Review : No One Else Can Have You by Kathleen Hale
Title : No One Else Can Have You
Author : Kathleen Hale
Publication Date : January 7th 2013
Publisher : Harper Teen
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Small towns are nothing if not friendly. Friendship, Wisconsin (population:
Unfortunately, Friendship’s police are more adept at looking for lost pets than catching killers. So Ruth’s best friend, Kippy Bushman, armed with only her tenacious Midwestern spirit and Ruth’s secret diary (which Ruth’s mother had asked her to read in order to redact any, you know, sex parts), sets out to find the murderer. But in a quiet town like Friendship—where no one is a suspect—anyone could be the killer.
Personal Thoughts
I was ready to hate No One Else Can Have You because of so many reviews on GR with 1 stars. I have to admit, I was scared to start it and at one point I even debated not reading it, but I eventually gave in and thank goodness I did! Having read the book now, I can definitely say that it was a great decision on my part.
No One Else Can Have You is definitely one of those books that people will either absolutely hate or absolutely love. Fortunately for me, I fall in the latter category. The main character in the book, Kippy, was hilarious. I loved that girl so much. She was so random and said the most awkward things ever. I don't think I've ever read a character who made me laugh as much as Kippy did. She was just so wonderful. She also just spits out everything that comes into her head without ever thinking, which made for some funny scenes. I think her naivety when it came to certain aspects and her quirkiness were what made her such an entertaining character for me. To be honest, all the characters in the book were funny. They were so wacky and bizzare, but entirely loveable. Dom, her dad, was especially one character I loved. His relationship with Kippy was definitely one of the highlights of the book for me. Kippy's growing relationship with Ruth's brother, Davey, was another highlight of the story. I loved that their relationship wasn't perfect and could have some seriously awkward moments, but that's what made it so realistic.
The murder mystery was also extremely well-written, especially considering it's a YA mystery novel, which have failed to impress me. The book kept me guessing until the very end as to who the murderer was and I was definitely taken aback once the culprit was revealed. I loved loved loved that Kathleen Hale managed to take me by surprise with her final twist which isn't something that happens to me often when I'm reading YA books. The writing in No One Else Can Have You is not going to be for everyone, mostly because it's a book that knows its being inappropriate. Jenni from Xpresso Reads mentioned in her review that this was a parody and if not viewed as one, it could offend people. I have to say, I agree wholeheartedly with her. I viewed more like a parody myself which is probably why I enjoyed it so much. Kathleen Hale's writing is peppered with humor and I always appreciate an author who can make me laugh out loud while I'm reading. Another thing that I enjoyed in No One Else Can Have You was the small-town setting. It paints such a clear picture of how life in such small towns can be. The lack of privacy, the speed at which gossip spreads and the inner workings of these small-towns were brilliantly well-portrayed.
I don't really have much else to say except if you haven't read this book yet, don't let the negative reviews scare you off. Do give this one a shot because there's a chance you might enjoy it. If you go into it expecting a funny, inappropriate YA murder mystery, you're going to end up loving it probably as much as I did!
Rating
Cover : 4/5
Plot : 4/5
Characters : 4/5
Writing : 4/5
Thank you to Edelweiss and Harper Teen for the e-ARC of No One Else Can Have You.
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