Shelf life! Get your summer lit-fix. Here are the best books to... become engrossed in: Tess Sharpe's thriller, Far From You. Will Sophie find out who killed her best friend before they get to her? MISS VOGUE Ultra-condensed review is basically along the lines of buy this right now - top five of the last decade for me, maybe top three... an absolute must-read THE BOOKBAG ... have you ever tried to write about something that is too perfect for words? You may have seen me endlessly recommending this book on Twitter...well, now you know why! I adore this book and I hope you will give it a go. My favourite book of the year so far! Far From You is bittersweet, unsettling, and truly enthralling. It's better than cake - definitely a must-read! THE MILE LONG BOOKSHELF ... an incredible and stunning debut novel from author Tess Sharpe which held me enthralled from start to finish. I picked this up when I was off sick from work and spent the most enjoyable couple of hours curled up on the sofa, with my nose literally buried between the pages and my attention absolutely riveted on the characters and their stories. I would not hesitate to wholeheartedly recommend this to anyone, both teen and adult readers alike, because it's so good it would be a shame not to share it with everyone. A DREAM OF BOOKS If you're a fan of emotional reads full of secrets and complex relationships then you won't want to miss this brilliant debut. JESS HEARTS BOOKS Far From You offers wonderful insights into Oregon teen life and the passions that drive people on and apart. This is a small town brought vividly to life and you feel Sophie's pain as she peels away the layers of deceit that make up daily lives. Tess Sharpe is a great new talent with a very good understanding of young relationships. HACKWRITERS I don't even know where to start with this book. It's completely captivated me and I feel emotionally drained by the entire thing. One thing's for certain and that's that this is one hell of a debut. I may as well give Tess Sharpe my money right now because I know I'll be reading her work from here on. UNCORKED THOUGHTS Such a fantastic debut! I loved the contemporary/romance entwined with the mystery thriller, it worked so well! I will definitely be reading whatever Sharpe writes next ONCE UPON A BOOKCASE Ultra-condensed review is basically along the lines of buy this right now - top five of the last decade for me, maybe top three. If you're a fan of great teen books in general, or great LGBT teen books in particular, you really can't afford to miss out on this. YA YEAH YEAH Sharpe's writing is beautiful, and each sentence was crafted so well. The simplest word or well-placed punctuation mark enhanced the mood and caused my heart to flutter. Each touch, look, even the moments of silence between the characters were positively alive with meaning. It was truly beautiful to read and I found myself savouring each word. WINGED REVIEWS Far From You is a gripping read, totally fearless too! It takes the reader to new places and gives them pause for thought! I actually read this through twice, just to make sure I didn't miss out on any of the delicious detailing! FICTION FASCINATION Tess Sharpe has a talent for creating realistic characters and chills down your spine. She has written a very promising debut IT WAS LOVELY READING YOU I loved how the relationships weren't completely straight forward and how that fact made the book that bit different from every other YA book out there. It made for a far more interesting story especially when you looked back over previous events and the way in which the characters reacted. Yay for being a bit different THE OVERFLOWING LIBRARY I keep thinking about everything I loved about this book and it really is everything READARAPTOR Whilst on the surface, this is a tense, fast-paced thriller filled with intrigue and mystery, underneath lies a beautifully crafted and heart-breaking story of two girls' relationship as they try to understand, and deal with, their feelings for one another as well as how these feelings affect those closest to them. Brilliantly written using a complex flashback mode that, in less skilled hands, could have resulted in a clunky and confusing narrative, Far From You is a truly gripping and exciting read that will have many readers having to finish it in just the one sitting. A brilliant debut novel from Sharpe that will leave readers eager for more from this talented writer. WE LOVE THIS BOOK Far From You is a beautifully written, captivating novel, and as soon as I picked it up, I physically couldn't put it down. It's gripping, thrilling, and I think it's going to be a seriously big debut! Far From You touches on drug and accident recoveries, whilst also being about a really beautiful but complicated love story. I loved it, and I'm pretty sure every body else who reads it will, too. BOOKS & WRITERS JUNIOR This review is definitely not going to do this book enough justice; I cannot stress that enough. Heart-stopping; I can barely form words about it! It's full of everything I want, a thrilling, yet gorgeously written... Phenomenally written and completely spine-tingling; I can't do this debut enough justice or recommend it more to anyone who wants a contemporary with something unique. TO ANOTHER WORLD Far From You by Tess Sharpe was combination of absolutely everything that I love about YA. The story felt real and emotional. The characters were wonderfully created and relateable. The relationships between the characters was messy and complicated which made it heartbreaking to read. There was a diversity of characters which I always enjoy reading about, an interesting look at a difficult subject and a thrilling mystery that had me at the edge of my seat. FLUTTERING BUTTERFLIES It's a combination of contemporary and mystery/thriller. The balance was absolutely perfect... I couldn't wait to put the pieces together and figure out the puzzle of what happened in Sophie's past along with Sophie who was trying to figure out what happened the night that Mina was murdered. DARK READERS Tess Sharpe's FAR FROM YOU is an absurdly good YA debut, both gripping thriller and heart-breaking love story... an assured, original narrative voice and a convincingly layered community of characters we can believe in, care for and be enraged by lift this novel far from the ordinary. -- Imogen Russell Williams METRO A very powerful and wonderful book that captures the heartache that can come with love; even when it's returned. A brave book, not just for the elements of LGBT themes in the story as a whole, but because they aren't the driving force of the story. It isn't what the book is about at it's root; this story is about love and loyalty and how far you'd go to preserve it. Strongly written and a well-developed group of characters that I really enjoyed following. SISTER SPOOKY I was spellbound and completely mesmerised by this tale which I am struggling to fit into one genre. It crosses so many - from thriller to romance, psychological to LGBT. Although this book dealt with LGBT issues extremely well, it was more than that, it was a love story at the heart - the relationships didn't need to be labelled and categorised - it was just pure love... Tess Sharpe is about to make her mark on the publishing world. I would advise all readers to sit up and take notice of her, because she is going to be huge. If this book isn't made into a film, I will print this review off and eat it! SERENDIPITY REVIEWS Without a doubt, this book is an emotional roller coaster. Make sure you're feeling brave and you've got a box of tissues ready before you tackle it, but it's definitely worth the effort. THE GUARDIAN ONLINE A page-turner the book certainly is, and indeed the identity of the killer kept me guessing right up to the end while Sophie's handling of the past and trying to move forward in life is a real and emotional read. -- Kathy Lindsay THE SCHOOL LIBRARIAN JOURNAL
