This book gave me mixed feelings. I really enjoyed the read and absolutely loved the format of the book (which included interviews, police files and diary entries), but I was a bit disappointed by the mystery. The story follows Katie, an 18-year-old who is trying to find answers about her sister's disappearance which happened six years ago. I thought the character development in the book was well done. Katie definitely learned a lot about, not only her sister, but her self too. I really liked discovering what happened to Katie's sister and, in combination with the fun format, this made me flew through the book. However, when it came to the grand reveal, I was left feeling disappointed. I think the ending definitely had more potential. Still, I really enjoyed this read and would recommend it to fans of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson because Fine gave me similar vibes in terms of the format.

** spoiler alert **
Thank you to the author and NetGalley for providing a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I definitely am not a member of the target demographic for this book. Hell, I wouldn’t even consider this a YA novel. The story was super intriguing to start, and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t hold my attention. Told in the voice of teen Katie Williams, Murphy takes us through the actual case files and recordings from when Katie’s sister, Anna, went missing. Katie is desperate for answers as to where Anna went and whether she is still alive.

Where the plot falls off is the book’s ending. It turns out that Anna was found dead due to drowning, and suicide is suspected. I find it incredibly hard to believe that 12-year-old Katie could have avoided all newspaper articles, television news reports, social media postings, and murmurs from classmates surrounding Anna’s disappearance. You’re telling me that Katie’s parents purposely kept this piece of information from her for years? She is a grown ass adult now... why make her go through the entire case file? Maybe I would have appreciated this is middle school or something. I just didn’t buy that crap “discovery.”

When Katie was young her older sister disappeared and now that she’s 18 she connects with the investigating officer to read the police file. I can totally believe at 12 she wouldn’t have known what questions to ask or even to understand everything going on. I really liked the unique format of telling the story of Anna’s disappearance through police interviews, emails, texts, diary entries etc. I just wanted some more depth than the cliches all the characters appeared to be. I also felt let down by the end of the police investigation and I wanted to know more, It wasn’t so much a mystery as there wasn’t any real resolution.

A brave, important book but unfortunately the format of the book didn't really work for me. Probably just personal preference though.

I'm fine. Everything is fine. You're fine!

I can not think of a more fitting title for a Young Adult novel.

Katie lost her older sister Anna 5 years ago. She vanished out of thin air after school one Friday afternoon. In this true-crime meets YA drama, Katie searches for the truth about her sister's disappearance. The past unfolds through Katie's sudden urge to go through the missing person files from 2012. The ones that were not available to her when she was 12. Through Anna's diary, interviews with friends and family, and notes from the lead investigator Katie learns more about her sister than she bargained for.

Dealing with teenage issues can be difficult, and I think Murphy handles tough subjects such as depression, internet bullying, college pressure, drugs and alcohol, and more with grace and nuance. If you're hoping for a crime thriller or the story to be wrapped up in a bow, this one is not for you. If you'd like to open the lines of communication with your teen, this might be a great buddy read to start things off.

"No one wants to open their eyes to the fact that sometimes hope runs dangerously low... and sometimes the balloon pops. But maybe if they did, hopelessness wouldn't win."

Reading this gave me a great reminder. Kindness goes a long way. Hope goes a long way. Check-in on your friends and family... and maybe hopelessness won't win.

Fine tells the story about a girl named Katie whose sister misteriously dissapeared after a normal school day. Six years later, Katie is still struggling with this traumatic life event so she decides to look through her sister's file in order to learn what really happened to her.

The premise was really interesting and it promised a good mystery book but unfortunately it didn't felt that way. The book was really boring and it's not centered in the mystery but more in the conflicts Anna (Katie's sister) suffered in silence. Themes important such as bullying, drug abuse, mental health are treated, which is good, but it was done poorly or too superficial, in my opinion. The whole book is just a reflexion and intends to visibilize this issues as problematic, which they are, but has 0 depth or conclusion.
The main plot was resolved in such a not-good way. But maybe it's only me.

The writing and pacing were ok, and even if I didn't like the book, it was easy to read. I appreciate that the author used different writing's resources such as interviews, e-mails and diary's entries. Although sometimes the writing style felt a little pretentious.

Regarding the characters, they were superficial and uninteresting. The insta-love was totally unnecesary.

To sum up, I think it's an ok book but definetely not for me. I think people younger than me will enjoy it more!

For an overview of the book, including cover, summary, and disclaimer, please see my previous blog post. Available here.

Review:

Sadie meets 13 Reasons Why is probably the best way to describe Fine. Both of which I loved so it is not surprising that I became attached to this story too.

