Follow Me Down - Tanya Byrne - 5*

Follow Me Down

Tanya Byrne

*****

No Spoilers.

When sixteen-year-old Adamma Okomma, a Nigerian diplomat's daughter, arrives at exclusive Crofton College in Wiltshire, she is immediately drawn to beautiful, tempestuous, unpredictable Scarlett Chiltern. Adamma and Scarlett become inseparable - until they fall for the same guy. Soon the battle lines are drawn and Adamma is shunned by Scarlett and her privileged peers. But then Scarlett goes missing and everything takes a darker turn. Adamma always knew that Scarlett had her secrets, but some secrets are too big to keep and this one will change all of their lives for ever.

This was an amazing read; every little twist and turn the page took you, you were engrossed and firmly belted up on this ride. At first I thought the timeline chapters were a bit strange -- each ‘chapter’ changes between the present and the past. I do believe that this is added to make it appear more to the thriller and mystery aspect, making you appear as though you are trying to pinpoint what is happening and whose secrets are whose. Well it is done grandly. It really did make you feel like you were there throughout the entire book, right up to the last page.

I enjoyed reading Adamma’s personality; it was at first a little stuck up and snobby but throughout ‘Follow Me Down’ you grew to really like her. She was a strong heroine, very much in love with the friendship and passion and times that come at Crofton. I liked Scarlett, I thought she was expertly written. Her character jumped out the page. Out of all the male characters, I did find myself quite drawn to Dominic, of course that is always the case... Bad boy and all that jazz.

Moving on to Tanya Byrne’s writing style. It is flawless. Such beautifully written, almost magical prose. The dialogue is real and quirky. The landscape that Tanya has created flowed so well, the descriptions so great it felt like you were there in the dreary gothic college. I cannot fault any part of her writing, just the fact that ending. The last few pages I had to reread a few times to get that twist, but my word that twist!

I do believe that this is a darker, grittier book and should be touched with warning to those who are easily triggered by elements of darker abuse. It was something that made you feel the realism of the story. The hurt, the ache and the grief. It really did add up to being one of the better books I have read this year. I cannot fault the storyline. The twists were bang on, the turns were amazingly sharp and well written. Adamma had a quality about her, that I really wanted to befriend. These characters were not on paper anymore, they were in my head, they were in my line of sight.

I implore you, pick up this book, either be it from the library (Like I had) or a charity shop, thrift store, a friend, the internet or bookstores. You must find this book and give it a read, it really did leave me feeling quite content when I turned the last page, that that was a ride and a half which I would happily take again.