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    Hanging by a Thread
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    Hanging by a Thread
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    Hanging by a Thread
    Ebook252 pages4 hours

    Hanging by a Thread

    By Sophie Littlefield

    3/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    “Dark secrets, a dangerous romance, and a chilling murder mystery I won’t soon forget.” —Stacey Jay, author of Juliet Immortal
     

    In a town where appearance means everything, how deep beneath the surface will Clare dig to uncover a murderer?

     
    Summer is the best part of the year in Winston, California, and the Fourth of July is the highlight of the season. People consider themselves lucky to live in the quaint, serene beachside town, and native Clare Knight, now a city girl, feels doubly lucky to be moving back there a week before the July festivities kick off.
     
    But the perfect town Clare remembers has changed, and everyone is praying that this summer will be different from the last two—that this year’s Fourth of July festival won’t see one of their own vanish without a trace, leaving no leads and no suspects. The media are in a frenzy predicting a third disappearance, but the town depends on tourist dollars, so the residents of Winston are trying desperately to pretend nothing’s wrong.
     
    And they’re not the only ones hiding something.
     
    Clare has been blessed—or perhaps cursed—with a gift: she can see people’s pasts when she touches their clothes. And since she’s a seamstress who redesigns vintage clothing, her visions are frequent—and usually unwanted. When she stumbles across a denim jacket that once belonged to Amanda Stavros, last year’s Fourth of July victim, Clare sees her perfect town begin to come apart at the seams.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRandom House Publishing Group
    Release dateSep 11, 2012
    ISBN9780375983566
    Unavailable
    Hanging by a Thread

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    Reviews for Hanging by a Thread

    3/5

    44 ratings20 reviews

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    • 2/5
      I won this book from a giveaway through Adventures in YA Publishing.FYI: I haven't read any of the author's work before this so it's completely new and reading it as a stand alone novel.I thought this book was okay. I liked it but not really liked it. It could have been better. I think the characters were done well. Their relationships were dynamic and made sense. The love interest was instant yet they didn't try to make it deeper by talking much about common interests. It's flimsy and I'm not an insta-noodle-love fan. Lust? Yeah, got it. Love, though, I don't buy the ramen noodle approach to it. Usually there's some dire circumstances pushing them together or a paranormal connection like soul mates to make it work. This time around it's Jake pretending to care about clothes and the teenagers are model hot of course. I'm wondering now what will happen next when old friends meet new and Jack learns the little secret about Clare. The characters did progress, which usually I'm head over heels for but in the total package there just wasn't enough for me. But is it enough to go on to the next book? I don't know. I really don't care and probably won't think about it at all once I'm done with this review. I think it will depend on what's the next mystery.For me:Mystery is not knowing all the information leading the characters to dig around to find out.Suspense I think of as tension. As nail biting "what's going to happen next?" feeling. As much as the book builds on this mysterious serial killer I didn't feel the threat at all. I mean no one in the book but Clare's family really made any "be careful" comments. Those comments really felt more like the normal parental worry, like "Don't go into the water at night. Stay with a buddy. Don't drink and drive". There was talk of the news coverage but with no clues leaked on how the two murders were connected or a real police presence currently in residence. The main characters weren't worried either. Everyone just assumes and I couldn't. I've read too many mysteries and crime shows to buy into it when there's no information to cause such a response.It's a mystery but I didn't feel the suspense. I wasn't worried at all about people dying or anything happening besides Clare ruining her chance at being 'in' with the cool kids. The real threat didn't come out until the climax, then that threat fell flat as well. The ending I have a hard time buying it. I mean they broke into the murderer's house. Then there is Clare's lame threat against the murderer to get them to confess. Her cover story to make it work didn't make sense. There's no evidence of them agreeing to meet and Rachel doesn't know a thing about this supposed meeting. Would the murderer be so stupid to invite the TWO girls over at the same time to try and kill them? Considering how the murderer got away with their deeds before I don't buy this threat and the murderer shouldn't have either. The cops would have checked into this story if the murder acted in character and didn't go along with confessing voluntarily. It would have fallen apart. Why would the murderer buy this threat for no reason and then go meekly on their own to the cops? . I think it's more likely they'd go completely crazy. It would have made more of a story if the murderer didn't go along with it, the cover-story-threat fell apart and then the cops have to build the case with Clare's help. It was just another let down for me. The lack of danger, suspense and a dull ending really hurt this story for me. I think it boils down to a balance issue. There's Clare not feeling fear and caring about clothes a lot. Then there's suppose to be this scary serial killer destroying a town and killing star kids. Clare came through fine but the serial killer didn't. I think the complaints talking so much about the clothes would be lessened if the suspense was pumped up more. Or if there were less details of clothes and sewing it wouldn't be found such a drab drag of a read and the mystery would be more pronounced as is. Or if anyone felt fear besides the mother clinging to life through her daughter. Everyone in the forefront didn't really care or change their ways while people in the fuzzy background did, which made it hard to feel through all the layers of separation. Even with Claire reliving bits of the attacks, it wasn't emotionally impacting for me. I can't put my finger on why but I didn't connect with this book. Which is probably the biggest reason why it felt average and "meh, okay, yea". Claire felt real and true to character. She goes on about clothes and sewing because that's her passion. I think it's suppose to help the reader connect with her and understand her as well as being accurate to how she thinks. I'm not big on fashion in general and don't know how to sew so I didn't really get involved. It was interesting in an off handed kind of way. Like how you try to listen when your friend goes on about something they care about. As it is due to the lack suspense and emotional impact it ends up an average tale about a girl struggling to fit in at a small town. For me it felt like a longer book than just 300 pages because of this. It's good if you like clothes or day to day details of characters and a little mystery. Usually, this is my kind of book but something was missing, something off in the formula. I've read other stories where a character has the ability to see memories and emotions from clothes. It didn't feel particularly original or creative to me. That's not damning in itself since there's only so many stories with only so many was to tell it. I just didn't find anything in this book particularly compelling. It's okay but nothing really stands out or is gripping. If there's a sequel I'll look into it to decide but I'm not anxiously awaiting it. There's potential but it doesn't live up to it in this book and have no idea if the author will step it up in the next one.
    • 1/5
      This and other reviews can be found on Reading Between Classes

