Book Review: Messenger of Fear

Title: The Messenger.
Author: Michael Grant.
Series: Yes, #1.
Pages: 272.
Source: Me My Shelf and I, for Review.
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books.
Published Date: 10/23/14.
Links:
Book Depository
Goodreads

Summary:

"I remembered my name – Mara. But, standing in that ghostly place, faced with the solemn young man in the black coat with silver skulls for buttons, I could recall nothing else about myself.

And then the games began.

The Messenger sees the darkness in young hearts, and the damage it inflicts upon the world. If they go unpunished, he offers the wicked a game. Win, and they can go free. Lose, and they will live out their greatest fear.

But what does any of this have to do with Mara? She is about to find out . . ."

My Thoughts:

Mara doesn’t know who she is, where she is, or why she’s laying on the ground surrounded by all this thick fog. She can’t remember a single thing, not even her own name at first.

She’s approached by a handsome, but scary looking guy, who tries to explain things to Mara, which just don’t make any sense. No matter how many times Mara asks him, who she is and why she’s here, he either comes back with a vague response, or that when the time comes she will just remember.

Mara and Messenger transport from one location to the next, from the future to the past, and back again. Still unsure of what’s really going on, Mara witnesses a girl shoot herself in the head, a couple kill a dog to get it out of its misery, and a high school football player burn alive.

Mara can’t do anything but watch the girl commit suicide after being bullied at school for so long, and leaving nothing but a note to her mom. But when it comes to the couple and to the football player, Mara is expected to play along with Messenger and do what he does.

First inform them what they did to bring this upon themselves. Then offer them a game. If they win this “game” they can go free. If they lose this game they will have to deal with the consequence. If they choose not to play, they will have to deal with the consequences anyways.

Mara still doesn’t have a clue as to why she’s here and doing this, but she slowly starts to remember more and more about herself throughout the story.

Looking at these people, Mara knows she would never do anything like what they did, but in the end, maybe she isn’t much better…

Messenger of Fear was the first book of Michael Grant’s that I’ve read so far. After reading the Messenger of Fear I headed straight to the library to pick up his ENTIRE Gone series! I absolutely love his writing style, and his crazy stories! There was no way I was going to be able to wait for the second installment (considering Messenger of Fear isn’t coming out for another month or two). I needed more of his writing ASAP.

What I liked the most about Messenger of Fear (and already like about Gone) is the confusion. What do I mean by that? I liked that at the beginning of the book I had no idea what was going on, and I was just as in the dark as Mara was. Throughout the whole book I found myself guessing and hinting at what might be going on, but still in the end, Michael Grant blew me away.

Of course there were a lot of aspects in the story that weren’t explained by the end of the book, but I didn’t mind that too much knowing it was only the first book in a series.

Overall, the characters (Mara and Messenger) were awesome, the ending was unexpected, and I fell in love with Grant’s writing. If you’re looking for something different, dark and strange, this is the book for you. If you’re looking for something similar to Gone, but a bit more mature, this is also the book for you!