on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the publisher and author.

Five stars and here's why:

BEFORE I LET GO is BRILLIANT. Marieke Nijkamp delivers the most compelling and original modern-day suspense story that leaves you with the shivers. Seriously. It’s been days and I’m still thinking about it.

I love the premise. It’s difficult to go into detail without giving away the important parts, but it’s a page-turner and I devoured it in one sitting. The story format is unique and the diverse set of characters will keep you intrigued until the very end.

The bottom line: Sometimes you can feel like a stranger in your own beloved hometown. In the span of a week, Corey tries to figure out what happened in the few months she left her hometown, Lost, for school. She tries to solve what really happened to her best friend Kyra and to the town and that’s when everything glitters is not gold and her friend’s death may not be what it seems.

If you’re looking for a happy ending, this book isn’t for you. The story is unsettling, thrilling, and mysterious, but at the same time, it will captivate you. I loved it and can’t wait to read more by this author. Highly recommend.

Corey returns to the town she grew up in after her best friend falls through a crack in the ice and drowns. She wants to know the truth about Kyra’s death and even if it hurts. Lost Creek is a town built on secrets and you need to be careful when you visit. It is the town where it all happened and where the inhabitants seem almost brainwashed or hypnotized. Be careful! Something in this town might come to steal your life away.
The book tells the story of a special person, the town she lived in and its inhabitants. I can imagine events like this happening in real life and it makes me feel a little sad. In addition, I feel for anyone struggling with mental health issues. Life can be hard enough without any extra pressures. It also made me consider of the great works created by artists during some of their episodes.
The time Corey spends in the time seemed a little drawn out to me. On the other hand, I thought the author did a great job of incorporating a bit of philosophy, history and medieval interest into the storyline.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a digital copy of the final manuscript in return for an honest review.

This was a bit of a strange one. I was drawn to it because it was set in Alaska & for some reason that setting always appeals to me.

Corey & Kyra were best friends. They lived in Lost- a small settlement going through hard times as the mineral mining was running out. Corey was a scientist & Kyra was a dreamer & a collector of stories. She was also bi-polar.In their small community this meant she was treated with fear and suspicion. During her manic phases she found some release in startlingly realistic paintings.

When Corey's mother gets another job the friends have to part. Swearing to keep in touch Corey goes on the an exciting new life at a boarding school that she fits into perfectly. Although letter flow between the two friends they do diminish.

Corey had planned to go back to Lost for a visit when she gets the shocking news that Kyra is dead. On arriving back in Lost she finds that the community's attitude has gone through a complete change. She refuses to believe that Kyra had taken her own life and she searches for the truth- a dangerous path.

At times I got a bit tired of this one & at others I couldn't put it down. It's a bit of a mixed bag but well worth a read.

Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review & review this book.

I can't say I disliked the story, but I had hang-ups with the character development, plot and pacing. Okay, so these are all rather important aspects of a novel... so I'm trying to figure out why I wanted to keep reading. One factor was definitely the remote setting of Lost, Alaska. The town itself felt like the perfect place for a mystery... especially when the townsfolk were acting so bizarre- I was intrigued by how "off" everything seemed.
Nijkamp has a style of writing that is forthright, nothing frilly- yet still conveys emotion in the reader.
"The stars we see in the night sky are so far away that it takes years for us to see it when they die. I can't help but wonder if Kyra had burned out long before I left- and if we simply hadn't seen it." I felt like I had to find out how it all turned out. This novel sheds some light on mental illness- and what it means to live with bipolar disorder. How it is often easier to segregate yourself from others for the sake of self-preservation. Kyra is tired of protecting everyone by pretending everything is okay. I felt exhausted just reading about the pressure she experienced in everyday life.
When I think about what turned me off of this novel, the list is noticeably longer. First of all, Corey. One-dimensional... though she was committed to uncovering Kyra's story, I didn't find her to be memorable. I wanted to know more about who SHE was, not who she was with Kyra.
By approximately half-way through the novel, I felt a monotony in the "suspense"... i.e.) the reaction of the townsfolk to Corey and her determined questioning to get to the bottom of the mystery of Kyra's death. It all started to sound very repetitive and I found myself skimming to get to the end more quickly. The ending felt unlikely and somewhat contrived (though I'm still not clear on the genre).
Mixed emotions, but ultimately I don't plan on purchasing this one for our library.
Thank you #NetGalley for the opportunity to review this title. "Before I Let Go"

This was an amazing read. The story grabbed you from the beginning and kept you captivated. I would recommend this book.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Sourcebook Fire for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.

WOW!! Just WOW!!

Very suspenseful! I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning to finish this book. I couldn't wait to see what was going to happen next and solve the mystery as to what happened to Kyra. This is a pretty dark read and it didn't end how I thought it would but I liked that it kept me interested and invested in the story.

Nijkamp deftly handles the complexity of adolescent emotion in this coming of age story placed in a small Alaskan town. Her vivid descriptions of the rugged beauty enhance the story, providing the perfect backdrop for this stirring tale. In painting the beauty of friendship between Corey and her best friend Kyra, she illustrates the longing of the heart for connection and unconditional acceptance. Kyra's bravery in learning to manage her mental health challenges stand in stark contrast to the inability of her family and friends--and her best friend Corey--to embrace her as she is.

