Shade Me

by Jennifer Brown

Overview

The first book in bestselling author Jennifer Brown’s thrilling suspense series for fans of Sara Shepard’s Pretty Little Liars, Shade Me is about a unique girl who becomes entangled in a mysterious crime and lured into a sexy but dangerous relationship with a boy who may be a suspect.

Nikki Kill has always been an outsider. Born with rare synesthesia, she sees the world differently. In Nikki’s eyes, happiness is pink, sadness is a mixture of brown and green, and lies are gray.

To Nikki, Peyton Hollis, the ultrarich it-girl at school, was seemingly untouchable. That is, until Peyton is violently attacked and the only phone number the hospital finds in Peyton’s cell is Nikki’s. Suddenly Nikki is pulled into Peyton’s glittering, fast-paced world as she tries to unravel an unfolding conspiracy.

As Nikki gets closer to the dark truth—and to Peyton’s gorgeous older brother—the only thing she can be sure of is death is a deep, pulsing crimson.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062324450
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	01/19/2016
Series:	Shade Me , #1
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	448
File size:	904 KB
Age Range:	14 Years

About the Author

Jennifer Brown is the author of the young adult novels Shade Me, Bitter End, Perfect Escape, Thousand Words, and Torn Away. Her debut young adult novel, Hate List, was chosen as an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, a VOYA Perfect Ten, and a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year. She lives in the Kansas City, Missouri, area with her husband and children. You can visit Jennifer online at www.jenniferbrownya.com.

Editorial Reviews

10/12/2015
In this gritty thriller, first in a series, 17-year-old Nikki Kill is plunged into a web of lies when a classmate she barely knows is attacked and left for dead, having contacted Nikki as her last act. Nikki has synesthesia: words, numbers, and emotions all have colors for her, and it has turned her into a rebellious outcast. But she is inexplicably drawn to the mystery of Peyton Hollis, daughter of a powerful Hollywood producer, and to Peyton’s fractious, secretive family. As Nikki slowly unravels the clues behind Peyton’s assault, she discovers a seedy world in which nothing related to Peyton is as it seems, including the disgruntled members of her garage band; her manipulative half-sister, Luna; and her sly, seductive older brother, Dru. Complicated and tense, this dark tale runs long amid its many red herrings and revelations, but it hits all the hallmarks of a traditional hardboiled mystery, full of dirty secrets and potential betrayals. Brown (Torn Away) skillfully uses Nikki’s condition to put a fresh spin on time-honored noir conventions. Ages 14–up. Agent: Cori Deyoe, 3 Seas Literary. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

Nikki’s endearingly heedless with a careless confidence, and her tenacity may earn respect.

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

SHADE ME is a wild ride, illuminating the gritty side of Los Angeles and the beautiful people who populate it. Fans of Veronica Mars will fall in love with Nikki Kill.

Michelle Gagnon

Nikki Kill’s synesthesia not only means she sees numbers and emotions in pulsating colors but also that her intuition is so finely tuned it is almost painful. At eighteen years old, she has developed a multitude of coping skills to help manage her symptoms, but her childhood discovery of her violently murdered mother still throbs with immediacy. An inexplicable phone call draws Nikki into the case of school acquaintance Peyton Hollis, the victim of a brutal beating that has left her comatose and close to death. Driven by memories of her mother’s unsolved murder, Nikki is determined to find Peyton’s assailant, a decision that puts her at odds with both the police and the powerful, wealthy Hollis family. The investigation is complicated by Peyton’s handsome older brother, the privileged and—to Nikki at least—irresistible Dru Hollis. Nikki’s investigation takes her into the heart of a ruinous scandal involving altered birth certificates, murder for hire, and a call girl racket at the root of it all. A lethal combination of betrayal and greed nearly ends Nikki, but ultimately the villains are revealed and a bruised and a battered Nikki forges an uneasy alliance with local detective Chris Martinez. This debut entry in a new suspense series is a solidly built mystery; the first-person prose is smooth, and the forward momentum never falters. The conclusion manages to find closure even as it leaves multiple threads open for future development. Nikki is a complex character with potential for growth, and her gritty determination to find the truth, while it almost undoes her, is what makes her compelling. Reviewer: Janice M. Del Negro; Ages 15 to 18.

VOYA, April 2016 (Vol. 39, No. 1) - Janice M. Del Negro

11/01/2015
Gr 9 Up—The author of Hate List (Little, Brown, 2009) kicks off a suspenseful series featuring California high school senior Nikki Kill. Nikki has synesthesia: a sense-combining condition in which she attributes certain colors to numbers, letters, and emotions. A strange phone call from popular classmate Peyton Hollis, with whom Nikki had no previous interactions, embroils Nikki in the illicit secrets of Peyton's glitzy and dangerous family. When Peyton is found badly beaten, Nikki decides to investigate, following Peyton's clues, which are seemingly tailor-made for Nikki's synesthete abilities. Brown writes Nikki's synesthesia as an almost heightened intuition, yet Nikki repeatedly and recklessly ignores it. Readers may also balk at Nikki's hazardous reluctance to enlist adult help, which she deems justifiable given her family history. Excepting the protagonist, the cast tends toward stock or superficially described characters who are saved only by their murky motivations, which help maintain the "whodunit-and-why" mystery. The violent, action-packed climax tears apart a few loose threads for future installments. While Nikki is a force to be reckoned with and the vaguely noirish, seedy Hollywood drama and quick pacing will appeal to teens, this title lacks the cheeky cleverness of Veronica Mars. VERDICT Purchase where mysteries or the author's other works are popular.—Danielle Serra, Cliffside Park Public Library, NJ

School Library Journal

2015-09-21
An 18-year-old girl decides to investigate an attempted murder on her own. Nikki has synesthesia, which causes her to see colors mixed in with letters, numbers, and the environment, which is why she answers school queen-bee Peyton's orange-colored phone call: it's an emergency. The movie producer's daughter has been beaten nearly to death, and Nikki's was the only number on Peyton's phone—though Nikki hardly knows her. Curious, Nikki becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to Peyton. She continually rebuffs Chris, the detective assigned to the case, who pleads with her to be careful and to give him what information she might have. Naturally, Nikki places herself in ever more dangerous positions, but although she's an expert in martial arts, that might not be enough. Brown builds suspense as well as frustration, as Nikki makes better progress in the case than does Chris but blithely withholds and even destroys crucial evidence even as she puts herself in increasing danger. Nikki's intransigence appears to be entirely plot-driven, and the mounting stupidity of her decisions may infuriate readers. The story also simply abandons two subplots, the murder of Nikki's mother and the former boyfriend who wants her back. An intense, often exasperating, sometimes-thrilling series opener. (Thriller. 12-18)

Kirkus Reviews