(ARC Review) Losing Faith by Denise Jaden

LOSING FAITH
Author: Denise Jaden
Source: Around the World Tours

• Reading level: Young Adult
• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Simon Pulse; Original edition (September 7, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416996095
• ISBN-13: 978-1416996095

SYNOPSIS:

A terrible secret. A terrible fate.


When Brie's sister, Faith, dies suddenly, Brie's world falls apart. As she goes through the bizarre and devastating process of mourning the sister she never understood and barely even liked, everything in her life seems to spiral farther and farther off course. Her parents are a mess, her friends don’t know how to treat her, and her perfect boyfriend suddenly seems anything but. 


As Brie settles into her new normal, she encounters more questions than closure: Certain facts about the way Faith died just don't line up. Brie soon uncovers a dark and twisted secret about Faith’s final night...a secret that puts her own life in danger. 

MY THOUGHTS:

Wow. I wish I had a stronger word to describe this book but Wow is pretty much the first thing I said when I finished it.  This young adult book features cults, romance, suspense and mystery, and even death.  What do you get when you put all of those subjects into a book? Losing Faith by Denise Jaden is what you get.

When Brie's very religious sister dies, the family is devastated.  Faith was the oldest, yet Brie was not very close with her.  The police rule her death a suicide, but Brie knows in her heart that Faith would never do that. Brie's parents go through the normal emotions of burying a daughter and shut themselves down from Brie.  She feels alone with her parents going through depression and anger towards them for not being there for her.

Brie also is dealing with her boyfriend cheating on her with her best friend.  When Brie dumps them both, she finds a new friend in the school bad girl, Tessa.  Together they try to piece together what happened to Faith and building a friendship along the way. 

When Brie uncovers the secrets that Faith was hiding, she discovers Alis as well.  They both know there are sparks between them yet Brie also knows that his sister is involved in the religious cult Faith was in.

This book had me gripping the pages and biting my nails with suspense! I could not put this book down until I finished it.  I had to know what happened!  The author did a wonderful job at pacing the story and keeping the reader enthralled with it.  I loved the sweet moments between Alis and Brie, the spy moments between Tessa and Brie, and the mystery of what really happened to Faith.  A great new author for me to keep my eye on for more great writing!

MY RATING:

Outstanding Book That Will Stay On My Bookshelf
For Rereading! 5 STARS