The twists and tension ratchet up as the story unfolds, and I couldn't pull myself away until I'd finished this story.

I look forward to what comes next from Marieke Nijkamp!

I truly could not put this book down. I thought I knew what I was getting myself into, but it quickly veered away from that and I suddenly could not let go of this main character. Nijkamp was able to develop every single character (both dead and alive), and nothing felt like it fell flat as the story moved along. Even as the book began, I was I was immediately pulled in by narrator and then pulled further down the rabbit hole by the slightly off town and it's citizens. It was a novel full of intrigue and it excites me for future novels from Nijkamp.

Not great. I couldn’t get into the story at all as it moved too slowly. Failed to grab my attention at all, and I struggled to get through it.

Corey receives some devastating news about her best friend Kyra, a friend she had not seen in many years. Guilt overwhelms Corey as she was planning on visiting Kyra in the distant future. It was Corey whom able to get away from the isolation of the small town of Lost Creek in Alaska. But the news of her friend brings her back home. To its isolations and its secrets.

The circumstances surrounding Kyra’s death are not all that it seems. She was found frozen underneath the ice a lack that should have been frozen solid. She had battled mental illness and was judged to have taken her own life. After all, she did leave a note addressed to Corey. And it will be Corey to discover what lies beneath the surface of the lake and the dark town of Lost Creek.

I rarely give ratings lower than 3 stars unless a book has a flaw throughout the narrative. My biggest issue with Before I Let Goes that lack of character development. Unfortunately, Corey, the main character remained two-dimensional and it was difficult to become invested in her plight. The story as a mystery was dark and had a good ending, but the journey to get there was monotonous.

Thank you, NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I'm really quite stuck on this... although I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book & was very invested in the story line, I'm not sure how to take the writing style. Some parts I thought were beautifully written, but other parts I found as though the writer was trying to hard to sound emotional depth. A lot of the dialogue between Corey & Kyra in the flashbacks was too unrealistic. Although I really enjoyed this story, I don't think I'll search for other books by this author as I'm not too keen on the writing style.

The premise of the book is Kyra struggles with mental health issues and is unaccepted in Lost until the town begins to view Kyra’s creative art as hope for the future of The town. Unfortunately the town lose sight of the actual person Kyra is When Kyra dies this is met with acceptance as to how things were meant to play. Out Corey was Kyra’s best friend and when she returns to Lost she cannot understand and accept the attitude of the town. This was an ok read but not one that kept me engaged. I really felt for Kyra and wanted to see how things played out which did keep me reading.

Corey hasn't been gone very long from Lost Creek, the tiny Alaskan town she once called home. She promised her best friend, Kyra, she'd come back. When she does return, it's for Kyra's funeral, and it hasn't taken long for the rest of Lost Creek to give Corey the title of outsider. And the town is keeping secrets about Kyra's death and her last few months of life. Can Corey uncover the truth before she becomes Lost Creek's next victim?

Marieke Nijkamp's YA suspense Before I Let Go is filled with atmosphere. The most compelling aspect is the town of Lost Creek with all its creepy quirkiness. It's a fast-paced read with an intriguing mystery, though the twists weren't entirely surprising.

The very first thing that caught my eye about this book was the cover. It has that chilling vibe that fits well-enough with the Alaskan setting of the story.

There is a little town in Alaska named Lost Creek, where nothing ever changes. Corey lived there with her best friend Kyra for years, until Corey moved away, leaving Kyra all alone in a community that has never accepted her. But they promised to wait for each other. The time has finally come for Corey to visit, but days before, Kyra unexpectedly dies. Corey still returns to Lost, desperately trying to figure out what happened, but the townspeople are saying the oddest things.
It was meant to be.
It was her time to go.
So be it.

I was definitely quite invested in the story from the beginning, and I really loved the beautiful writing, which was quite haunting. I'm personally a fan of unconventional writing styles that may not always fit the "correct English rules," and the author manipulated the writing to fit the mood of the story well. There are sections, however, where the writing style looks a bit like the transcript of a play or something of that sort, and I definitely noticed myself becoming less engaged during these parts.

The plot was very interesting from the jump, and I enjoyed reading Corey's return to Lost, but as the book wore on, the plot became a bit repetitive and slow. The cycle was that Corey would ask a Lost resident about Kyra; they would say something that would upset Corey, and the cycle would repeat all over again.

Therefore, although I quite liked learning about the characters, and the story itself was definitely very character-centric around Corey and Kyra, I wasn't the huge fan of how the plot played out. The ending felt like a combination of anticlimactic and out of the blue, especially considering how long the build-up was.

Overall, I would still say that I loved the setting and the vibe of the book overall, but the plot only gets a "meh" from me.

Corey returns to her home town, Lost, Alaska to grieve her best friend's sudden death. Ruled a suicide, Corey works hard to uncover the last months of her friend's life. She knows that something is not right about the story the townspeople are telling, but I don't think she suspected what the truth really was. This book kept me on edge until the end!
I received an advanced readers copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.