I was kind of torn on my review for this. I liked it enough that I had to keep reading to see where it was going, but wasn't all that thrilled it's the writing in general.

One of the best parts of this book is Marieke's description of physical places. She has a way of really bringing you into the physicality of the story with her portrayals of the settings in the book.
A little creepy at times with some of the storyline but overall a great read. Corey and Kyra's relationship is believable and heartwarming.
I did like how the chapter set up made reading a breeze. The chapters were short and concise.
Overall great read!

I really wanted to love this book, as I am always looking for the great thriller in a YA format. As a quick summary, Corey visits her old home, Lost Creek, after her best friend Kyra drowns, under the ice. However, apparently not everything is as it appears on small-town Lost Creek.

Before I Let Go, by Marieke Nijkamp, had such great potential but it fell short, even though I was intrigued since the beginning of the book. The book just didn’t seem to pick up for me. The story felt too repetitive and while it felt like it started well, it just didn’t seem to go anywhere.
I wish I could have rated this higher, but I felt confused and not very entertained while reading this book.
Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher for a pre-publication ebook in exchange for an honest review.

I hate to say it, but I did not enjoy this book. It felt like a ghost story but with no ghost. I didn’t feel like I got closure on Kyra’s death. There was no justice. No finality. I had high hopes for this book but it didn’t live up to them :(

I loved this book!
An amazing read with suspense, drama, intensified moments and love.
The reading became a bit sad for me at times; which made the storyline more capturing and real.
Praise to the author

I actually requested a copy of this book on Netgalley and was never approved but the story was so intriguing to me that I actually decided I HAD to read it so I bought it. This is my first read by this author and I can tell you it will not be my last.. The story is about Corey and her best friend Kyra. Corey returns to her childhood town after hearing that her best friend committed suicide. Kyra has been battling mental illness for sometime and Corey promised to come back for her. Kyra has always been an outsider to the town of Lost until Corey leaves and then becomes the towns prophet through her paintings. Corey is confused by the way that everyone in the Alaskan town has changed there out look on there friend since when Corey lived in town Kyra and her mental illness were seen as an outcast and now the outcast has become Corey. I love how this story explores the bonds of friendship even in death and also the concept of how far a town will go to stay in one piece. Kyra and Corey’s friendship was heartwarming and sad, and I enjoyed Corey’s attempts to find out the truth about her friend. In the end, though, I still wasn’t quite sure what happened. An interesting, unpredictable read. The only thing I suggest for anyone who plans on reading this book is remember that this is fiction and while the author takes some liberties on reality it is a great unpredictable read.

update was approved in April still a great read!

Before I Let Go
Marieke Nijkamp

A young adult story of friendship, loss and the search for the truth

⭐️⭐️⭐️

SUMMARY
As she was moving away, Cory promised her best friend Kyra that she would always stay in touch and be there for her. But just days before Cory is to return for a visit to the remote village of the Lost Creek, Alaska, Kyra dies. Cory is devastated and confused. When she arrives in Lost Creek things are different. The entire community is whispering about the town’s lost daughter, saying Kyra’s death was meant to be. Townspeople push Cora away like she was a stranger. But Corey knows that she knew Kyra better than anyone and something is very wrong. Kyra suffered from being bipolar, and the medications rarely helped her. The one thing that she could do to channel her energy was to paint. And while Cory was away she painted beautiful, vibrant pictures of the town, paintings that gave the town hope. But Lost is keeping secrets about what really happened to Kyra, and piecing together the truth will prove difficult for Corey.

REVIEW
BEFORE I LET GO is a young adult novel that speaks to the kind of friendships two teenage girls can have, dreaming about their future, their hopes and their hero’s. One of the things I liked most about the book was the idea of Cory’s quest to discover what happened to her friend, despite the many obstacles put in her way. I like the author’s creativity of using Kyra’s paintings, wall graffiti and letters to understand her mindset. It was a quick read and the writing was good. The story was interesting, and the remoteness of the town added to the believability of the story. Cory’s having been shunned by the community is left with little to do but wander from place to place with little purpose. She at times seemed to lack spirit or drive, and I was disappointed with her lack of a passioned speech at the memorial service.

