Title: No One Else Can Have You
Author: Kathleen Hale
Series: Standalone
Genre: YA Contemporary, Mystery
Release Date: January 7, 2014
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: ARC provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review

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Small towns are nothing if not friendly. Friendship, Wisconsin (population: 688) is no different. Around here, everyone wears a smile. And no one ever locks their doors. Until, that is, high school sweetheart Ruth Fried is found murdered. Strung up like a scarecrow in the middle of a cornfield.

Unfortunately, Friendship’s police are more adept at looking for lost pets than catching killers. So Ruth’s best friend, Kippy Bushman, armed with only her tenacious Midwestern spirit and Ruth’s secret diary (which Ruth’s mother had asked her to read in order to redact any, you know, sex parts), sets out to find the murderer. But in a quiet town like Friendship—where no one is a suspect—anyone could be the killer.


How am I supposed to review this book for you? It was more than I ever thought it would be, but on the other hand I honestly do not know if I can explain why I loved it so much. Reading this book was such a different experience for me because the characters and settings were so different from every other YA novel out there right now. When reviewers say that this book is like Fargo, they are not kidding. Not only because the setting is quite similar, but also because the actions of the characters are so similar.

I have never lived in a small town, so therefore I have no idea what it is like, but reading this book I got a glimpse into one that is dealing with such a tragic death, that it left me speechless. Beware to those who do not like gruesome reads because the first few chapters of this book describe the death and let me tell you, I even cringed. And I watch a lot of slasher movies. I honestly think that hearing it described is much worse them seeing it on TV, because then your imagination takes over and that's it. Your done for.

The writing in this book is phenomenal, the author is my new hero for writing characters that are so flawed yet so incredibly relatable. Especially the narrator Kippy who is by far my favourite character every. She is hilarious and serious at the same time, and has the heart of a lion. She is fiercely loyal and by the end of the book that gets her into a little bit of trouble. The reason I think I loved her character so much was how she dealt with her best friends death...she didn't. She screwed up, broke down and made so many mistakes while trying to find the killer, that she began to discover herself through the death of her best friend. It was amazing to read.

If you love mysteries that deal with very personal characters then this book is for you, if you love quirky small town flavor and a topic that can somewhat taboo is YA fiction, then this is definitely the book for you! I hope I described this book well enough for you to pick it up and read it. It has started me year off right and I hope that trend continues.