Book Review: Not If I Save You First by Allky Carter

Title: Not If I Save You First Written by: Ally Carter Published: March 27, 2018 by Scholastic (Amazon / Goodreads) Synopsis: Maddie thought she and Logan would be friends forever. But when your dad is a Secret Service agent and your best friend is the president's son, sometimes life has other plans. Before she knows it, Maddie's dad is dragging her to a cabin in the middle of the Alaskan wilderness. No phone. No Internet. And not a single word from Logan. Maddie tells herself it's okay. After all, she's the most popular girl for twenty miles in any direction. (She’s also the only girl for twenty miles in any direction.) She has wood to cut and weapons to bedazzle. Her life is full. Until Logan shows up six years later . . . And Maddie wants to kill him. But before that can happen, an assailant appears out of nowhere, knocking Maddie off a cliff and dragging Logan to some unknown fate. Maddie knows she could turn back- and get help. But the weather is turning and the terrain will only get more treacherous, the animals more deadly. Maddie still really wants to kill Logan. But she has to save him first.

I love Ally Carter's books. I haven't read all of them but every book I have read I really enjoyed. She's great at writing YA books with elements of mysteries and thrillers without really being either. I was excited for her next book because it sounded like a great read that was just that. And I was not disappointed by it.

One of the things that I think Ally Carter does so well is characterization, and I loved the characters in this book. The book alternates perspectives between Maddie and Logan. Maddie is a bit of a girly girl who is living in Alaska with her dad. I love that she balanced her love of lip gloss and cuticle care with chopping wood and gutting fish. She was tough and resourceful while being a teenage girl. I was rooting for her from the very beginning. Logan took a little while to warm up to. He was kind of a cliché child of famous people acting out for no good reason. But when push came to shove, Logan was smart, kind, and resilient. Logan had great development throughout the book and I was rooting for him by the end. Both characters were great apart and together. I really got invested in their story of survival.

And that's exactly what this book was, it was a story of survival. I don't know why but I was not expecting that at all. I was expecting this to be a book full of action and adventure though and that's exactly what I got. I love a good plot that has been so engaged in a book that I can read a solid 50 pages without batting an eye and that's what happened here. It's a short and easy read that you won't want to put down. There were daring escapes, near death experiences, and plenty of moments that had me on the edge of my seat. But like I said, this was a survival story. So much of the plot of this book was not only about surviving the kidnapping but also just surviving, which I really enjoyed.

A lot of that survival had to do with the setting of this book. I have read a few books now set in Alaska and it is definitely a great place to set a contemporary read. For one thing it is a really unique setting. You don't get a lot of books set there, and I liked that. But it's also a harsh and forgiving place that isn't for the fait of heart. It makes for really interesting characters who are forced to deal with a lot of adversity. It also makes for a setting that perfectly lends itself well to a dramatic and tense read.

I do however wish there was more to the mystery of the book. I know it wasn't a mystery, it wasn't a political thriller, but it also kind of was. Or at least it could have been. I wish we got to delve a little deeper into those elements of the story. The were a part of it to a smaller degree and I feel like if you are going for a potential international incident you should go for it, you know. But that's probably just a bit of personal preference because I like my mystery to be a big part of the book and that wasn't what happened here.

On the whole I really enjoyed this book. It had great characters, an exciting plot, and a fascinating setting. I wish it had more of an intense mystery but the book was still action-packed and full of adventure.

I give Not If I Save You Fist by Ally Carter 9 out of 10 stars

Buy/Borrow/Bypass: Buy/Borrow. I would definitely recommend this book to fans of adventure stories. It was a great survival story.  If you are looking for a contemporary read with elements of action and adventure then check it out.

Have you read Not If I Save You First? What did you think? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!