Blog Interview: Jill Hathaway

Hello everyone! Please help me welcome Jill Hathaway today! Jill is the author of Slide (HarperCollins, March 27th 2012). Now let us check out her answers to the interview questions!

1. What inspired you to write about the idea of someone being able to 'slide'?

I was trying to think of a really shocking premise, and I thought it would be so freaky if you realized you just killed someone but didn't know how or why. From that, the idea of sliding into other people's heads evolved. 

 

2. What made you decide to have Vee's hair colour Pink? (which by the way is totally awesome!) I wanted her to be a little bit edgy. She used to be a popular cheerleader, but some things happened that made her turn away from that crowd. She wanted to mark that separation with her appearance, as well.

3. Do you read YA books as well? Can you please name a few recent reads that you really loved? Oh, yes. I read a TON of YA. Recently I just read and loved FRACTURE by Megan Miranda and HALLOWED by Cynthia Hand. 

4. If Slide was to be a movie, which actors or actresses would you pick to play Vee, Zane and Rollins?  

This is so hard because I don't go to as many movies or watch TV as much as I used to. When I wrote the book, I had Jared Leto (in his Jordan Catalano days) in mind for Rollins. Zane is more like Nate from Gossip Girl. And Dakota Fanning would be fabulous as Vee, I think!

5. Quick question: Twitter or Facebook? 

Oooh, this is hard. I'm going to have to go with Facebook.

 

Thank you so much for your time, Jill! Are you excited to read Slide? Check out my review here! 

#38 Book Review: Slide

Slide [ARC]
Genre: Young Adult
Pages: 256
Release date: March 27th 2012
Author: Jill Hathaway
Source: NetGalley & HarperCollins Australia for an Honest Review
Format: E-book


Summary from Goodreads:
Vee Bell is certain of one irrefutable truth—her sister’s friend Sophie didn’t kill herself. She was murdered.

Vee knows this because she was there. Everyone believes Vee is narcoleptic, but she doesn’t actually fall asleep during these episodes: When she passes out, she slides into somebody else’s mind and experiences the world through that person’s eyes. She’s slid into her sister as she cheated on a math test, into a teacher sneaking a drink before class. She learned the worst about a supposed “friend” when she slid into her during a school dance. But nothing could have prepared Vee for what happens one October night when she slides into the mind of someone holding a bloody knife, standing over Sophie’s slashed body.

Vee desperately wishes she could share her secret, but who would believe her? It sounds so crazy that she can’t bring herself to tell her best friend, Rollins, let alone the police. Even if she could confide in Rollins, he has been acting off lately, more distant, especially now that she’s been spending more time with Zane.

Enmeshed in a terrifying web of secrets, lies, and danger and with no one to turn to, Vee must find a way to unmask the killer before he or she strikes again.

My review:

Cover:
Very interesting. I love the purple and light effects in the cover. The way the title is set makes you feel like it's 'sliding' or 'moving;. I love the blurb too! 'Sometimes you can't look away'. 

4 Forget-me-not flowers for the cover!

Story:
The idea of Slide amazed me. I can imagine what it's like for Vee to be able to slide into someone's mind and see what they're doing at that time. Slide is not just about Vee's ability to 'slide', but also about the murders that are happening in the town. As I read the book, I anticipate the parts where Vee is able to slide into other characters' minds and see what exactly is going on with them. Soon she finds out that most of her friends have their own secrets, including her father. 

Slide was a new concept of power and I really enjoyed the fact that Hathaway described all the details of Vee's ability I can actually understand how her power works. This book made me put on my detective cap and think who is the real murderer behind all these characters and what are their connections to each other?

I have to admit I wasn't a very good detective. I wasn't able to guess who the true murderers are until the end and what are their connections to Vee and her family. I love reading mysteries or murderer themed books where readers are involved in a way that we can try and guess who the murderers are. I was completely sucked in this book and it's been a while since I read a book about murderers and stuffs. It was a very very great read!

Characters:
Vee was definitely my favourite character in this book. I completely understand her, including why she dyes her hair pink, her sadness for her family and friends. When I try to put myself in her shoes, I find it difficult to tell someone about my ability to 'slide' because the big chance is they won't believe me. If they do and they knew that I've slide to their minds, knowing some of their secrets, they would not want to associate with me anymore. This is how Vee feels. I also love the fact that she progressed by starting to accept her ability, helping to find who the true murderers are and helping her family back together. I did enjoy reading about Rollins, Vee's best friend but got a bit disappointed when he left her because Vee knows his secret after sliding into his mind but everything ended well in this book. Everything solved. I also enjoyed reading about other characters such as Zane, Vee's father, Mattie (Vee's sister). The characters are written well in a way that you can also feel their pain and sadness too.

Overall:
A great debut with an interesting concept filled with mysteries of murders! I absolutely enjoyed this one.This book is definitely recommended to everyone. My mind 'slided' into this book! Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Australia for accepting my request to read this book! 

4 Forget-me-not flowers for Slide!