Mimicry - Margo Ervand

Running away from her parents' home in Clio, Alabama, at the age of fifteen, Sarah seeks to gain not just freedom, but herself. But the past overtakes her when one day, her worst enemy appears at her door. Each of them has her own truth, her own pain, her own goals. But who will be stronger? Who will win the right to become unique and irreplaceable?

Blurb taken from Goodreads. 

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I was provided with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I thought the blurb sounded interesting, but from the outset I was the most intrigued by what the title meant. Mimicry is such a specific title and I was really excited to see what the story held.

I really think this book is unique, and I enjoyed the darkness and the psychological thriller aspects of the story. However, I found it quite confusing to follow the characters, and I wasn't able to connect with the plot like I'd hoped. I found it quite a difficult read, but I believe many others would enjoy it more.

Rating: ✫✫

 The Story

The story in Mimicry is really intriguing. From the outset, it's an incredibly direct narrative that doesn't hold back, and I think that's a really effective approach in a psychological thriller. It sets up the story for brutal honesty, which goes hand in hand with the darker elements of such a plot.

As the story progresses, we learn exactly where the title, Mimicry, comes in, and I didn't see it coming at all. It was an idea that I haven't seen used very often, and that has so many potential avenues for plot twists that I was so excited to keep reading.

Unfortunately, I found a few problems with the book that stopped me being able to connect with it on a deeper level. Although there were so many possibilities for the plot, it didn't feel like there was enough detail to really sustain it. I really felt the main thread of the story could have done with a little bit of bulking out, with additional details added in to make the world seem far more real. 

Additionally, I think the characters would have benefitted from similar attention. There are only a couple of important characters in the actual story, which was a shame because I would have liked to have seen a wider cast. Of the characters that were there, there just wasn't a lot of depth to them. I think the reason I found this was because the narrative as a whole was a little one-dimensional. We are told of the events happening rather than being brought into the story to experience them, and I felt that I was too disconnected to really enjoy the book.

The Verdict

I'm really grateful that I had the opportunity to read this book, and there were a lot of positives that I took away from it. 

The story was interesting, I quite liked the title when I eventually came to understand it, and a lot of the darker, psychological themes were intriguing.

However, I just felt the book didn't have enough depth. The plot, the characters and even the way the story was told needed a bit more oomph. I think if this had been the case, I would have connected with it a lot more.