Life really sucks for Ivy Erickson. Not only does she have a short time to live, but she knows it. Ivy can see a digital clock ticking above every persons head, including her own. Slowly the time counts down to the moment that person will die. As if that wasn’t bad enough, young girls, starting with her own best friend, are being murdered in Ivy’s town and she feels compelled to solve those murders before her own clock reaches zero.

For me, the mystery part of this book is secondary to the larger dilemma. How would it feel to know when the people around you are going to die? Time would be present in a way that normally we don’t understand. Seconds, minutes and hours usually slide by so quickly, we hardly notice. Worse yet, we trade our time away. We waste the moment we are in right now because we are impatiently waiting for the weekend, or for our favorite tv show to start, or something else equally unimportant.

I recognize this more since I’ve become a parent. It seems like just yesterday that my boy Jay, was a 6 year old little boy who I was dropping off at elementary school. He was wearing holes through the toes of his shoes at an alarming rate and it drove me nuts. I couldn’t wait for him to grow out of that habit. I couldn’t wait until he was old enough to play video games with me. Until he was big enough to get on the big rides at Disneyland. Until a million different things. Suddenly, he’s 16 and all that time is gone. All too soon he’ll be out of school and making his own life. I can see that without a clock above his head telling me exactly when he will become old enough to move on. If I could see it, would that make the intervening minutes more important, or less?

Ivy is greatly affected by seeing The Clock. She is constantly aware of how many seconds it takes to walk through a room, or for a person to respond to a question, and of how quickly the lives of people around her is passing by. I liked that about the book. Being a teenager she didn’t always respond in a healthy way, but that’s completely understandable. It made for an interesting approach to her character and to her interactions with others.

Don’t let me and my ruminations scare you away though. This is not a deep, existential novel. It’s a fun and interesting YA mystery. Not too heavy for consumption, but can still provide enough texture to let your mind chew on. I enjoyed it.

Fast, interesting read that keeps you guessing. Definitely recommend.

This story is about Ivy, a girl who can see the time a person has left before they die, including herself. Recently things have not been going well for Ivy, as her best friend was murdered along with several other girls, her boyfriend and her broke up, and her mother is struggling to pay the bills. Worst of all, her time is running out. As I read I couldn't shake the overall feeling of sadness and resignation that permeate the story, at several points I thought I might cry. I thought it a little odd that Ivy doesn't seem to be fighting against the numbers and their march toward 0 or try to change anyone's fate, as that would be one of my first reactions. I found that the mystery of the killer's identity wasn't the thing that kept my attention the most (that was the atmosphere of the story), it still kept me from putting the book down.

I received a free advanced copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have always been a big fan of YA books but ones that are not heavy into supernatural elements, Gardenia has just a little bit and was more a mystery/suspense story.

I found the concept interesting, imagine knowing the exact minute that death will strike not just those around you but yourself as well. Ivy has that gift and she used it as she volunteers at a nursing home to give comfort to those as their lives come to an end. I found that aspect endearing and tells you the kind of person she is.

Even though Ivy knew the death of her best friend was imminent she was still deeply traumatized, especially in it's manner. This paves the way for the mystery part of this book. Determined to find the killer, as her own countdown clock is ticking, Ivy seems to be getting closer to the truth as her life is threatened.

Gardenia was a well written book set in a realistic location with all the high school drama. While I found the romance part a little off Ivy playing the sleuth was interesting and wanting to know the out come kept me interesting in this book.

Thank you to the publisher (via netgalley) for an arc.