Rosebush

by Michele Jaffe

Jane is found, near death, in a rosebush - a victim of hit and run. But as she's convalescing she realizes that her friends' stories and her memories of what happened that night aren't adding up.

And now the only thing she does know is that one of her friends isn't so friendly.

One of them tried to kill her.

Sometimes the truth is a very thorny thing. . .

• ISBN10: 1101475129
• ISBN13: 9781101475126
• Publish Date: 1 December 2010
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Razorbill
• Format: eBook
• Language: English

Reviews

3,5 stars

I have a soft spot for YA mysteries.

Rosebush has some of my favourite YA mystery tropes - an accident happens, someone ends up in hospital and they have to figure out what led them there. Bonus points for amnesia, sketchy characters, weird events and murder.

Rosebush has an interesting tone. It seems like a chick-lit on the surface, but it deals with darker themes. Everything also seems shallow in the beginning - the setting, the plot, the characters who only care about looks and status - but the more I read, I realised there's a lot more going on beneath the surface.

The main character, Jane, is a sort-of weird and slightly contradictory character. She's self-aware, but she's not that perceptive so it's interesting to see her piecing together what led to her accident, her past, her relationships with the people around her and the fact that someone might still be out to get her. Jane seems like a shallow character at first, but she gains depth as the plot progresses.

Jane is a photographer and though we don't see alot of that aspect, it leads to interesting conversations and explorations about images, perception, popularity, self-awareness etc. and I wish this aspect was explored further.

It's always the family drama that keeps me invested in most stories and I was interested in what led to the distance between Jane and her mother. I also love Jane's relationship with her little sister. However, Jane's complete trust in her friendship circle and lack of suspicion towards them seems odd. Maybe I'm just a very suspicious and non-trusting person.

One of the things I have issues with, is all the random kissing that happens out of nowhere. This could be attributed to the fact that Jane is under a lot of stress and is taking medication that could affect her judgement, but it also seems odd, like it was just added for dramatic effect.

While I don't mind the slight romance aspect, the relationship progression at the end, is a little fast. The kissing scene at the end isn't necessary and seems out of place. The epilogue would have had the same meaning without it. This is one of those rare cases where I prefer the suggestion of romance instead of actual romance.

I enjoy reading who-dunnit mysteries and didn't mind the resolution either, but the ending doesn't gel with the rest of the book. Langely’s monologue is interesting, but at the same time she seems so vapid. I also still don't understand why someone was after Jane. Maybe I’m missing something, but I feel it wasn’t explained well.

Overall, I enjoyed Rosebush, but it won't be everyone's cup of tea.

[Amber]

Loved this! Such a great mystery, and pretty creepy at times!

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Review here: http://www.booksofamber.com/2012/01/rosebush-by-michele-jaffe.html

The thing that first drew me to Rosebush was the promise of a great mystery. A girl waking up in a rosebush with no idea how she got there? Sounds brilliant. The mystery definitely lived up to my expectations, and I thoroughly enjoyed trying to work out who tried to kill Jane. It’s normally pretty easy for me to figure out who the killer is, or at least narrow it down, but this book kept me guessing the whole way through! I kept changing my mind and going back to people who I had previously excluded. There were also lots of creepy moments throughout the story, both at the hospital and during the flashbacks. No, Daph, you won’t be scared! It was fantastic.

Jane was a very relatable character and I loved being inside her mind. There are also a lot of flashbacks in this novel which I know some people didn’t enjoy, but I really liked them. They gave more insight to Jane and her friends, as well as giving lots of clues and red herrings as to who the culprit was.

This book isn’t all about the mystery though. Jane also goes through a lot of issues with her mother and stepfather which was a great subplot. I loved seeing their relationships rekindle and form, and I especially loved Jane’s relationship with a certain director’s son.

And as for the climax - Well, in my notes I’ve just written “CLIMAX!!!!!!!!!” so I think that says it all. My heart was pounding and I was literally holding my breath through most of it!

[Joni Reads]

Can I just say that I have been waiting to read this book for forever, it seems. Honestly, I featured it in a Waiting on Wednesday post last year in, like, September. And then I requested it from the library and waited another month for it to finally come in from interlibrary loan. I even read it slow so I could savor the moments of finally having the book in my hands. And let me tell you, it did not disappoint.

Jane is at the top of the food chain in her high school along with her two best friend, Langley and Kate. So it's a mystery as to who would want her dead. But there she is, lying in a hospital bed after a hit and run accident left her for dead in a rosebush. Though the police say otherwise, Jane is sure she was target of a brutal attempt on her life and she is sure that the killer won't stop until they get what they want- Jane dead.

This story was the perfect thriller. My mind was constantly working, trying to figure out who it might have been that tried to kill Jane. And it's a perfect mystery because no matter how many clues were given, I never would have guessed the ending. A fantastic novel and I can't wait to read what else this author has in store.