From AntonySimpson.com:Follow Me Down by Tanya Byrne is a story about two wealthy teenage girls: Adamma and Scarlett who become best friends. That is until Adamma chooses love over their friendship and Scarlett goes missing…Adamma moves from New York to England after her father becomes the Nigerian Commissioner based in London. Crofton College is her new private boarding school, for the elite of society and is set in the leafy suburbs of the village Ostley.On Adamma’s first day at Crofton she meets Scarlett and they instantly become best friends. Scarlett is aloof and it’s clear from early on that she has secrets. She lives over the hill with her ‘hippy’ parents and the fable she tells about how her parents met in Paris is beautiful.Next Adamma meets Dominic, Scarlett’s childhood sweetheart. Something starts to develop between Adamma and Dominic; Scarlett finds out and tells her to choose.Adamma chooses love and then Scarlett goes missing. Scarlett’s gone missing before, but this time it’s different. Follow Me Down becomes a mystery novel: what happened to Scarlett and whose responsible? At this midway point, the book it is an addictive read that is unputdownable. It keeps the reader captivated and constantly questioning those that might have had something to do with Scarlett’s disappearance, which are:Dominic – He loves Scarlett on some level, yet why is he having a relationship with Adamma? Can he be in love two women?Sam – Dominic’s cousin, who Scarlett was having a secret relationship with before her disappearance. Coincidentally he has a broken wrist just after Scarlett’s disappearance. How did he break his wrist? Why were they keeping their relationship low key?Mr. Lucas – The 23 year old Teacher that all the girls seem to love and who once stayed in one of Scarlett’s parents houses. Is this young teacher hiding something? Why does he go above and beyond the call of duty for his female students?The story is written from Adamma’s perspective and has good description of places, people and events. Each of the characters are loveable, with each having their own flaws that are shown really well to the reader. Byrne is an author that shows great promise; but the structure and storyline could have used more work.Follow Me Down is structured by flicking between before Scarlett’s disappearance and after. This was a great idea but the flicks back and forth seemed sporadic. This made the storyline feel disjointed; particularly in the most important parts of the book: at the beginning and at the end.The storyline it’s self started out really strong, the middle was brilliant, but the ending left a lot to be desired. The ending was predictable, fundamentally unbelievable, rushed and left the reader unsatisfied. Despite these criticisms, if Byrne had made Follow Me Down longer the reader would have read on; enjoying Byrne’s engaging writing style and unique writers voice.Overall Follow Me Down by Tanya Byrne is a reasonable story, with fascinating characters that the reader will enjoy getting to know.
I finished this just now and I still have this heavy feeling of uneasiness on my heart!This review was originally posted at Fluttering ButterfliesI love Tanya Byrne. Her debut book Heart-Shaped Bruise was my number one favourite book of last year. So when I heard that Headline were publishing a new book by Tanya this year, I squealed in excitement. And Follow Me Down is a very worthy second book by the lovely Tanya Byrne. It was very addictive reading and it really kept me guessing all the way to those tense final pages.Certain things about the book jumped out at me right away as exciting. I love the boarding school setting. Don't you just love boarding school settings?! And around this boarding school is this lovely, creepy forest where things happen. Second really exciting thing in Follow Me Down is that the main character is a Nigerian teenager, Adamma, who is pretty and popular and has no trouble fitting in, making friends of falling in love. I think there definitely needs to be more non-white characters in YA fiction like Adamma.I think the thing that will follow me around after reading this book is the feeling of deep unease and uncertainty as I finished this book. I love the way in which Tanya Byrne chose to tell this story in two parts, before and after and also in giving us plenty of mysteries that need uncovering. There's a lot within Follow Me Down that we as readers don't know and those secrets ate away at me. I really needed to know and it really isn't until those last few pages that we know for sure. That really ramped up the tension and unease for me not knowing how to feel about certain characters and situations. I did like Adamma as a main character. She comes to this new school a bit unhappy leaving New York and her friends behind, but fairly quickly she makes friends with Scarlett and settles into Croften College. Scarlett is a bit dramatic and attention-seeking and is someone who wields secrets and knowledge like weapons but is also the first person to really reach out to Adamma and make her feel like she belongs. She's a tricky character, Scarlett, as is the relationship between Adamma and Scarlett. I love how Adamma is able to remember both the good and the bad of their friendship. Because it turns out that a boy will come between these two girls. And another one of the mysteries that Tanya Byrne throws at us is the identity of this boy, mostly referred to as him or he so that while you might have an inkling to who it could be ... you're never quite sure! And for me, it really changed my perspective on the story depending on who I thought 'he' might be.Follow Me Down is a really tense and addictive read. I couldn't put it down once I'd started and by the end I was absolutely desperate to know what had happened and who was involved as well as being fully creeped out by this story. I thought it was amazing and I can highly recommend that you read this book!
