Review: Premeditated by Josin McQuein

Premeditated
Josin McQuein
Series: None
Released: October 8th, 2013
Publisher: Delacorte BFYR
Rating: 5 stars
Word Rating: YESYESYES
Reviewed by: Blythe

A week ago, Dinah’s cousin Claire cut her wrists.

Five days ago, Dinah found Claire’s diary and discovered why.

Three days ago, Dinah stopped crying and came up with a plan.

Two days ago, she ditched her piercings and bleached the black dye from her hair.

Yesterday, knee socks and uniform plaid became a predator’s camouflage.

Today, she’ll find the boy who broke Claire.

By tomorrow, he’ll wish he were dead.

It's a true testament to Premeditated's quality that I am actually able to write this review right now, months after finishing this novel, given the fact that I have an absolutely awful memory. I normally forget a novel's details within a week or two at most, but I am able to say that, nearly two months after finishing Premeditated, I remember it practically vividly; from the amazingly developed characters and their relationships, the utterly fantastic plot twists, to the brilliantly built conflicts--I remember nearly everything from this excellent novel.

With that having been said, however, I feel that, more than anything, expectations are crucial for your enjoyment in Premeditated. Despite what the synopsis may indicate, Premeditated is probably not as hardcore and revenge-focused as you would think. While revenge (with undertones of hardcore) is definitely a huge factor in Premeditated and is the driving point for most of Dinah's actions throughout the novel, the major factor in Premeditated is the outstanding relationship and character development.

Dinah is an incredibly strong and fantastically developed character, and her relationship with her cousin, Claire, was one of the strongest and most touching ones I've ever had the pleasure to read. This is made even more notable considering the fact that Claire is in a coma throughout pretty much the entirety of the novel. As well as being a determined character, the conflicts Dinah experiences throughout Premeditated is in simplest terms awe-inspiring and complex. Quite frankly, they're all something you'll just have to experience for yourself in order to capture the true brilliance that it is.

As well as the fantastic character and relationship development in Premeditated, the mystery aspect to the novel and the plot are just as commendable and stunning as literally everything else in the novel. While the mystery and novel itself does move at a rather slow pace, the unraveling of the plot twists and the evidence alongside the character development makes each and every revelation made more and more shell-shocking and powerful. And although the final twist was something I had initially suspected but eventually discarded, that didn't make it any less of an emotional, fantastic, and unbelievable ending for me.

With characters you'll inevitably care for, as well as characters you'll hate to find yourself loving, with witty, light, and often hysterical dialogue occurring amidst the serious and daunting atmosphere expertly crafted throughout the novel, I am thrilled to be able to say that Premeditated is a truly outstanding sophomore novel. Having also read and thoroughly enjoyed McQuein's debut novel Arclight, I can say with absolutely no doubt in my mind that Josin McQuein is a talented author whose works you should keep your eye on if you're looking for an amazing and remarkably lingering read.

(Unrelated: the Divergent readalong starts today! If you haven't read the trilogy or Allegiant yet, sign up and read it with me! Be sure to tag your tweets with #DivergentRAL so we can discuss on Twitter, too!)