Give Me Your Hand

Megan Abbott

Pam Macmillan Australia

Picador

ISBN: 9781509855711

Description:

A mesmerizing psychological thriller about how a secret can bind two friends together forever…or tear them apart.

Kit Owens harbored only modest ambitions for herself when the mysterious Diane Fleming appeared in her high school chemistry class. But Diane’s academic brilliance lit a fire in Kit, and the two developed an unlikely friendship. Until Diane shared a secret that changed everything between them.

More than a decade later, Kit thinks she’s put Diane behind her forever and she’s begun to fulfill the scientific dreams Diane awakened in her. But the past comes roaring back when she discovers that Diane is her competition for a position both women covet, taking part in groundbreaking new research led by their idol. Soon enough, the two former friends find themselves locked in a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse that threatens to destroy them both.

My View:

What a surprising read!  This novel slowly builds tension and pace. The main characters are intricately and extensively drawn. None of the characters are particularly endearing, likable or appealing yet their stories are intriguing. The continual striving for excellence, the competition, the camaraderie…the secrets that ultimately destroy, the bizarre behaviours, the double standards and lack of integrity that is slowly revealed.

I was enjoying this read, but was thinking nothing too much above the average here – until the last few chapters!  Boy was I wrong! This book is worth reading just to experience the deliciousness of the ending. WOW! SWEET! INCREDIBLY GOOD.

Read and tell me what you think.