Slide (Slide, #1)

by Jill Hathaway

She sees through the eyes of a killer...Everyone thinks Vee is narcoleptic, but her secret condition is far more terrifying. When Vee passes out she slides into other people's minds and can see the world through their eyes. It's been happening for long enough that she thinks she's gotten a handle on it. But nothing prepares her for sliding into someone holding a bloody knife, standing over someone's body. Vee wishes she could share her secret, but who would believe her? She can't bring herself to tell her best friend, let alone the police. But when someone else ends up dead, Vee knows she must find a way to unmask the killer before they strike again. Slide is a killer read written with a brilliant and super-slick style that will leave you breathless.

• ISBN10: 0007446373
• ISBN13: 9780007446377
• Publish Date: 1 March 2012
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 12 April 2013
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: HarperCollins Children's Books
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 256
• Language: English
• URL: http://harpercollinschildrensbooks.co.uk

Reviews

[Angie]

I don't read many mysteries or thrillers, but I really enjoyed Slide! Everyone thinks Sylvia has narcolepsy, but really, when she suddenly passes out she "slides" into someone else's head. She has to be touching something that they've left an emotional imprint on, so she tends to avoid used book and the like (brushing it off as OCD). One night she slides into a murderer's head and watches one of her sister's friends get killed. The cops believe she committed suicide, but Vee knows better. But how can she tell them what she knows without seeming crazy?

Slide was really interesting! I loved Vee's ability and how it was handled. It's explained clearly, and there's no over-complication of it. It just is what it is. Even though she's careful to avoid getting into someone's head, she starts forcing herself to in order to track down the murderer. Is it her Psychology teacher who may or may not have been having an affair with Sophie? Was it the football player she slept with? Vee's best friend, new boyfriend, or dad? Who did it?! I didn't know until it was revealed, which was great!

Slide is definitely a page turner! I just had to know who killed those girls and why! I didn't find the plot or the reveal predictable at all, but it also didn't feel like out it was out of nowhere. The hints are there, but they just didn't seem related at the time. Slide was exciting and fun, and I'll definitely be reading the sequel!

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[kimbacaffeinate]

Slide is the debut young adult novel of author Jill Hathaway. Hathaway delivers a suspenseful murder mystery complete with twists, romance and a unique paranormal ability. Slide was an enjoyable read and I got caught up in solving the mystery. I was able to finish this in just a few hours and found it to be a delightfully suspenseful tale.

The protagonist is Vee Bell. She suffers from narcolepsy. (A disease that causes a person to fall asleep, anywhere at any time) This would be a horrible problem to deal with for anyone, but Vee has an even bigger problem. When she has an episode she slides. Sliding causes her to slip into someone else’s mind and experience what that person is experiencing through their eyes. Vee has learned that this occurs when she is touching an object that the other person owns or touched. As a result, she is very careful not to touch things. Vee’s ability is a dark secret she hasn’t shared with anyone. When it first began happening, shortly after the death of her mother, she confessed to her Dad. The next thing Vee knew she was seeing a shrink and being medicated. Vee quickly learned not to talk about it. My feeling for Vee waivered back and forth, but ultimately I came to like her. She hasn’t had it easy, pops too many caffeine pills and has way too much responsibility for a girl her age. Her disease has made her a social outcast, and placed her in some serious situations. Her best friend Rollins saved her from one and she depends on his friendship to ground her. Rollins has feeling for Vee, and she knows it, but doesn’t act. A new boy named Zack begins school and flirts with her. Vee is attracted to Zack and their relationship is filled with some cute moments.

While there is high school drama and a love triangle the tale primarily focuses on a murder mystery. This occurs when Vee accidently slides into someone she cannot identify and realizes she has witnessed a murder. The victim turns out to be her sister’s best friend Sophie. The police and everyone else think Sophie’s committed suicide. Vee knows the truth and she struggles with what to do with this knowledge. The tale that unfolds involves death, suspense and secrets. In order for Vee to solve this and prevent any more victims, she needs to slide and take control of her ability. I enjoyed watching her put the pieces together. Hathaway cleverly lays clues which have you thinking one thing, only to discover something else entirely.
I want to thank HarperCollins and netGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.
You can see more of this review and others on my blog: http://kimbathecaffeinatedbookreviewer.blogspot.com/

[Amber]

Review here: http://booksofamber.blogspot.com/2012/02/slide-by-jill-hathaway.html

Slide is about a girl named Vee who 'slides' into other people's heads and sees the world through their eyes. There's a murderer in town, and Vee has to find out who it is before her own sister is killed. I don't know about you, but to me that sounds like an AWESOME premise.

Slide wasn't as fast paced as I was expecting it to be, especially considering how short the book is. Vee didn't spend much time trying to figure out who the killer was, and instead a lot of the story was spent talking about her friends and family. While I feel this could have worked in a longer novel, it slowed the book down in this case and made the book less than thrilling.

Vee, the main character, is okay. Just okay. She has bright pink hair! And she has this awesome ability, that could be seen as a curse, but I think it's pretty cool. Throughout the novel I was wondering into who and where Vee was going to slide next, and it made a compelling read! On the other hand, without her ability, Vee is a bit of a bland main character who needed something more added to her personality. Vee is likable enough, but she could have put me to sleep at points. She also wasn't as sharp as I think she needed to be in order to find the killer. She was able to slip into people's heads, and she didn't utilize this enough!

Rollins was one of the best secondary characters I have ever read about. He was so awesome, with such a vivid personality and an intriguing side story of his own. I hope he's in the sequel a lot more, because I love him and everyone needs more Rollins! I did feel really bad for him because Vee wasn't that good of a friend to him, but I think the two need to learn to communicate more. I find this with a lot of characters in YA to be honest. It would solve a lot of problems.

But I digress...

As for who was killing these people, I thought the culprit was obvious. Now, this may have been because I had JUST watched a TV show that had exactly the same turn out, so I can't say that it will be as clear to everyone.

There were other issues dealt with in this book such as depression, eating disorders, peer pressure, disabilities and more. I think Jill Hathaway dealt with these very well, and they moulded into the story.

Slide also works well as a standalone novel, as everything wraps up nicely. I'd be interested in seeing where the sequel takes the story, but I don't think it would be high on my to-read list.

Overall, this is a good enough book that is well written and interesting. It's just a shame I didn't like Vee as much as I could have or find it as thrilling as I was hoping to.