      Cover Impressions: Not impressed with this particular cover. It appears that she is lying on a bloody comforter on a bed (is that what everyone else sees?). This never happens in the book. Clare spends page after page describing her wacky designs, but all I see pictured is a simple lace top and VERY traditional necklace. The pose is boring, the color is bland and there is nothing to make me pick this one up off the shelf.

      The Gist: The town of Winston, California has been rocked by tragedy for each of the past two fourth of July weekends. After moving back to the town where she grew up, Clare is simply concerned with trying to fit in with the popular kids and maybe find some summer romance. She is also trying to hide the fact that a mysterious gift allows her glimpses into people's lives just by touching their clothing. When chance brings her into contact with the jacket of Amanda, the girl who died the previous July, Clare must decide what to do with the disturbing vision.

      Review: This book did not work for me at all. In theory, it had good bones: the prodigal return, a mysterious power, a possible serial killer, a bad boy love interest - but when all those things came together in Hanging By A Thread they created a big pile of "Meh". It starts off with promise, but gets bogged down once Clare starts playing Nancy Drew and each and every character is compelled to spill their guts for not apparent reason.

      The writing involves a great deal of Telling rather than Showing and tons of Info Dumping. LOTS of long paragraphs explaining how events went down. Seems like everyone in this town kept their secrets for two years and then all Clare has to do is ask a simple question and they break down and confess their life story. The plot was fairly predictable and eventually, I ended up skimming paragraphs because I was getting tired of being told things that I had already figured out. Had the author thrown out a shocking twist or two, I could have been brought back on board but instead I got the standard "rich parents bail out rich kids and someone decides that they should be punished" storyline. For most of the book, Clare runs around town asking questions and when we finally did get a touch of action it was only slightly more exciting and over all too quickly.

      The characters were incredibly one-dimensional. Clare was boring and spent a considerable amount of time feeling resentful of her gift and arguing with herself about whether or not she should do anything about the information that she found. She blames a lot of her problems on her mother and, despite constantly reminding us that the woman needs to slow down/find friends/reconcile with her own mother, Clare's only contribution to making these things happen is to yell at her. The other female characters were pretty boring. Rachel and her friends all sort of blended together and seemed to only serve as a way to pile on information through gossip sessions. The males, on the other hand, were all really un-likable. Clare's dad is a deadbeat, the guys she hung out with were jerks who called her a tease and a slut, and even the love interest, Jack, was an anger fueled young man with control issues.

      I did not buy the romance angle for one minute. In fact, it seemed pretty unhealthy to me. Clare spent the first moments of their relationship grilling him about his murdered ex-girlfriend (to which he responded with anger and hostility) then continued to suspect he was the killer while running off to be alone with him in deserted areas of town! As with the other characters, Jack spills his guts a little too quickly and then the pair act overly familiar for kids who just met and I really doubt the validity of their connection. Clare reveals her secret (which left me yelling "what the hell, you just met like three days ago") and Jack starts throwing out lines like "Clare - it's me. Tell me what you need." (which led to a lot of eye rolling).

      I normally enjoy YA Mystery and I have heard good things about Sophie Littlefield, but Hanging by a Thread just fell flat for me. On to the next book.

      Teaching/Parental Notes:

      Age: 16 and up
      Gender: Female
      Sex: Discussed, not described, kissing.
      Violence: Fighting, Knifeplay
      Inappropriate Language: Bitches, Shit, Jesus, God-Damn, Dick, Fuck, Slut, Pisses, Jerk, Hell, Bastard
      Substance Use/Abuse: Underage drinking (and stealing of alcohol)

      Unanswered Questions:

      If the parents are so concerned about a serial killer, why are they letting their teens out of the house at all? It is called grounding folks (or if you want to be more PC about it - Family Game Night)

      Having encountered/subdued a murderer, WHY DIDN'T YOU PHONE THE POLICE???
    • 3/5
      If nothing else, I have to say that Sophie Littlefield's Hanging By A Thread gets points for being unique. Never before have I read a book with a premise exactly like this. Sure it has a lot of similar plot devices to most other YA paranormal, but it manages to shine a little brighter than the others. If only this book had been executed a little bit better, I know it would have become one of my favorites.

