Review of Astray by Amy Christine Parker

Review of Amy Christine Parker's Astray

Release Date: August 26th, 2014

Synopsis as found on GoodReads.com:

Lyla is caught between two worlds. The isolated Community that she grew up in and the outside world that she’s navigating for the very first time. The outsiders call the Community a cult, but Pioneer miraculously survived a shooting that should have killed him. Are the faithful members right to stay true to his message? Is this just a test of faith? One thing is for sure: the Community will do anything to bring Lyla back to the fold. Trapped in a spider’s web of deception, will Lyla detect the sticky threads tightening around her before it’s too late? She’ll have to unravel the mystery of what Pioneer and the Community are truly up to if she wants to survive.

Suspenseful and chilling, Astray is Amy Christine Parker’s nerve-fraying sequel to Gated. This fast-paced psychological thriller is masterfully plotted and sure to leave goose bumps. Perfect for fans of creepy YA thrillers and contemporary fiction alike.

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I have been dying to read this book ever since I read Gated last summer. You must know the feeling... when you finish a great book that has had you really thinking or feeling some kind of extreme emotions and you just want to know what happens next. I have wanted to know what happened to Lyla and everyone in her "community" for over a year. Finally picking up this book & closing the "chapter" on her life has been a blessing to my inner wondering. For the past 2 days that I have been reading Astray, my heart hasn't stopped pounding. I haven't wanted to put it down. If only I didn't need to sleep or go to work!!!

I will give you my review on how I feel about this book, but I am not giving ANY spoilers away! I am always apprehensive when reading a sequel. I run over a number of questions in mind as I am picking it up... Will it continue the way I hope it will? Will the characters get the ending I wish for them? Will it be as good or better than the first? In the case of Astray, I was extremely happy that my questions were answered. Amy Christine Parker has given us the suspense & cult-creepiness that was rife in Gated, as well as a concrete ending to Lyla's story. What more could I ask for in the final book of a series?

I believe wholeheartedly that everyone who loves YA Literature, Suspense, Mystery, Cult-Thrillers... As well as multiple other corresponding genres should pick this book up (as well as the first book, Gated) and take the chance that I took on it. You will not be disappointed!