Stalker Girl by Rosemary Graham

Stalker Girl

Author: Rosemary Graham

Published: August 5th, 2010

Publisher: Viking Juvenile

Genres: Suspense, romance

 

Goodreads Summary: "Carly never meant to become a stalker. She just wanted to find out who Brian started dating after he dumped her. But a little harmless online research turns into a quick glance, and that turns into an afternoon of watching. Soon Carly is putting all of her energy into following Brian's new girlfriend--all of the sadness she feels about her mom's recent breakup, all of the anger she feels over being pushed aside by her dad while he prepares for his new wife/s new baby. When Carly's stalking is discovered in the worst possible way by the worst possible person, she is forced to acknowledge her problem and the underlying issues that led to it."

Concept/Ideas: 4/5
Storyline/Plot: 3/5
Characters: 3/5
Writing Style: 4/5
Overall Rating: 3.5/5

I thought the concept for Stalker Girl was an interesting one. That's what originally pulled me into the novel, and tempted me to read it. It seemed like it would be somewhat of a suspenseful, enticing read about a girl who stalks her ex-boyfriend's new girlfriend. Unfortunately, it was a bit of a letdown. I was expecting a lot more from the book to be honest. I think it fell short because there just wasn't enough substance to the book. I felt as if Carly was a very flat, bland character, and was not someone who you could easily relate to. She seemed very emotionless in the novel. Because of lack of character development, it just sets the whole book off for a hard time being able to get a feel for the book, and even enjoying it. Throughout the first three quarters of the book, it mainly tells the story of how Carly and her now ex-boyfriend Brian meet. From there on, it basically builds up the storyline to the present day plot. You increasingly start to understand why Carly did what she did, and how it developed. There was some substance and development there, but still, not enough for my tastes. Although, I could really feel for Carly when dealing with her mother, and the divorce. That was probably one of the only parts of the book that affected me or even moved me in the slightest. The 'stalker' part that the title suggests really isn't an appropriate title in my opinion, since most of the book had nothing to do with the actual stalking of the new girlfriend. It was only in the first 10-15 pages at the beginning, and then 15-25 pages in the end that any real action happens. The plot was weak in my opinion, and it could have had a lot more to it. But maybe that's just me. I just expected 'stalking' out of it (as bad as that sounds, haha!).

The writing was alright, but nothing too amazing. I found myself stuck in a lot of slow parts, and had a hard time getting through the novel at times. In the end, it was still worth the read and I reccommend it.

Overall, like I said, the characters and their development was a bit weak, and the plot line was slow at times, but it was still an interesting read with a different concept to it than most YA novels. If you're looking for something different, I'd definitely ask you to check this one out.