Author Marieke Nijkamp defines herself as a storyteller, dreamer and globe-trotter geek. She is the author of This Is Where it Ends and numerous short stories and lives in the Netherlands. Thanks to #NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Publisher Sourcebook Fire
Published January 2, 2018

#Netgalley #2018NetGalley #2018 #SourcebookFire #MariekeNijkamp #beforeiletgo

I really like the cover and the voice the author gave Kyra, but I am not Corey’s biggest fan. Also, I thought the order of how things were introduced could have been different or better. It seemed a little messy and sometimes I didn’t think it flowed as well as it should have.

I think generally confused is a good description of how I felt as I was reading this book.

Plot? Girl comes back to hometown because her best friend died and learns about change.

Marieke Nijkamp's writing was definitely really engaging and magnetic. Despite my overall not-so-great feelings about the actual plotline and characters and all, reading Before I Let Go = an experience that I don't regret.

. . . But wow the detached vibes were r e a l. I mean the freaking town everything took place in is like it's on its own plane of existence. I was half-expecting a "surprise! this is actually sci-fi" sort of thing to happen, but the odd cultishness of an entire community held out through the novel.

The path Nijkamp decided to take the story wasn't too surprising at all, so I found myself mostly focusing on the characters: dynamics, traits, other elements. I didn't take any particular liking to any of the odd personalities, which kind of made me care less about the book as a whole.

Overall an interesting read.

Thank yous to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the ARC !

I had been eager to read Before I Let Go for ages so I started it immediately. Unfortunately though, I was a little underwhelmed by it. I was compelled to keep reading to find out what happened to Kyra, but I spent most of the book feeling frustrated with the people of Lost Creek. I wanted to love this one, it sadly it just went wide of the mark for me.

I nearly gave it three stars, because I liked bits and pieces of it, but overall I wasn't really enjoying myself and there weren't enough bit that I liked. This book was okay.

The premise sounded good, I was keen for a murder mystery, but it wasn't really a 'murder mystery' book if it makes sense. It was more of a suspense novel, but that didn't really happen until near the end. It also felt like they tried to throw in some magical realism and a bit of 'friendship contemporary' and I don't even know what this book was...

It just felt so all over the place. There were so many flashbacks, but they weren't in order? It would go from the present, to three years ago, to the present, to two months ago, to when they were little... I just didn't get why though?!

The characters were meh. I liked a few, but that was it.

The plot was confusing. I'm still not completely sure what was going on in that novel.

And the main character... I didn't HATE her, but I wasn't her biggest fan.

Descriptive writing but much too wordy, not sure whether it was a happy ending or not all in all I did finish the book but unfortunately it was not an easy read and I kept on waiting for something too happen. The book was a mixture of fantasy and mystery and sometimes confusing

First let me Thank Netgalley for this digital copy. I really wanted to love this book and I did up until the end which I think it just dropped off without the closure that I needed. The story line was so unique and creative. It follows a young girl named Corey who was raised in a secluded town in Alaska and her friend Kyra, who suffers from bi-polarism. Corey ends up leaving Alaska to go to a boarding school but promises to keep in touch and come back to visit her friend but never gets the chance because Kyra dies. I do not want to go into the story more as to not spoil it. I would recommend this book to others that love Alaska stories and huge cliffhangers.

The publisher provided me with the opportunity to read this in exchange for providing feedback. (via NetGalley)

This story fell kind of flat for me. Seemed like parts weren't explained well and overall, things were a little disjointed. It's not a reflection on the author's writing style (the writing itself was fine) - moreso with the story itself.

I was really excited about Before I Let Go, because I really loved Marieke’s book “This Is Where It Ends“. Honestly, I’m not entirely sure what to make of Before I Let Go. It was interesting at first, but then it started to get really weird and kind of not making too much sense. I couldn’t really figure out where Nijkamp was going with the story and I don’t know if that was a good thing or not. I guess for me it wasn’t. I wanted some kind of idea, but I had no clue. A lot of people will love that about this book and I usually do, but I was more frustrated than anything. I just wanted to know what the heck was going on and I felt like it took ages to get there.

It’s hard to really talk about without giving out spoilers. A plus about this book was that the chapters were really short, so it was really easy to read through it pretty quickly. Another weird thing about this story was the way that it was told. It was mostly in the main character’s point of view, but then randomly there will be a narrator telling the store. It was just thrown in randomly and it was in a weird format where it was kind of like a play script when the narrator was talking. It’s hard to explain, but it was weird to me. So I started to wonder if everything that was happening was real or not.