      Let's start with the good. The mystery surrounding Clare's story is extremely interesting. Two years running, a local has died in a mysterious way on the 4th of July. Clare takes it upon herself to figure out exactly why. Something calls her to figure it all out. Lucky for her, she happens to have the power to see the past while touching clothes. Pretty intriguing right? I thought so too.

      My biggest problem, honestly, was Clare herself. At first I was enamored with her love for vintage clothing and re-purposing old into new. However the further the book moved on, the more frustrated I became with her character. For some reason Clare seems to be drawn to the bad boy, but she never really knows why. She has a fairly sour outlook on the world, which I guess makes sense because of how she uses her powers. In fact, most everyone has some type of problem in this book. These are not a very happy set of characters.

      What made it the most difficult to get through this book though was how much Clare talks about fashion. I'm no fashionista, but I'm pretty sure a lot of that could have been left out and the book still would have been wonderful. I kept flipping between really enjoying this book, and wondering when it was going anywhere. The ending saved things considerably! But by then, I was already frustrated.

      Being honest, Hanging By A Thread is by no means a badly written book. The concept is great, the writing is good, it's just that the execution didn't do it for me. If you are looking for a different type of paranormal, something that is unique, give this one a shot. It might be more your style than mine.
    • 4/5
      Teenage hormones meets murder mystery solved by clairvoyant clothier.

      Hanging by a Thread was a super quick enjoyable read. It's the summer before Clare's junior year in high school and she and her mother just moved back to their home town because they can't afford to live in San Francisco any longer. There is something special about the women in Clare's family. They have a hereditary trait of clairvoyance passed down where they can see misdeeds people have done by touching the piece of clothing that person was wearing at the time. Clare has this ability but for the most part tries to ignore it.

      I thought the choice of psychic ability was an interesting one. It gave the possibility for good tidbits of information and fit perfectly with the mystery solving aspect of the story.

      Upon her return to her hometown, Clare has rekindled a childhood friendship with Rachel who is one of the popular girls. Rachel is helping Clare sell the items she creates from vintage clothing.

      Imagine some of the crazy visions she must have had since all of the materials she world with are used.

      Her summer seems to be going great until Clare meets and starts to fall for bad boy Jack, as well as finding a jacket that belonged to a young girl that is believed to have been murdered last year. Coincidentally, the missing girl Amanda used to be Jack's girlfriend. The jacket sends Clare into a fit of visions and she feels compelled to find out all she can.

      The plot of Hanging by a Thread was simple and I liked it that way. There were a few purposeful misleads by the author that really worked. She did a great job of depicting teenagers and their crazy antics. The things they did as well as their behavior really rang true to me.

      I also liked that she was able to include some family drama and teenage romance without these things overwhelming the main murder mystery plot of the story. I would definitely recommended Hanging by a Thread to my teenage kid sister.
    • 3/5
      NOTE: I received this title from Netgalley to review.

      I just finished reading the book, and thought I should go ahead and write the review right away, while the story and characters are still fresh in my mind.

      So, here's what I have to say: The story was original, as in I haven't read anything like it before. It was a unique concept, where the heroine had this special ability to read people's thoughts, memories etc. by simply touching their clothes. I thought that was pretty cool skill, though I confess it could turn cumbersome.

      Anyway, I really liked the story, because it wasn't at all obvious. I mean, I had no idea what was going on until the very last moment. I also liked that it wasn't all that long, and it was a quick read.

      What I didn't like was a couple of things:

      1. This is a YA novel, and of course the topic of sex was not excluded. But the way it was written, like the main heroine (Clare) didn't at all care who her first time was with...... well, let me just say that I wouldn't want my daughter read such a book.

      2. There were a bunch of times when the inner narration of Clare was so spontaneous and erratic, I had to wonder if certain scenes weren't just added to the book after it was finished. They sure sounded like patches stitched over a garment.

      3. The closeness between Clare and Jack developed so fast, it seemed a bit overdone. I mean, there was time for their feelings to actually develop. Instead, they were just there for no reason.

      Here's a bit about the characters:

      *Clare is this sweet girl, who has a great talent with designing clothes. I honestly thing her style was weird, but hey, we all have our bugs. Sometimes she went way off topic in her head. Her reasoning sounded a bit naive at times, but I liked it that she didn't give up on figuring out the town's mystery.

      *Jack, a.k.a. Mr. Bad Boy wasn't given time to actually develop as a character. Yeah, we see his angry side and his super sweet side, but umm.. it wasn't enough for me. I mean, Clare pretty much threw herself at him... but ... why?? Whatever reason did she have to do so? Yeah, he was cute and mysterious and all, but he was still a stranger.

