Made for You

by Melissa Marr

"Southern small town darling Eva Tilling wakes up in the hospital with the frightening ability to see through the eyes of the victims of a serial killer, and realizes that she, too, is a target of the depraved stalker"--

Southern darling Eva Tilling wakes up in the hospital with the frightening ability to see through the eyes of the victims of a serial killer and realizes that she, too, is a target of the depraved stalker. The plot contains profanity and violence.

• ISBN10: 0062011200
• ISBN13: 9780062011206
• Publish Date: 5 January 2016 (first published 16 September 2014)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Imprint: Collins
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 384
• Language: English

Reviews

[girlinthepages]

I've been really let down with thrillers lately. The Girl on the Train almost bored me to tears, and I felt like I kept waiting for the "thrill" to kick in with Dangerous Boys. I LOVE reading thrillers, especially in the fall, so I've been on the hunt for a quality thriller to kick off my fall reading. I thankfully found it in a book that's been hanging out unread on my shelves for a while now, Made for You by Melissa Marr.

I'll admit, I was a bit skeptical going in, because the only thing I had read by Ms. Marr before was the first few pages of the first book in the Wicked Lovely series, and I was less than impressed with it. What would someone who wrote such a well known series about faeries know about writing a contemporary YA thriller? Quite a bit, it seems! Made for You is a creepy, twisted tale set in the South about a very well known, popular girl in the community who has a very intense stalker. What sets this narrative apart, however, is that right from the beginning readers encounter a dual POV in the novel- Eva's, and that of her stalker, who refers to himself as "Judge." This really adds an ominous feel to the novel as we're learning the stalkers' twisted logic and motivations at the same time we're getting to know Eva's character, and the reader knows that the stalker is someone somewhat close to Eva, so every character she interacts with bears the burden of potentially being her stalker. I loved this anxiety-inducing effect because it put me on hyper-alert while I was reading, looking for clues or red-herrings, which is one of the thrills of reading a thriller (pun intended).

Another element of Marr's novel that surprised me is that she didn't shy away from incorporating disturbing elements into her thriller, even though it's a YA book. There is some seriously messed up stuff that happens, and "Judge's" justifications for it through his narrative are horrifying enough to really convince the reader that he is truly a psychopath with a genuinely distorted view of justice and right vs. wrong. His reasons are tied up in religion and family and intimacy and physical attraction in a POV that is starkly unsettling, especially juxtaposed with Eva's chapters.

Also, let's talk about Eva for a moment. After suffering an accident at the beginning of the book that puts her in the hospital, she develops a paranormal power where she can see someone's death if she has certain direct contact with them. While this paranormal element wasn't ever fully explained (Was it an effect of her traumatic brain injury? Was she always predisposed to having this power), it was a cool element to the plot, as her visions of people's deaths would shift due to circumstances, especially if she was warning them and telling them how to avoid what she was seeing- fate would simply alter its course.

Though the novel at heart is a thriller, it had some great relationships that I think were really important. While I wasn't a fan of the romance (I feel like it went from 0 to 60 pretty fast for my taste) I thought it had a great portrayal of friendship between Eva and Grace, the only Asian student in her circle of friends and tiny Southern town. While not deviating too much from the core mystery of the book, there was recognition of the town's subtle racism and discomfort of having someone so "other" to them running in the most elite social circles of the school. Grace and Eva were also extremely dedicated friends to each other with little drama and secrets between them, which is always super refreshing to read in YA. I also LOVED the small scene's we got with Eva's mother throughout the book. Eva is pretty disconnected from her parents, but not in a "convenient for YA plot purposes" way, but in a detached, her parents had her too young sort of way. While you'd expect Eva's mom to be super uptight and strict since she's the Ultimate Southern Hostess, she's actually pretty perceptive and chill and is more aware of the things going on in Eva's life than YA parents generally do. It was great seeing an involved parent actively try to work through their issues with their child and not be reduced down to a stereotype, and in a thriller book no less!

I'll also fully disclose that I had this book on my radar when it initially came out a few years ago, but I could not bring myself to purchase the ugly American hardcover with the bug on it (I don't do bugs on book covers). I get that it was probably going for a #creepy aesthetic but I also need books that don't violently clash with my personal aesthetic, you know? I was thrilled that when the book was re-released in paperback in the US they switched to the Australian cover art. Does it have anything to do with the story? Not really but it also doesn't gross me out when I look at it and lo and behold I ended up purchasing it #marketingcorrection.

Overall: Made for You was creepy, twisted, and kept me up reading until 2am on a Sunday night which messed up my sleep schedule for the entire next work week but was totally worth it. It's not afraid to shy away from the more disturbing elements of thriller (and hello, if you have a creepy stalker there's going to be some disturbing elements) and the conclusion of the story did not disappoint. I think this is Marr's only YA thriller to date but I really hope she continues to write in the genre!This review was originally posted on Girl in the Pages

[readingwithwrin]

"I tune them out. It's far too easy to do, really. The conversation, the people, the whole party is like most every other Friday for the past couple years. Sometimes I want to ask them if they're happy, if they enjoy their lives or if they feel like they're not just playing roles like me."


Eva Tilling is from Jessup, North Carolina. A place where status is made from who your parents are, how much they make, and who your ancestors were. This also means that all of the popular kids have known each other since childhood and that everything seems like it’s constantly the same, and that everyone is playing a role in a part of life that they have no real say over. Or at least that’s how she feels. Eva’s boyfriends is a jerk, not only are they pretty much only dating because it’s convenient but also because it’s what their families expect them to do. But things aren’t always what they seem and he is also keeping things hidden from her, things that will not only jeopardize their relationship but the life of others around them as well.

