If You’re Lucky by Yvonne Prinz

Georgia and her family have suffered a horrible loss – the death of Georgia’s older brother, Lucky.  Lucky drowned in a surfing accident in Australia, and Georgia is having a difficult time understanding how, because Lucky is an incredible swimmer.  While her whole family is suffering from the loss, Georgia hasn’t even been able to cry over Lucky’s death due to the medications she has to take to help keep her schizophrenia under control.  While trying to work through her grief, she begins spending a lot more time with Lucky’s girlfriend, Sonia, who is staying nearby until she can move past the horrible events that have occurred.

In the midst of all of this, one of Lucky’s friends, Fin, moves into town.  He is staying at a nearby cottage, working at the restaurant where Georgia also works, helping out Georgia’s father on the oyster farm (a job Lucky normally would have claimed), charming Georgia’s parents (and Georgia), and attempting to flirt with Sonia.  After Fin takes Georgia on a “date, and then he begins starting a romance with Sonia, Georgia begins seeing a side of Fin that no one else is grabbing on to – and she senses that something isn’t quite what it seems.  She keeps an eye on Fin, who is aware of Georgia’s dislike for him, and when she stops taking her medication, she starts having visions that make her question what is real and what isn’t.  Determined to prove that Fin murdered Lucky in order to have his life, Georgia will do what it takes to show everyone that she’s right, and that Fin is dangerous.

I had a lot of mixed feelings about this book.  First off, it was kind of slow to start, and I found it somewhat boring until around the halfway mark, and then it picked up a lot.  I mean, things happened in the first half of the book that built up the story, but at the same time I kind of felt like it was just taking forever to get there.  However, when I hit the second half of the book, it really started to get interesting.  Because the first half of the book was slower paced, the second half really grabbed my attention and I couldn’t put it down.

I had a bit of trouble connecting to the characters in this book, but I finally started to get a bit attached to Georgia around the second half of the book.  Georgia’s parents seemed distant and a little flat, lacking personality that could have made the story a bit better.

What I did like about this book was how it portrayed Georgia’s schizophrenia.  I’ve noticed that there are a lot more books being published that deal with mental illness and the character’s attempt to deal with it and fit in with peers.  This is a wonderful thing, because there a lot of teenagers and adults alike who would appreciate not feeling completely alone with their illnesses.

Overall, if you like thrillers, I could recommend this one.  I thought it was definitely interesting, and considering I finished the whole thing in almost one sitting, it’s something you’ll want to clear some time out of your schedule for!

Note: I received an ARC copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.