Review Taken From The Pewter WolfWhen Adamma Okonma move from New York into England, she's a bit unhappy. She's moved away from her friends, her boyfriend, all because her father is Nigerian diplomat. So when her family put her in Crofton College, a boarding school in the middle of nowhere, you can guess her reaction. So when she meets Scarlett, she begins to think things are looking up. But Scarlett is secretive, wants to be center of attention, runs away without warning. Their friendship becomes destructive. And then something comes between them, tearing them apart.Told in two timelines - Before and After - we see Adamma become friends with Scarlett and their friendship grown then destroy itself and then we see Adamma after something unspeakable happens.So, you're probably wondering: is this book as good as Heart-Shaped Bruise? Or is it, as Tanya feared when she was writing this, a one hit wonder?Oh, Tanya. Why did you worry? This book is just as dark, twisty and as addictive as Heart-Shaped Bruise. And, at the same time, it is very different from Heart-Shaped Bruise. Adamma is so different to Emily Knoll, as is Scarlett. Follow Me Down is very different from Heart-Shaped Bruise as Follow Me Down has two mysteries slowly intertwine together while Heart-Shaped Bruise is a dark revenge plot. The two mysteries - what happened to Scarlett and who is Adamma romantically involved with - will have you turning the pages and will have you guessing to the last page.I loved this. I loved how this thriller kept me on the edge of my seat, staying up late at night and guessing till I closed the book. I think you guys, who love dark contemporary thriller, need to get your mitts on this. And when you do, NO JUMPING AHEAD TO THE END!
—Andrew
Why aren't there more YA mystery novels? What is not to love about them? Follow Me Down has everything: Posh boarding school setting! Whodunnit! Beautiful prose! Brilliant characters! Sixteen-year-old Adamma Okomma – a Nigerian diplomat's daughter – was the stand-out character for me (thankfully because she's our protagonist!).Adamma was the reason I picked up the book and the reason why I kept on reading. She has tasted the high life back in New York City, and is unhappy about moving to Crofton College, Wiltshire, but she is anything but a snob. Scarlett Chiltern, her new best friend, however, is snobby, rich and downright bitchy. She's cool and fashionable and lives in the biggest house in the village, but she's not as compex and fiesty as Adamma felt to me. Follow Me Down, instead, is a 'Before' and 'After' odyssey in which we see Adamma passionately and loyally deal with some pretty horrific experiences – from the disappearance of Scarlett to the suspected rape of a school friend – yet because it's YA mystery, it's never too graphic. You are probably wondering 'So what's the mystery'? Follow Me Down untangles just what has happened to Scarlett and who Adamma is romantically involved with throughout the book. You'll have to keep up when reading otherwise you may find yourself screaming 'WHAT?!' once you've reached the last page, and will have to re-read the last few pages again, as I had to.Follow Me Down is an accomplished, sophisticated novel with its haunting tone and clever foreshadowing. One of the things I like most about reading is not knowing what is going to happen next – unlike in real life where I have to plan everything – and mystery is the epitome of this. Follow Me Down does credit to YA, a thrilling mix of contemporary and mystery. Now, let's hope it starts a trend! Of course, I'll be picking up Heart-Shaped Bruise as soon as possible...Thank you Headline for providing this book to review!I also reviewed this book over on Pretty Books.
—Stacey (prettybooks)
I really enjoyed the first half of this book but the last half was a complete letdown. The ending was pretty obvious to me because whenever the lead character was with her boyfriend she always referred to him as 'him' and not 'Dominic', who was the character the author was trying to make us believe it was, so I started to suspect it was the teacher halfway through and after about 200 dragged out pages, I was right. I like a twist at the end of a book but just don't make it so obvious next time!
—Rachel
