Hanging by a Thread

By: Sophie Littlefield
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Publishing Date: September 2012
ISBN: 978-0-385-74104-0
Reviewed By: Amy Lignor
Review Date: September 2012

Clare Knight and her Mom have moved back home to their small town. You would think Winston, California would be a quiet, peaceful place…but this year the only thing that’s going on is a whole lot of praying. Soon July 4th will be upon them, and for the last two years this is the day where someone simply vanished.

Clare doesn’t like to think about that stuff. When she moved back home she hooked up with her old best friend, Rachel, who is doing her best to get Clare in with the ‘in-crowd.‘ Now Clare is very cool…in a way. She’s coming from San Francisco and is truly into fashion. She makes her own designs by using clothes she’s found at flea markets, vintage shops, etc. and redesigning them to be the hippest fashions around.

Moving back into the house that the townsfolk refer to as “The Haunted Dress Shop” because of a past filled with oddities, is just one thing Clare has to deal with. The other is the fact that one of these oddities is the fact that Clare has been handed down a family ‘gift’ from her Nana; she can touch old clothing and get visions from them. Unfortunately, there is one piece of clothing she’s purchased that gives her a vision of a truly violent crime that has something to do with the July 4th disappearances. If she does nothing about the visions they fade, but Clare has always had a hard time doing that. She wants nothing more than to help and solve the things she’s ‘seen’ happen.

Trying to simply fit in and sell her “NewToYou” designs to make some cash, Clare’s life soon turns into a serious mystery. Add in the fact that she stumbles across a young man by the name of Jack who is the picture of the ultimate ‘bad boy’ and was also the boyfriend of the girl who disappeared, and Clare finds herself on the hunt to stay alive, fall in love and find the truth that a town has been hiding…

This author has done a great job of combining a YA with all levels of romance, friendship, and the harshness of returning to a small town when you’ve tried so hard to leave it behind - with the ultimate chilling mystery that readers will never guess.

Quill Says: Outstanding on all levels!