The Locket: Review

Title: The Locket

Author: Stacey Jay

Release Date: February 2011

Published By: Razorbill

Pages: 288

Goodreads Rating: 3.73 stars

Review: When Katie's boyfriend Isaac discovers that she kissed their best friend Mitch, he dumps her and leaves her devastated. But then a miracle happens and her locket takes her back to the night she cheated on him. At first she's thrilled to be able to prevent her mistakes, but as more and more aspects of her life change for the worse, she starts to wonder if this truly was a miracle... and if it's too late to fix the new damage.

I was a little wary of starting THE LOCKET because of some less-than-favorable reviews I read, but to my surprise, this book was rather addicting and very difficult to put down. There was an easiness in the narration that made you feel like you could sit down and just read this book straight through to the end all at once.

Of course, it wasn't just the voice that kept me turning pages. The plot itself was intriguing, and I was both horrified and fascinated by the situations Katie kept finding herself in, all because of the locket. It was incredible to see how quickly and horribly everything could all go awry, and I definitely didn't anticipate some of the events that occurred.

One thing I was particularly worried about going in was how the plot idea itself is rather clichéd, and there was a lot of room for the author to potentially bash the readers on the head with Great Life Lessons about atoning for mistakes and recognizing if you have a jerk boyfriend. Luckily, in this case, the story was executed very well and uniquely and there wasn't even a hint of moral-preaching going on.

However, while I largely enjoyed the book and the ending, I was bothered quite a bit by the resolution. The way everything worked out was fine, but I hated that [mild spoiler ahead] after all that happened, Katie was able to get rid of the locket and thus all her new problems by simply hacking it off. I mean, really? Couldn't she have done that a billion times earlier in the book and saved all that trouble? It would have made more sense if there was some way to remove it that she could only do at that point in time.

All in all, though, THE LOCKET was the kind of gripping novel that you look forward to picking up all through the day. It had the potential to be predictable and unoriginal, but the author executed it in such a way that it was original and fascinating, and a variety of interesting themes were explored without coming across as too preachy. Anyone who enjoys contemporary fiction with a fantastical twist should definitely check this out!