      *Rachel, Clare's best friend, was supposed to be this super responsible girl, that everyone loved and looked up to. But I didn't see anything responsible about her. She wasn't sweet, or reasonable. I mean, she got in lots of trouble for partying, and her membership in this very prestigious club depended on her good reputation, and still she didn't miss a party. She didn't miss getting drunk beyond any reason. I can say that I really didn't get to like her.

      Anyway, I think that's all I have to say about this book. If you're curious about the story - go ahead and read it, I'm sure it won't disappoint. But if you're looking for a great book with extra complicated characters.. I'd recommend you go look somewhere else.
    • 3/5
      This was really a 2.5 but I rounded up because it reminds me of the Christopher Pike novels I loved in junior high.

      Pros:
      * Interesting paranormal angle
      * Quirky grandma

      Cons:
      * Heavy use of brand names, paired with random decision to make up a brand called "Earl Dobby."
      * Ending escalates quickly.
      * Like, really quickly.

      I was honestly surprised to find out that this novel was from an established author, though this was her first foray into YA. This really read like a Christopher Pike or Lois Duncan novel. It was all the plot points and turns you recognized. It was an entertaining read, though the writing was soft in places.
    • 2/5
      Hanging by a Thread was really interesting, and not like any book I've read before. I've read a ton of paranormals, books about psychic girls, or girls who have prophetic visions. But I've never read about psychometry, the ability to see visions from touching an object. Clare has a specific form of psychometry wherein she gets these visions from clothing, and they're often sinister, showing an evil deed the owner committed while wearing the piece. I thought this was really cool, since I hadn't heard of it until now, and also that the gift related to Clare's fashion designing talents.

      Clare inherited her gift from her grandmother (and they both believe it is a gift) and her grandmother inherited from a deceased ancestor who was murdered in the family dress shop. Because of this murder, and Nana's eccentricities Clare's family has always been branded as outcasts. But when Clare and her mother return to the town of Winston, Clare is determined to change that. She makes every effort to get in with the popular crowd, following around her best friend Rachel wherever she goes.

      I really despised Rachel. It was clear from the start that she wasn't a very good friend. She kept stepping all over Clare like she was her mother, telling her where she could go, and who she could date. When Jack shows up, Rachel totally dismisses him, and tries everything she can to get Clare to stop seeing him. And for what? It didn't make any sense.

      I liked Clare okay. She was interesting and obviously talented, and I'm happy that she had other things going for her besides her boyfriend. Her relationship with her mother was sweet, and I liked how Clare finally stood up to her mom about everything -- her gift, her grandmother, her school. She was a little fickle, though -- in one moment she would be totally confident, but once she was complimented she'd fight tooth and nail to make that person take it back and realize they were wrong. Typical YA 'heroine.' Also, I wish she was a little older. She was only supposed to be 15 or 16, but she was out drinking and sneaking out with boys in the middle of the night. If she were 17 or ever closer to 17 than she was, it would sit better with me. I mean, I know I was doing the same thing when I was that age, but maybe getting older has turned me into a prude.

      The ending was a little anticlimactic for me. Clare had all the tools she needed to solve the mystery herself, but instead it just turned into a bunch of info-dumping. I was expecting a kick-ass heroine to come out of Clare, but I was let down. The end did provide a lot of closure, there were no tangled up loose ends or anything like that. It was simple and sweet, too, and you do see a lot of growth from Clare, her mom, and Rachel. It was also a bit of a shocker, once the murder mystery is solved.

      All in all, Hanging by a Thread was just okay. I enjoyed it, but was let down a little by the end. I did love seeing the characters change and evolve, and loved that not one single person in the story was left the same in the end as the beginning. That so rarely happens. I will keep an eye out for Sophie Littlefield in the future.
    • 3/5
      BY A THREAD is a grim little thing, for all that it’s got the usual trappings of a YA hit: quirky girl moves to new town, meets cute boy, solves murder while struggling to fit in.

      Sounds like something you’ve read before, maybe? When I add that the cute boy, Jack, has a violent temper and a checkered past, does that sound familiar? I usually like bad boys, and Jack might not be so awful, but Clare’s attraction to him? Wow. Unhealthy. He runs hot and cold, alternately making passes and scoffing at her, but every rude comment makes Clare pant harder. She gets a vision of him vandalizing someone’s house and it turns her on. And she makes constant, horrible excuses for her own feelings: “Despite the powerful rage I’d sensed in his memories, I didn’t believe it could ever be directed at me.” Really? She’s known him a day and she’s already so sure? Poor fool.

      As it turns out, Jack is one of the nicer characters in the book. Everyone here is so messed up, every relationship strained and unhappy. Clare has a miserable relationship with her uptight, controlling mother. She has a miserable relationship with her popular, unstable friend Rachel. She’s ashamed of her hippie grandmother, gobbling up her Nana’s affection while trying hard never to be seen with her in public.

