The Half Life of Molly Pierce

by Katrina Leno

An intricately woven debut psychological mystery and a profound coming of age story for fans of Made You Up by Francesca Zappia and All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven.  

“Introduces a fierce new presence.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“5 out of 5 bright, beautiful stars.” —Teenreads.com

“A fascinating debut...something original indeed. Readers will absolutely need to know the end of this unique inward-facing mystery.” —ALA Booklist

For all of her seventeen years, Molly feels like she’s missed bits and pieces of her life. Her memory is perforated with holes and gaps. But then a horrible accident changes everything.

Now she’s starting to remember her own disturbing secrets. And bit by bit, Molly uncovers the separate life she seems to have led—and the love that she can’t let go.

• ISBN10: 0062231189
• ISBN13: 9780062231185
• Publish Date: 2 August 2016 (first published 8 July 2014)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Inc
• Imprint: HarperCollins
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 256
• Language: English
• URL: http://harpercollins.com.au/9780062231185

Reviews

[Jo]

Quick fire review:

Trigger and content warnings are under spoiler tags.

Trigger/Content Warnings: This book features descriptions of blood, mention of animal cruelty, a motorbike accident, death, depression, suicide ideation, and dissociative personality disorder.

- The Half Life of Molly Pierce by Katrina Leno wasn't what I expected. Most of her novels feature magic realism in some way, but Half Life didn't. Despite how the description and how strange it sounds, it's a contemporary story.
- It's a really clever story, where the reveal to the mystery - why Molly keeps losing periods of time - is not what I was expecting at all when I first picked the book up. I did start to piece some things together as I read, but I wasn't able to figure out the whole story. It's intriguing and gripping, and surprisingly emotional.
- It was fascinating being in Molly's head when she "wakes up," as she calls it, from a period where she's blanked out. The book starts with her waking up behind the wheel of her car, no idea where she's heading or why, knowing school isn't out yet, with no clue as to why she left. She's not told anyone about her blanking out and the gaps in her memory, and she's trying her hardest to keep it under wraps.
- Because Molly has depression, and is already seeing a therapist because she once made a "joke" to he brother about wanting to die. It's a difficult read at times, because her depression weighs heavily on her, and she's so unhappy.
- But when there is a motorbike accident involving a boy she doesn't know but seems to know her, something happens. She starts to remember bits and pieces of what's happened during blank periods, but it's like jigsaw pieces with very little context. All she knows are that there are two boys in her life, and she's now seeing them when she's awake. But who are they? How does she know them? And why have they previously only been in her life when she's blanked out?
- It's really amazing how much Leno manages to pack into this story, because it's really short, and such a super quick read. But even so, it still has you asking all the questions, drops hints here and there, as Molly tries to piece things together, and working out is going in general, and what is going on with her.
- The Half Life of Molly Pierce is gripping, so clever, and such a captivating and emotional story. A fantastic look at mental illness, and the things the brain does to protect itself.

[Mercy]

Will try to write a review later but for now I'm only saying that this was a wonderful book. It was weird and half the book I keep wondering what the heck was going on but when I finally understood everything, it was worth it. I want to read all Katrina Leno's books now.

[readingwithwrin]

Molly’s story is one that it is a little confusing because she is missing chunks of time in her life. She feels very alone most of the time and really struggles to keep everything going in her life.
I really loved this story once I was able to figure out what was happening and it’s just you have to read it!

[bookishzelda]

The Half Life of Molly Pierce is one of those books that does a number on your brain. So much that you are scratching your head thinking, ahh what is going on here. I really like these kinds of books even though at times they can be exhausting. For me it always triggers an immediate fondness for the main character. I want her to figure out what’s going on, I want the blackouts to stop happening to her. I want to crawl inside the book and help her.

It’s a quick read and not just because it’s 256 pages, but I think the writing style had such a great flow to it that you are quickly swept away. I was rapidly turning the pages and trying to piece things together. I felt the story was very engaging and kept me interested. I liked the subject material. I’ve read some similar books with the kind of things going on but I think they have been adult. I liked having the YA take on it.

The book begins when Molly experiences a horrific accident. She has been having blackouts for a long time but when she realizes that this boy she has seen die is not actual random, then things begin to unravel. Molly finds herself caught up in the mystery of her own life. It’s not just the missing chunks of time that she is in the dark about but she finds that people know more than they are telling. As she uncovers each new piece, she has to face some of her own demons in order to find a way to be the best version of herself. One that takes the good and the bad.

