Deadfall by Anna Carey

Series: Blackbird Duology (bk. 2)

Genera(s): Mystery Thriller/Realistic Fiction

Subjects: suspense, action, memory, amnesia, murder, identity,

Setting: New York City

POV/Tense: 2nd person POV, present tense: a girl with amnesia named Lena who went by Sunny

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 243 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $17.99

Publisher: HarperTeen

Summary/ product description: “In the compelling sequel to Blackbird, Anna Carey delivers a gritty and adrenaline-filled story of a girl desperate to escape her mysterious and terrifying assailants. Told in second person, this heart-pounding thriller puts the reader in front of the target.

A week ago, you woke up in Los Angeles with no memory of who you are. The only thing you knew: people are trying to kill you. You put your trust in Ben, but he betrayed you and broke your heart. Now you've escaped to New York City with a boy named Rafe, who says he remembers you from before. But the two of you are not safe. The same people who are after you are tailing Rafe as well. As the chase heats up, your memory starts to return, but your past cannot save you from the terrifying circumstances of your present, or the fact that one wrong move could end this game forever.

With enemies on every side, and not a reprieve in sight, Deadfall will grab readers and refuse to let go. Perfect for fans of the Maze Runner series and the Legend series.”

My Review: Deadfall, the sequel to Blackbird is a fast paced book filled with non-stop action, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as I hoped. It’s a little like Born Identity because our main character had no memory of her life before waking up on subway tracks in L.A. Now she’s starting to get memories back. She doesn’t know her name until Rafe, a boy from the island, tells her it’s Lena on page 8. Not much of a spoiler, but Sunny is Lena Marcus. She’s been calling herself Sunny. This guy, Ben, helped her when she told him about her predicament and there was some romance. Now Rafe claims than they were together on the island and she has some memory that confirms this. I liked Ben a lot better than Rafe. I didn’t grow to love the characters very much.

The one extremely unique thing about this book series is that it’s written in the 2nd person (and present tense). I have not read a 2nd person book since elementary school, and that was a choose-your-own-adventure book. All the You’s didn’t annoy me in the first book, but it started to feel annoying in this sequel since we now know the main character’s name. This is a duology (2-book series) and is just too short. I wish we got to see the story of being hunted on the island. It’s a great backstory, and I honestly think it would make a great novella prequel. It would probably be more interesting because a island is a more exotic setting than New York or L.A.

The whole hunting-teens-in-the-city-for-fun thing just didn’t feel believable. It made it seem like The Purge movies meets the Hunger Games. I want to relate this book to other things, and I hope they’re not spoilery. It made me think of Arrow, how they we on an island. And then The Forsaken series by Lisa M. Stasse. Also if you like action thrillers in YA, like Don’t Turn Around by Michelle Gagnon or Find Me by Romily Bernard, then give Blackbird a shot.

Cover Art Review: I love the title treatment and the girl photo. I wish is had the animal symbol on it instead.