      It occurred to me, more than once, that maybe the problem was Clare. She’s got such a sour, unflattering view of the world. But as events unfurl and Clare uses her talent to dig into the secrets her friends and family have been keeping it becomes clear that Clare’s attitude is entirely justified. There’s a sordid tale in every garment, unraveling years of pent-up misery.

      The mystery here is very good. The book opens with the central question – two years in a row, a local kid died mysteriously on July 4 – and with the holiday rolling around again, people are wondering who killed those kids, fearing a serial killer who will strike again. Clare finds a jacket that belongs to one of the victims and feels called to solve the case. The clues are neatly laid out, and following them leads to a plausible, chilling conclusion.

      To give credit where credit is due, once I picked up BY A THREAD I could not put it down. It sucked me in. I had to find out if Clare would fall in line with Rachel’s popular-girl clique or find her own way, and what would happen with her and jerky Jack. I wanted to find out what happened to the dead kids. So I kept turning that pages, even after I’d come to the conclusion that I didn’t like any of these characters and didn’t want to spend any more time with them.

      So three stars for a well-written book by an author who knows her craft. I’d read another book by her, but I wouldn’t pick it at random. I’d wait until the reviews come out and find one with more sympathetic characters. If such a thing exists.

      I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
    • 3/5
      First off, how amazing is this cover?! It was the first thing that drew me to this book. Instant love. Unfortunately, that was the only thing I loved about the book. Now, don't get me wrong. I didn't dislike the book, but after a certain point I started to have serious issues. Parts of the story seemed to drag which is not great for holding my interest. But I stuck with it until the end. I enjoyed all the fashion and sewing references. I even thought that the idea behind the plot was unique. BUT... I have serious issues with how this story wrapped up. No good. I found myself reading the whole rushed ending in 2 pages. That is not enough closure for me. Plus, how things wrapped up had enough holes to sink the Titanic all over again. I think that is what made me feel a little frustrated with the book. I did think the characters were pretty good. The author did a fair job of adding a bit of mystery to everyone that kept you guessing. I can say that not everyone turned out to be what they seemed. My favorite character in the whole book was the grandma. She was this super eccentric old lady that didn't care what others thought about her. I loved it. She was the perfect combination of sweet and salty, kind of like my seasonal favorite at Starbucks (sea salt caramel latte!). I found myself thinking this was a decent read, although there were plot holes that should have been worked out a bit better. It didn't stink like a cat's litter box, but it didn't rock my socks off either.
    • 2/5
      Hanging by a Thread was really interesting, and not like any book I've read before. I've read a ton of paranormals, books about psychic girls, or girls who have prophetic visions. But I've never read about psychometry, the ability to see visions from touching an object. Clare has a specific form of psychometry wherein she gets these visions from clothing, and they're often sinister, showing an evil deed the owner committed while wearing the piece. I thought this was really cool, since I hadn't heard of it until now, and also that the gift related to Clare's fashion designing talents.

      Clare inherited her gift from her grandmother (and they both believe it is a gift) and her grandmother inherited from a deceased ancestor who was murdered in the family dress shop. Because of this murder, and Nana's eccentricities Clare's family has always been branded as outcasts. But when Clare and her mother return to the town of Winston, Clare is determined to change that. She makes every effort to get in with the popular crowd, following around her best friend Rachel wherever she goes.

      I really despised Rachel. It was clear from the start that she wasn't a very good friend. She kept stepping all over Clare like she was her mother, telling her where she could go, and who she could date. When Jack shows up, Rachel totally dismisses him, and tries everything she can to get Clare to stop seeing him. And for what? It didn't make any sense.

      I liked Clare okay. She was interesting and obviously talented, and I'm happy that she had other things going for her besides her boyfriend. Her relationship with her mother was sweet, and I liked how Clare finally stood up to her mom about everything -- her gift, her grandmother, her school. She was a little fickle, though -- in one moment she would be totally confident, but once she was complimented she'd fight tooth and nail to make that person take it back and realize they were wrong. Typical YA 'heroine.' Also, I wish she was a little older. She was only supposed to be 15 or 16, but she was out drinking and sneaking out with boys in the middle of the night. If she were 17 or ever closer to 17 than she was, it would sit better with me. I mean, I know I was doing the same thing when I was that age, but maybe getting older has turned me into a prude.

      The ending was a little anticlimactic for me. Clare had all the tools she needed to solve the mystery herself, but instead it just turned into a bunch of info-dumping. I was expecting a kick-ass heroine to come out of Clare, but I was let down. The end did provide a lot of closure, there were no tangled up loose ends or anything like that. It was simple and sweet, too, and you do see a lot of growth from Clare, her mom, and Rachel. It was also a bit of a shocker, once the murder mystery is solved.