Mental illness, grief, bullying, and drug abuse are openly discussed as you dive into the lives of two sisters: one missing and the other attempting to find her.

The mixed media style was AMAZING! Text messages, emails, and interviews she’d light into the past while we travel with Katie as she navigates the loss of her sister and best friend that she has been clinging to for six years.

Fine is a really emotional book that tackles the difficult aspects of missing persons’ cases. The reasoning that goes into the case is maddening and an accurate portrayal of the process of solving cases and finding the missing person.

This story has you piecing together every detail in an effort to solve the case. But every new development shifts the path until the end of the book hits you out of nowhere.

I highly highly recommend this book!

This is a tough one. On one hand I really love mixed media books like this one and I am always captivated by murder mystery because it's my favourite genre. But on the other hand the writing was lacking (which could have been resolved in the final edition to be fair) and even though I expected the unfinished ending because of the comparison to Courtney Summers, I felt myself still being let down at the end. I like closure. This does really feel like a Courtney Summers book if you like those, it's got a similar style and vibe, but Courtney Summers is a better writer unfortunately. I would be interested to see what Murphy writes next though, to see if the solid foundation she has is improved with better writing next time.

This novel was a quick, easy and enjoyable read! I particularly enjoyed the mixed media elements that came from the police investigation, diary entries etc, It really felt like you were piecing the puzzle together with Katie. I loved Katie's development, and there are some important ideas that are discussed.

An amazingly thoughtful and poignant young adult novel. Masterful writing and so creative. The design of the book is a pleasant surprise, you really have to see the inside of the book to appreciate the unique quality. I highly recommend this book for teens, young adults, and us older adults, too, who still need to be told that it is okay not to be "fine".

First let me thank Net Galley for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I rated this book a 4 star because I loved the characters in the book. The story in itself is a sad story a girl loses her sister with no answers as to why, so she searches for answers through the Police file that has been there since her sisters disappearance.

The only thing that bothered me was the Author didn't allow a sertan climax, the book was bland at times and could have used some more suprises.

I feel like this book could have been amazing.
I just couldn’t get past the main character Katie. She was not very like able, seemed way younger than 18.

I found myself skimming which is something I never ever do. There was a ton of useless information yet some of the bigger issues were never explained!

I enjoyed the format and the way we got to read the case file along with Katie. I’m just very unhappy with the mystery itself.
They synopsis makes this book sound like something that it isn’t. I was very disappointed.

I give this a 3 because I enjoyed the writing style of the author.

I really wanted to love this book. I was very interested in the premise, and in the comparison to Sarah Dessen, because I've been a huge fan of her work for more than a decade. Fine, though, is just that--fine. I think this had the potential to be a really great story and unfortunately, it just fell flat for me. The narrative writing was interspersed with journal entries, interviews, and police documents, and the writing did not match at all. The dialogue in the interviews was stilted, and the journal entries did not read as though they were written by a teenager. There was a lack of character development and there were some loose ends in the story that needed to be fleshed out more--I feel like this could have been improved with some more editing and rewrites. I was also disappointed by the ending, which I found to be very predictable. It's possible that if I were reading this when I was 14 or 15, I might have enjoyed it much more. It's not a bad debut, and I will give Murphy's future work a try because she clearly has a lot of potential. This one just was not for me. If you're looking for a quick read with a bit of suspense, go for it. If you're looking for a complex family dynamic and a page-turning mystery, maybe look elsewhere.

My thanks to NetGalley and Black Chateau for the advance reader's copy.

Told mostly through interview transcripts, text messages, and police notes, Katie attempts to find out what happened to her sister Anna six years ago. Anna was a straight-A student who always did and said the right thing. She was pleasant, didn't stand out in a crowd, and no one really had a problem with her. But no one really saw her either, not the real her anyway. As Katie discovers, Anna had so much more going on in her life. More feelings, more concerns, just more than what it seemed like other kids her age had. As Katie struggles to come to the reality of her sister's life, she also discovers new truths about her parents and others she thought she knew her whole life. This is almost a coming-of-age mystery, with Katie's emotional and character development being brought on by what she reads about her sister.

Trigger warnings for topics of: missing persons, substance use, alcoholism, self-harm, depression, mental health, sexual assault, suicide, death.

4/5 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 stars
This had a great, interesting premise but I found it to be a bit lacking in terms of the mystery and plot. It was still a solid and fast-paced read regardless.

