Review: Betwixt by Melissa Pearl - Juhina

Title: Betwixt

Author: Melissa Pearl

Publication date: November 5, 2012

Genre(s): Young Adult (Paranormal/Contemporary)

Challenges: SARC

Source: Author
Format: Egalley

Pages: 203

Add to Goodreads

Beautiful, wild-child Nicole Tepper is hit by a car and left for dead. But when she wakes the next morning, Nicole finds herself in bed without a scratch. Perhaps she was more intoxicated than usual, as her mother is giving her the silent treatment and her friends are ignoring her as well.

Things take a turn for the weird when Nicole soon discovers she is actually hovering between life and death. Her body is lying in the forest while her spirit is searching for anyone who can hear her. Unfortunately the only person who can is Dale Finnigan, the guy she publicly humiliated with a sharp-tongued insult that has left him branded.

Desperate, Nicole has no choice but to haunt Dale and convince the freaked-out senior to help her. Will he find her body before it's too late? Or will the guy who tried to kill her with his car, beat him there and finish her off before anyone finds out?

Betwixt is another fantastic novel by Melissa Pearl. I think Melissa Pearl has tackled this sub-genre marvelously. In Betwixt, Nicole was on the receiving end of a hit and run and is thrown down the hill from the impact of the car. When she wakes up she finds out that no one can hear or see her, except for Dale. Dale, the neighbor who she always liked as a friend but couldn't really hang out with because she is at the top of the social ladder and being associated with him is like social suicide. Therefore Nicole has to battle between having someone hear her and find her and basically her body surviving the crash and her immobility in the middle of nowhere. 

This novel was so refreshing. I loved how Melissa Pearl kept this novel as realistically as possible for such a plot. The ending wasn't absurd or out of no where and the mystery of who hit her was actually really well thought out and written. At the beginning I did not like Nicole. She was a typical mean girl who lived by the book of bullies. I did not pity her or care much for her. She was spoilt, careless, an airhead, mean, and just downright infuriating. She thought the whole world loved her but got a reality check when she heard what people were saying about her behind her back. The only person who I liked from the beginning was Dale. Dale is the guy who has always tried to be nice to her but was rewarded the nickname scarface when her friends caught her chatting with him and *gasp* actually enjoying herself. 

However bit by bit Nicole finally sees herself for who she truly was and that caused her to re-evaluate her whole life. I love it when characters develop and you actually see it happening and believing in it because a character you hated at the beginning of the story ends up being your favorite towards the end. I really enjoy Melissa Pearl's novels. Every single one that I have read I delved into its world with its characters and plot. Betwixt was no exception. Melissa Pearl is a gifted storyteller and I urge all YA readers to check out Betwixt or any of her other novels!

Other books by Melissa Pearl:
Forbidden Territory (Mica & Lexy #1)
Golden Blood (Time Spirit Trilogy #1)
Black Blood (Time Spirit Trilogy #2)
Pure Blood (Time Spirit Trilogy #3)