      All in all, Hanging by a Thread was just okay. I enjoyed it, but was let down a little by the end. I did love seeing the characters change and evolve, and loved that not one single person in the story was left the same in the end as the beginning. That so rarely happens. I will keep an eye out for Sophie Littlefield in the future.
    • 3/5
      Hanging by a Thread started off pretty good. Clare was an interesting character, with a mysterious family background, a love of fashion and the ability to read the past from fabric. That said, I quickly lost respect for her. She is judgement of her new friends lives, lies to her, says that she doesn't care who she has sex with the first time as long as it happens that summer, constantly thinks about how wonderful her friends were back at her old school but never calls them, and becomes angry with her mother for worrying about a killer being on the loose in their small community. Despite Clare's turn for the worse, I kept reading, because really she did at least seem like a believable character.For me, the high points of the story were when Clare was having her visions. It's were pretty much the only action was and where it actually felt like there was a point to the story. I've read a few other reviews complaining about the over abundance of sewing and fashion talk, but it didn't really bother me. I felt like it was the best drawn part of Clare's character, and that it tied her ability to read fabric into her so deeply. That said, some of her 'creations' sounded like bejeweled messes.By the end there were just too many loose threads. Littlefield brought up so many things, such as the old school friends and spent so much time detailing them, that I felt let down that they never went anywhere. At other times, she completely skipped over things and had Clare come up with these amazing insights that I just didn't see how she came to. This lead to an ending that I just didn't buy. I couldn't wrap my mind around why the characters would think they would get away with what they had done. (I really want to explain more here, but doing so would spoil the ending since it would reveal who wasn't the killer) Overall, it was an okay read, but I don't think I'd search out more from Littlefield.
    • 3/5
      For the past two summers, the town of Winston, California, has lost two of its beloved children. The town suspects the worse; is there a serial killer on the loose? When 11th-grade seamstress Clare happens upon a jacket worn by the last victim, her psychic gift (which allows her to see people’s pasts when she touches their clothes) compels her to unearth more clues that may lead her to the killer. Though the mystery packs enough punch to keep the reader turning pages, the plot tends to meander through a tangle of aimless plot devices and loose ends. The timeline of events is also questionable, an inexcusable error among many die-hard mystery lovers. But some young readers will like the fashion angle and the characters are rendered strongly enough to make the audience care about their tenuous fates. The book makes references to under-age drinking, pre-marital sex, and uses intermittent profanity. Grades 8-10.
    • 1/5
      This book almost bored me to death. I was able to finish it, but just barely. It took me over a month to read because I kept getting bored and moving on to something else. Then I'd sit down and make myself try again. Reading, for me, has never been a chore, but with this book, it definitely was. The plot was weak, the mystery wasn't that intriguing, the romance fell flat, and the pacing was slow as molasses. This book may work for some, but it didn't work for me.This novel suffered badly from the author describing things in too much detail. Every single piece of clothing Clare came near, the author seemed to feel the need to dissect it and explain every little tiny detail. That took up, probably, a good half of the book and really screwed with the pacing. Additionally, it detracted from the (not exactly strong) plot. Basically, if things hadn't been described in such painstaking detail, I may have enjoyed this book a little bit more. It at least wouldn't have felt like the worst homework assignment ever while I was reading it. Clare was boring, and so was Jack. I also didn't really buy their romance. They just lacked chemistry. I didn't really hate Jack, but I didn't really love him either. My feelings for all the characters are lukewarm. None of them were very well developed, and none of them were interesting. Also, Clare's gift is a bit reminiscent of Vee's in Slide. The motive for the murders was a bit ridiculous, and I had the guilty party figured out well before the end. That took away from the suspense, which made the book even more boring. Littlefield just didn't do a good job with the red herrings, in my opinion. Overall, I'd say check this book out from the library before buying it. I know that Littlefield is a popular author, and I also know that a lot of people have loved this book. Unfortunately, I'm just not one of them.
    • 4/5
      Hanging by a Thread is a YA book that has it all! It is a romance with mystery and a bit of a paranormal twist thrown in as well.Clare has an inherited a special ability. When she touches clothing she can see bits of what the person had done while wearing it. So when she touches a jacket that belongs to a girl who disappeared, Clare cannot stop herself in finding out what happened to her. Along the way she finds that her best friend has been keeping secrets from her and the boy she likes may also be involved in the disappearance of the missing girl.I have not read the first two of the Banished series but I am happy to say that it didn’t matter. I was never lost or left wondering why things were happening the way they were. Hanging by a Thread is a perfect stand alone story.
    • 2/5