Overall, Before I Let Go was okay. I can see why a lot of people would like it, because of the mystery aspect of it and it did keep you guessing. It just wasn’t for me though. This book might be for you though, so definitely check it out if it sounds interesting to you.

This is probably closer to 3.5 stars. I found the isolation and odd circumstance of the town of Lost provided a surrealism around this story that was at some times magical and at other times creepy. Nijkamp set this storyline up to become a dialogue about mental illness in teens - and it gets to the cusp of the issue and falls a little flat as the focus shifts to the culture of Lost and possible malicious intent of the townspeople... This story is full of quirky complex characters and a strong undercurrent of what it means to be a friend. I also enjoyed the different narrative styles in the text and their ethereal quality at times supported the magical backdrop. This is definitely a good fit for the YA genre. I received an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

In Before I Let Go by Marieke Nijkamp, Corey returns to her hometown in Alaska to cope with the loss of her best friend, Kyra. While she's there she has to come to terms with the nature of her relationship to the community she calls family and also to her friendship with Kyra. You feel the roller coaster ride of highs and lows that Corey goes through to get through the week in her hometown.

This book was so wonderfully put together. It rightfully describes bi-polar disorder to it's very core. Before I Let Go is a great read for young adults who might have a best friend or even a family member that has been diagnosed with b-polar disorder. I believe it gives a profound look on the inside and might give young adults more understanding on how to cope or help cope with mental diseases.

Before I Let Go kept my on the edge of my seat the entire read. I would recommend this read to anyone!

Mixed emotions here. As a story, it had potential, but then it was really harmed by some major issues. It has the "obligatory" person confused about what they are, it has narration that tells and doesn't show. I can't figure out what this book is supposed to be, because it's jumbled up. Thriller, or tragedy, or borderline horror, or? I'd have given it more stars if it were clearer what this really was. It's a little like the movie you watch and wonder what it was you just watched because you can't make sense of it.

My copy came from Net Galley. My thoughts and opinions are my own. This review is left of my own free volition.

I came across Before I Let Go book on Netgalley, and I thought it seemed like a good candidate for my classroom library as well as a book I might enjoy. Corey, the protagonist learns of her best friend’s death in the first pages of the novel. The plot is fraught with Corey unearthing the details of the death. Nijkamp does a nice job crafting the mood of this novel. She says in the acknowledgements that she wrote much of it while staying in a Scottish mansion, and that makes a lot of sense! There is a delightful mystery to the story that is reminiscent of the old show Twin Peaks. One thing that surprised me was the elements of LGBTQ. This aspect was also really well done and felt very natural for the most part. I would recommend this to YA and mystery fans. I will be adding it to my list of books to buy for my classroom library as it definitely addresses more than one type of story: coming of age, female friendship, mystery, and more.

I have no clue how I actually feel about this book... Actual rating 3.5/5 stars. I think...

Set in the isolated community of Lost Creek, Alaska, this is the story of once-best friends Corey and Kyra. Corey has returned to her former home only to find herself labelled an outsider. But struggling to fit in is the least of the troubles she faces here. In her absence Kyra, the best friend she left behind, slipped below the ice that enshrouds their small community and died a tragic death. Corey seems to be the only who who truly remembers the girl that was lost and is the only one willing to search for answers.

Part of my inability to navigate my feelings about this book is due to how mesmerising I found the quality of writing. I so badly wanted to award this the full 5 stars as I found beauty in every sentence and was enchanted by the way Nijkamp structured and vividly created such an atmospheric and eerie setting.

However, regardless of my adoration for these aspects, I struggled to fully immerse myself in the story-line. Early on, I was fascinated by the mystery but when the intrigue kept adding and nothing seemed to be resolved I was left a little disappointed. Some semblance of an explanation was garnered about two-thirds of the way through but it felt like an unsatisfactory one, for me, and as so much of the book was still left I was awaiting a thrilling plot twist that never arrived.

Despite my misgivings in this area, I still found this a wonderfully diverse read that discoursed authentically and sensitivity on a variety of real-world topics. I am still so glad to have read this, even if only for the chance to experience such sublime writing, and have this author pegged as one who I will continue to explore.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, Marieke Nijkamp, and the publisher, Sourcebooks Fire, for this opportunity.