Book Review ~ I Know Lucy by Melissa Pearl

Finished ~ I Know Lucy (Fugitive 01) by Melissa Pearl
Completed 5/12/14
4 of 5 stars


I was sent this book by the publisher for my honest review.

This YA Contemporary Suspense novel is about Lucy, who has been on the run for 5 years after witnessing the murder of her parents. She's been running from place to place, doing what she needs to, to survive, until she meets Zach who makes her not want to run anymore.

This book has a different style of writing and at first, it put me off of it. The author explains it, in the beginning, what she's done. She tells the story from Zach's point of view, so his chapters are done in 1st person but there are flashback chapters of Lucy's story and those are done in 3rd person. It takes quite a while to get into, but once it gets going, it actually flowed quite well together. I was only left with thinking, if this is told from Zach's point of view, how does he know all of this? He doesn't obviously, at least not during the telling of the book, so I don't really see it as his point of view, just a different style of writing. Still, it worked overall, once I got into it.

The story mostly grabbed me from the beginning, but it was when Zack really started looking into things that the book really really started getting good. Zach is a great character. He has a great group of friends that surround him and mostly support him, even when they don't agree with him, he really deeply and truly cares about his friends and then about Lucy, even before he knows anything is going on. At first he only knows that she has some secrets, but as he starts to discover her secrets, he doesn't go running to the hills.

Setting = B
Plot = A

You can't help but root for Lucy. She's had it rough and you just want to reach in and take care of her, both 5 years ago and through the years that she is on the run. She's secretive and tough and she's done a lot of wrong, but only enough to survive and you can't fault her for any of it. It makes you wonder if you'd do the same in her situation, or would you do what she couldn't do ~ curl into a ball and wait to die. She's so strong and you just want everything to work out for them both.

Conflict = A
Characters = A+
Theme = A

Then? The book ends!! Not really at a cliffhanger, but close enough. What happens next?!? Does she tell him the rest of the story? Does he believe her? Does he tell her that he broke his promise and told a friend her secret? What is going on? I want to know right now!!

This book was a FANTASTIC read. I loved it all. I really got into it and it kept me interested through the whole thing. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes YA Suspense.





Lucy Tate is on the run. After witnessing the brutal murder of her parents, she's spent five years in hiding -- taking on different personas and faking her way through life. The authorities can't be trusted, so she remains in the shadows, always one beat ahead of the man who is forever hunting her. That is, until she meets Zach Schultz, a senior at Monte Vista High and the one guy she can’t bear to leave. Suddenly her natural instincts to lie, steal, and run are overshadowed by something else...the desire to stay. It’s her one shot at a normal life.

Curious by nature, Zach is immediately drawn to the new girl at school. How can a person look both confident and vulnerable all in the same moment? Determined to learn more about her, he tries to get close, but is thrown into a world of lies and confusion. The only thing that becomes apparent is that discovering the truth may get him killed.