Fine was more of a character study of Anna rather than Katie actually solving her disappearance. I wanted more of the mystery aspect to it. The plot also felt a bit forced and initially, I did not understand why Katie decided to look into Anna’s case 6 years after her disappearance. That happened out of the blue.

I liked the mixed-media format. It made the story so much more engaging. However, the constant use of the interviews and documents detracted me from learning about Katie, as the protagonist. I never really got to learn what she was like as a person. Additionally, I felt that the romance underdeveloped and forced. I didn’t mind it but it was unnecessary.

In terms of the ending, it was a bit underwhelming because I expected a huge reveal but it went the opposite direction. I expected a lot more because of the huge build-up we were getting from the rest of the story.

The overarching themes were really important and I applaud Murphy for handling them really well. Unfortunately, this book could be a lot better and had so much potential. It was really well-written and intriguing regardless.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy for review.



Synopsis

Six years ago, Anna Williams-straight-A student, cheerleader, and all-around golden child-vanished.



Ever since, her younger sister, Katie, has drifted through life, wracked with guilt, grief, and anger over Anna's unsolved disappearance. But when her own future reaches a breaking point, Katie takes the investigation into her own hands. She searches for answers in her sister's missing person's file and discovers that some questions aren't so easily answered.



Through police memos, interrogations, and excerpts from Anna's diary, Katie breaks down the carefully crafted façade Anna left behind and uncovers the dark truths of her life in the months before she vanished.



My Thoughts:



I loved the idea of this book, I really did. The addition of police reports, interview transcripts, and text messages really gave this the feeling of delving deep into the unsolved case of Anna's disappearance.

Katie as a character felt real, she is messy, broken, and trying desperately to come to terms with the loss of her sister.

I only had one issue and that was the unexplained reasons why Katie had problems with her dad and they go unanswered even till the end of the book. Why and what happened? if there was no answer to this then why add it to the plot of the book. It seemed unnecessary and pointless.

3/5 stars

This book tells the story of a girl named Katie who decides to look through files relating to the disappearance of her sister Anna to try and find out more about what happened to her and why she went missing. Through this, she discovers secrets about her sister that she never knew about. I liked how the book switched perspectives between the time when Anna disappeared and Katie's life in present day.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and felt engaged in it but the ending let me down. It felt rushed and didn't conclude the story well unfortunately. There was still a storyline about Anna's dad that was never rounded off and it all felt a bit anticlimactic when the story is drawn to a close.

However, I would recommend this book for a quick read.

I really enjoyed the format of this book. I haven't read a lot of books that incorporated other forms of storytelling such as diary entries, interviews, etc. This definitely made the book more engaging and interactive. It was also pretty easy to read. I also like how the book dealt with a lot of important and heavy topics. Overall, I really enjoyed the plot. However, I didn't feel connected to the characters.

2.5/5

A contemporary mystery that ended up being entirely not so. After the unsolved disappearance of her sister Anna six years ago, Katie Williams reopens the investigation herself and attempts to solve the mystery of her disappearance once and for all. What results is a deep dive into her sisters innermost thoughts, police interviews, and her missing persons file, as she grapples with what truly happened all those years ago.

I for one love a good mystery, put it together with a complicated sisterly relationship and this seemed like the perfect contemporary for me. The writing style and overarching themes were excellent, and one of the first things that stood out to me in the reading process, but that is unfortunately all I liked about this book. My main issue with this as a whole, is that it seemed to focus more on a character study of Anna, then the overall mystery and Katie as a person. From the synopsis, there definitely seemed to be an emphasis of Katie having the prominent role in investigating the past in order to solve the mystery, and her life in the years after. I was practically begging for more scenes focused on the present day narrative and how Katie developed in response to what she was learning. The mystery aspect and transitions into important texts and interviews, were necessary given that Katie was trying to solve what happened to her sister. With response to the ending, however, the amount of time spent showing the interviews and documents should have been cut by half. The revelation that the mystery was actually why Anna had run away, and not where she was, should have led to an even focus on Anna and Katie respectively. Given that so much of the book consisted of research into the investigation, I was expecting there to be more. The ending really fell flat after the build up from the beginning of the book. This is not to say that the themes explored weren't important, but if you go into this expecting a mystery and an exploration of a complicated family relationship, you won't be getting it.

I went into this book REALLY wanting to like it, but it just felt too forced to me. The usually LOVE mixed media. But the interview transcripts just felt so... unrealistic. Forced. The plot was entertaining enough, it was a very quick read. I usually like “heavy” books like this, once’s that deal with depressing and/or important and dangerous controversial issues, but this book just didn’t do it for me