      Review courtesy of All Things Urban FantasyI’m accustomed to powerful, grab-you-by-the-heart-and-never-let-go stories from Sophie Littlefield. The kind that resonate for weeks and weeks after reading. Both the Banished and especially the Aftertime series rank among some of my favorite books ever. So to say that I had high expectations for HANGING BY A THREAD, her new standalone about a girl who gets psychic visions from clothing, is putting it mildly.HANGING BY A THREAD is a very different sort of story than I’m used to from Sophie. It’s much quieter, much slower, and ultimately much less satisfying than her previous books. Essentially, the story is about a small town murder mystery. Clare and her mother move back to the town they left years before and immediately Clare’s psychic gift sets her on the trail of a potential serial killer. She starts poking in to the murders, questioning families, friends, and anyone suspected by the police including the local bad boy who was dating one of the victims.Clare’s fascination with fashion leads to many detailed descriptions of clothes throughout the book, especially Clare’s own numerous outfits. It did make Clare seem like a true fashion devotee, but it also slowed down an already slow book. The beginning was extremely sleepy before the visions started and I probably would have stopped reading if this was any other author. The pace did pick up once the leads and clues started piling up, but even then HANGING BY A THREAD isn’t that gripping of a story and the characters are fairly unmemorable.I still have Sophie Littlefield on my auto-buy list, but I’ll be hoping for more stories like the awesome Aftertime series and less of the sleepy mysteries like HANGING BY A THREAD in the future.Sexual Content:Kissing
    • 3/5
      Wouldn't it be great to be able to read people by touching an article of their clothing? Not so much for Claire, who moves back to a small town in California and begins to reconnect with her old friends and grandmother. Claire has a gift of reconstructing old clothing and begis selling those items in a flea market with an old friend Rachel. All seems to be going well until they begin to discuss a missing teen, a mysterious death and Claire is pulled back into everything by touching an old jacket that she finds at the market. When Claire is attracted to the town bad boy , Jack and begins to follow the clues that the jacket gives her, she is pulled into a town mystery that she cannot pull away from. I have to be honest in that I did not connect with Claire as I hoped to. I think there was a lot more the book could have done to explore the relationship between Claire, her mother, deadbeat dad and her grandmother. I don't want to spoil the plot but it seemed a bit too tidy to me. We all love the bad boy who isn't so bad after all and we all understand how grief and loyalty leads us to do things we know are not right.
    • 4/5
      HANGING BY A THREAD is a murder mystery with a paranormal twist. In the summer before her junior year in high school, Clare Knight and her mother move back to the small California town where she lived the first ten years of her life. The same small town that has seen the death of a promising 10-year-old athlete and one year later the death of a star cheerleader. The anniversary of both those deaths is coming up and everyone is worried that there will be another death.Clare is a fun, quirky character who is determined to be a fashion designer which brings her into conflict with her accountant mother. She and her childhood friend Rachel have started a summer business where Clare shops flea markets and other locals to find vintage clothing which she embellishes and redesigns and Rachel handles the marketing. Clare has inherited an unusual psychic gift from a great-great-grandmother. When she touches some fabric she can see into the life of the previous owner. A flea market find of a battered designer jacket gets Clare intimately involved in the death of the star cheerleader Amber. She begins to investigate and finds that her best friend Rachel has been keeping secrets from her. While they had kept in touch while Clare was away, there are big parts of Rachel's life that Clare doesn't know about. What she is seeing now is a volatile, party girl. Then Clare meets Jack who is a bit of an outsider with some anger issues. He was also Amber's last boyfriend before her disappearance. Rachel is discouraging the relationship but Clare is fascinated by the boy.This was an entertaining mystery and romance. Fans of either genre will enjoy this story. Mystery lovers will enjoy the sense of creeping menace and the twists and turns as Clare investigates the death and disappearance. Romance lovers will fall in love with bad boy Jack.
    • 3/5
      After falling in love with her Banished series, I was hoping to like this one too. Instead, for some reason I did not find myself drawn to this book like I am to the Banished series. Still, it's a good read with a fast moving plot.What I enjoyed the most about the this book is the plot. In the past few years, I have read several paranormal books. This book is different by that we have character who can get vision just with the touch of clothing. Intriguing. I have read very few books with this type of power so right away, I was in the story. I like that the author drops clues like pieces of bread for me to follow. I gobbled up every piece each time she had a vision, a scene of the crime, a voice and of course the bursting of emotions. Now, the characters. I had trouble connecting with them, thus me not being able to stay within the story. It's was like every time the plot move I was in and then the characters go and do something and I'm out. Get me? I was able to connect to the MC, but the guy I could not.There was a new love or rather I say friendship forming between them but it felt awkward. There was too many unanswered questions and the relationship was moving real fast. So not me.Overall, Hanging By A Thread is a good book It has an awesome plot that is nothing like what you find in YA. It's new and very powerful. Hanging By A Thread is solid.
    • 3/5
