He’ll Be Waiting
by Liz Alterman
Publication date: April 6th 2021
YA Thriller
There are no safe spaces…
When Tess Porter agrees to pick up her boyfriend’s college pal at the airport on a snowy December night, she has no idea she’s about to embark on the most dangerous ride of her life. Two days later, the 17-year-old wakes up in a hospital with broken bones, and unable to remember how she got there. Her parents are acting strangely, and neither James, her boyfriend, nor her best friend Izzy has visited. As she struggles to physically recover, Tess wrestles with haunting questions: What happened? Will her memory ever return? and what if she’s better off not recalling any of it?
MY TIDBITS
This one mixes the tension and suspense of a thriller and, yet, packs emotion and extends beyond the main plot into the realm of healing.
Tess wakes up to find herself severely injured in a hospital with no memory of what happened, but her parents, medical personnel, and cops are waiting for her to remember whatever she can. Bits and pieces come as she builds her journal in hopes of regaining her lost memory. But the more she remembers, the worse reality becomes.
I can't remember reading a thriller quite like this one. It holds tons of suspense and even more unexpected twists and turns, and doesn't stop there. Tess is easy to sympathize with as she tries her best to piece together her memory of the night she was injured, but this tale is about so much more than those chilling moments. The author masterfully weaves in memories from Tess's past, allowing her friends, family and boyfriend to gain depth while she never leaves the hospital bed. Just as Tess pieces together her memory, the reader is given glimpses and glances of her life and those around her. While the tension makes this one hard to put down and keeps the reader at the edge of their seat, the subplots of the surrounding relationships give it heart and heartbreak.
While unexpected events are usual in a thriller, this read really holds some surprises, which push the plot in new directions. And many of these aren't only done to push along the thriller plot. Issues such as family problems, LGBTQ difficulties, friendship, and healing also flow right in and carry as much importance as the main theme. Unlike many thrillers, this one reaches beyond the initial who-done-it and continues to accompany Tess as she comes to terms with the events and continues life afterwards. On this end, there were a few aspects, which did slow down the second half of the book for me. Also, I was a little confused as to why another character dropped in later in the book, since that part was explored as well as it could have been. Still, this was a very well done tale, which held so much more than I expected it would.
And here she is...
Liz Alterman lives in New Jersey with her husband and three sons. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Parents, McSweeney’s, and other publications. He’ll Be Waiting is her first young adult novel. When she isn’t writing, she spends most days microwaving the same cup of coffee and looking up synonyms.
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3 comments:
Thanks so much for reading and reviewing!
All the best,
Liz
Great review! This sounds like a really fun read and unexpected twists are always the best part of a thriller!! So happy you liked it!
I don't normally read thrillers, but this sounds like an exciting read. Being YA, I expect it's not as gruesome as some thrillers, which would make it a read possibility for me. Will look for it. Thanks!
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