Once Eva gets hurt, he doesn’t show up, and the only people to visit her Grace and Nate. Both her friends at different points in life and both grow even closer to her throughout this time period. Eva also gets a certain type of power through after the accident, she can see people’s deaths. This not only freaks her out but also makes her try and stop these people from dying.

As Eva heals and tries to figure out who ran her over and why. Things start happening to other girls in town, two dies and one even has a message left from the person who harmed her. As the story goes on the killer starts trying to communicate more with Eva through flowers and insects because they had learned what they mean in a class at school. Yes, that means the killer is someone who is their age and who they’ve none possibly forever.

Told in multiple perspectives between Eva, Grace, and the killer this book not only shows what happened to Eva, how different the south is through Grace, and why/how the killer does and thinks things.

This book, I couldn’t get enough of. I ended up reading it in an afternoon and didn’t want to put it down, I was constantly on the edge of my seat trying to figure out who had done it and had multiple suspects throughout the book. While the person wasn’t who I thought it would be it made the story even better, because not only did it shock me, but it also made me realize how good some people are at pretending which is a scary thought considering what this person did to them.



Surprisingly enough I actually liked the romance between Eva and Nate, not only was it slow going, but it felt natural for it to happen. They worked together as a team well and I hope they make it as a couple.

I can’t wait to read more of Marr’s novels in the future!



"I close my eyes for a second. This cannot be happening - all because, I opened my door. That was all I did. I opened my door to a boy I've known for a few years, a boy who drove me home yesterday, a boy who has hit on me at parties and joked with me at school. Now I'm chained up listening to him explain the appeal of a shock collar instead of a chain."

[Eve1972]

I usually avoid YA books like the plague. I have enough teenage drama in my real life that I don't need to be reading about it also. This sounded more like a good thriller then a romance, plus that cover is ALL sorts of awesome. So I decided to give it a go.

It turned out to be a really well written read. Nate and Eva use to be best friends, then something happened and Nate started to ignore Eva. Nate is now known as "the Jessup man-whore" which I thought was quite a moniker for a 17 year old, but what-evs, and Eva is dating (and sleeping with) Robert. They all attend a high school that sort of resembles Gossip Girl with Eva being the queen bee (yes I was a total Gossip Girl fan, don't judge) Anyway, one day Eva is walking home and gets hit by a car and almost killed. Soon it becomes apparent that someone is fixated on Eva as more and more of her classmates turn up dead.

The mystery was very well done in this. I had an idea on who "Judge" was from early on, but I wouldn't say it was obvious. We also get POV's from Eva, Judge, and her best friend that offers insight. There is also a sort of paranormal angle to the story. After Eva is hit by the car, she can see how people are going to die when they touch her. I found it to be an interesting added tidbit.

There is a romance here between Eva and Nate, but it's a clean book beings as in YA, but it was still sweetly done. Overall though this was a really great book.

[Linda]

*I received a free ARC of Made for You from HarperCollins UK in exchange of an honest and unbiased review*

Made for You is a chilling psychological thriller / murder mystery made all the more chilling because it's YA, with young characters involved.

Full review to come soon.

This and all my other reviews are originally posted on my blog (un)Conventional Bookviews

[lizarodz]

I’m not sure what I was expecting, but Made for You was a pleasant surprise and right up my alley. I have to confess that I only read the first two books of the Wicked Lovely series and then stop midway on the third book. Needless to say, it was not my cup of tea.

Made for You is in essence a mystery-murder story. Once upon a time a read a lot of stories like this one, thrillers that left me breathless in their intrigue. I think this is why I liked Made for You so much. One of the things that I appreciate a lot are the plot twists. Marr reveals enough information to keep you guessing, and when you thing you know where the story is going, she changes courses. It was brilliant!

Eva and Nate’s relationship is believable because they knew each other (even went to the same school) and were childhood friends. Everything changed when Nate’s parents got divorced and he started acting up. They “find” each other again in the hospital, right after Eva’s “accident”. Eva wakes up with a new (and disturbingly inconvenient) ability. I like that after the accident Eva decides that life is too short to keep feelings bottled up and she resolves to be brutally honest.

“Even so, what would they do if I walked up to you? Baucom, Piper, and the rest of them? Sober and at a party or at school?”

“Well, we’re talking now”, I finally say. “Are you going to ignore me later?”

“No.” He rubs his hand over his head, just like he used to when we were kids.

“You still pet your head when you’re nervous, Nate.”

Nate was so sweet. He was misguided, but I’m happy that he came to his senses. He really cares for Eva – never stopped doing so – even is now Eva has scars and other issues. Their relationship was so cute.

I really enjoyed most of the characters in the book. You can see how good Eva’s parents tried to become. The friendship between Eva and Grace was sound and true; they really loved one another and were there for each other for the good and the bad. Eva has other friends, but Piper and Grace are the closest her. The murderer labeled himself to the “Judge” and the chapters from his point a view were harder to read, as they are full of his twisted logic. He is nasty and as crazy as they come.

“Judge. It’s not the name I was born with but it’s my true name, my soul name. I’m not really an executioner yet, and without Eva, I’m not a jury. Together, we could be a judge, jury, and executioner.”

The setting is the small southern town of Jessup where it seems like time stopped and money and social status talk. The story is told in the first person, from different points of view, mostly Eva, Grace and Judge. I liked that we were able to know what was going on with other characters. The writing is easy to read and fascinating. I love the dialogue and banter between the characters too.

Overall, I really liked Made for You. It’s a book about obsession, delusion, murder, mystery, but also about friendship, love and change.

About the cover: It’s creepy, but not overly so. The cicada in the box has significance after you read the book, and so do the flower petals floating around. I also like how the letters in the title are uneven, as if they were unstable.