      Review courtesy of Dark Faerie TalesQuick & Dirty: Maternal relationships throughout the generations can withstand dangerous challenges in this paranormal read. Opening Sentence: They say our house is cursed, and maybe it’s true. The Review: In the third book of the Banished series, Sophie Littlefield’s Hanging by a Thread changes momentum, allowing Clare to voice the story. Murder and mystery graces the pages, presenting the reader with a thrilling read for the paranormal genre. A mother’s love extends through generations, and Hanging by a Thread reiterates that very well. For many generations, a gift has been passed throughout family members. Aside from a gift, came a curse. Set in the 1920s, Clare’s great-great-grandmother Alma was killed on her wedding day, by a jealous man. Killed in Alma’s dress shop, she lost her life shortly after giving life to her daughter. A unique gift resulted from the unfortunate event, and has since been passed down through the generations. Clare has a special ability, one that others before her have had the privilege of knowing. She has visions upon touching a fabric or article of clothing that someone has worn. Clare can see glimpses of actions when they wore the article of clothing, especially if it was of extreme importance. One item in particular has revealed the real reason behind a girl’s murder, tying someone she knows to the murder. Clare must now reveal the truth and trust her instincts to solve the mystery. I had a like/dislike relationship with Clare. She was a good heroine, one who addressed her life circumstances with an adult attitude. I think that she was someone who many young girls could look up to, especially where Clare’s self-esteem was involved. She was creatively intuitive which translated into more things than just art. She was smart and curious, and at times a little nosy. I appreciated the many relationships between the maternal generations. From Clare’s Nana to her own mother, there is a level of love and loyalty that is clearly shown throughout the story. There is strength from these women, including the small glimpse of Alma that we see. Rachel was someone that I didn’t relate to, but it is usually the case for friends. It did, however, allow me to appreciate Clare and her traits as a person. Littlefield’s world is different, but definitely not outside the realms of reality. Even if Hanging by a Thread is a paranormal themed genre, there are many realistic scenarios that come into play. There are many definite details that Littlefield has written, and it allowed for an interesting read. I felt that at times the story disconnected from itself. There were a lot of different stories within the main storyline that left me confused. I also thought that there were strings of thought that weren’t complete, leaving me wanting more out of the story. And because of this, I felt that the pacing was a little slower than I would have wanted. Notable Scene: The face came closer, snarling and spitting, wailing, taking up the entire screen of my inner eye, brandishing itself across the expanse of my mind. Hands . . . The face was no longer disembodied; a shadow figure raised its arms toward me, reaching, threatening, longing to hurt me, strike me, strangle me. Agonizing tremors wracked me even while I knew my mortal body was locked in place, immobile, helpless. It felt as though the vision would somehow crossover, that its rage was strong enough to defeat the thin barrier between the remembered and the real, and find a way to hurt me from deep within my mind. “You know why.” The voice hissed at me, wrecked and broken, and I could make out teeth and bared lips. And I did know why— or not why, exactly, only that I deserved what was coming. A fist swung toward me. Sharp pain. Flickering light. Everything rushing away. Then nothing.FTC Advisory: Delacorte Press/Random House provided me with a copy of Hanging by a Thread. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
    • 4/5
      Author: Sophie LittlefieldPublished By: Delacorte Books for the Young ReadersAge Recommended: Preteen-YAReviewed By: Arlena DeanRaven Rating: 4Blog Reviewed For: GMTAReview:"Hanging By A Thread" by Sophie Littlefield was a interesting, long and detailed spooky mystery read. As a young adult if you are into creepy murders and vintage fashion then you are in for a good read. The story ran a little slow for me at the beginning ...I kept wanting it to pick up a little more and it did! OK, just let me start....I gathered from my reading that there was some relationship between Clare and her mom(Susie)....Clare's mom and her mother(Nana).... Clare's friend...Rachel and her mom (Mrs. Slade) .... then their was Amanda's mom (Mrs. Stavros) and her daughter...Mrs. Granger... son (Dillon) death all coming together with Clare and her mother that really making this story...... "Hanging By A Thread" a worthwhile read.Clare(Cee cee) was sixteen ..... a junior in HS who had moved back to Winston, California from San Francisco with her mom. Clara had a gift that had been passed down to her from her great grandmother and that was having 'the ability to glimpses of people's negative actions when Clare touched their clothes.' Along with this gift Clare also had the ability to take vintage clothing and turn them into very exclusive customed styles which made selling good for her business. I found that this story zip here and there quiet a bit making the story somewhat at times a little hard to follow...and some details were left unresolved... but maybe that was to make us think? Just a thought..... Winston, California was coming upon a second anniversary (Fourth of July) when two of the town kids had been killed .... (Dillon's death and Amanda's disappearance). What would happen this year? Clare happens upon a piece of clothing that proved to belong to the girl that had been killed .... now how was Clare to find out ... who and why this girl had been killed? 'Trying to solve a mystery that kept getting more and more complicated' was really working... Well, I will leave this up to you to read "Hanging by a Thread." I think I am catching up! ......And then there was a long talk with Clare's Nana. Oh ! 'Sometimes knowing and telling is the wrost thing you can do!' You must read this good read to find out just what I am talking about. The characters were really interesting in this storyline.... Claire, her mom(Susie) and grandmother(Nana), Rachel, (Amanda(Mandy), Dillon), Lincoln, Jack, Victoria, Jenna, Kane, Luke, Mrs. Granger, Mrs. Stavro and a few others I have left out.I found "Hanging By A Thread" story line may have been a little slow at times.... but the story will pick up.....and if you are willing to stick with this storyline you will find out just what happened to the two kids that had been such a mystery for this town. Just who was the killer? I believe you will find this novel an acceptable read for a teen and or young adult.