I really liked Molly has a character because I thought she was very persistent in her quest for the truth. She didn’t back down even when it got hard and she forced herself to face certain truths. I was always in her corner even and I found myself feeling defensive of her. She was extremely easy for me to bond with.

Lots of great characters. I loved how close she is with her family and her best friends. How these are people who really support her and are there for her. For both the good and the bad. I wanted to high five them all for being cool. I could only imagine Erie’s reaction to that. Even though the book can be intense, it also has it’s light moments with everyone joking around with one another. There is also a strong adult presence so Molly is not on her own. She has her parents and Alex.

There is romance but it’s really not the main focus. I would consider Molly and her family more of the focus.

I’m not sure my feelings about the ending. It was not bad by any means but I just felt like something was missing. I can not explain it because I don’t want to give the plot away so you will have to read it and decide for yourself. Which I really do like the book so I would definitely say read it.

This is a good quick read and will make your brain tired, in a good way. So I would say definitely pick it up.

[shannonmiz]

Full review here.

The beginning of this book absolutely catapults the reader right into the story. There's no meandering, no waiting for the story to begin, you are just in it. And, as a result, wondering what the hell you are reading, in a really, really good way.

I love when I don't have a clue what is going on, when I am delivered information in bits and pieces, but in a way that completely captivates my attention. I had absolutely no intentions of putting this book down until I learned the whole story.

Molly's presence seemed so real, so lifelike. While reading, I felt as though I was actually going on the journey with Molly, not just reading along. The relationships she had with her family, friends, therapist, and even acquaintances seemed so honest. And, shedding light on mental health issues is another huge plus for me.

As for the plot itself, all I will say is that it keeps you guessing. Granted, I did figure it out before it was revealed, but not by a lot. And the mystery doesn't stop when the "big" reveal happens, there is much, much more to discover.

My only qualm with this book was some of the believability of the actual mental health situations. Not that they weren't very real and gripping, more that the way the people in Molly's life handled them weren't as realistic. I can't say much more without giving away plot points, but I will say that mental health issues, in my experience, are often isolating and lonely, and very few people seem to be concerned at all, much less willing to help. But, maybe that is an additional thought to take away while reading this book: wouldn't it be better if more people were willing to aid in mental health recovery? Also, I am not sure that an actual therapist would have treated the situation in the way that he did. And, the outcome achieved in the book is extremely rare, if not unheard of. Though, it is fiction for a reason I suppose! And the best part was that she was taking steps to get better, in a positive way, which is truly an awesome example to show young people dealing with pretty much any mental health illness.

This book is a definite must-read for anyone who enjoys psychological mysteries, great character development, and really just a beautifully written book about dealing with mental health, relational issues, and life issues in general.

*I received this book in exchange for review for blog tour

[Amber]

This review was originally posted on Books of Amber

The Half Life of Molly Pierce promises to be an exciting thriller, and, in some ways, it was. I very much enjoyed it, but I wasn’t completely in love with it. I found the entire mystery to be very predictable, which took some of my enjoyment away. I like to be kept completely in the dark, but I thought it was very obvious as to what was going on. However, since the psychological topic covered in this book interests me, I was still liking the plot enough to continue reading to the end.


There were a couple of relationships in The Half Life of Molly Pierce that I thought Leno wrote incredibly well. The first is the relationship between Molly and her sister. Their moments together were precious, and they made me very emotional at times, probably because I have a younger sister who I adore as well. The second relationship that I thought was amazing is one that I have to keep a secret. I don’t want to give anything away, but just know that these two characters made me sob. One cared for the other so fucking much, and it tore my heart out to know that things weren’t going to end well for them.

While I didn’t ship the main couple in this book, I did actually really like the romance because, unlike many YA romances, it actually helped the plot progression and the character growth. I know. It’s unheard of. The romance isn’t just thrown in to appease the editor, it actually plays a part in the story and it makes sense. Molly’s “relationship” (I’m hesitant to use that word to describe what she had with Sayer, but there you go) with Sayer was vital to her discovering who she was and what she wanted.

At little over 250 pages, The Half Life of Molly Pierce is a tiny book. I would have enjoyed it a lot more if it had been longer, as I could have spent more time with the characters and become more attached to them. I liked that it was a quick read, and the story works well, but I prefer longer novels.

That said, if you’re looking for a fast paced psychological thriller, I would recommend giving The Half Life of Molly Pierce a go. It’s somewhat predictable, but the epic relationships that Leno writes makes up for it. While this book isn’t the best thriller I have read, it’s definitely not the worst either, and in fact I would consider rereading it in the future.