My rating: 4 of 5 stars
"Over time we all become our own doppelganger, we look the same but we're completely different people."
----Ted, How I Met Your Mother
Michelle Painchaud, an American author, pens her debut novel, Pretending to be Erica that traces the journey of a con artist who pretends to be a dead and rich princess to steal a million dollars painting, but it is not an easy road to try to have the best of the both worlds, because in reality she is just a regular teenager who has a normal lifestyle.
Synopsis:
Seventeen-year-old Violet’s entire life has revolved around one thing: becoming Erica Silverman, an heiress kidnapped at age five and never seen again. Violet’s father, the best con man in Las Vegas, has a plan, chilling in its very specific precision. Violet shares a blood type with Erica; soon, thanks to surgery and blackmail, she has the same face, body, and DNA. She knows every detail of the Silvermans’ lives, as well as the PTSD she will have to fake around them. And then, when the time is right, she “reappears”—Erica Silverman, brought home by some kind of miracle. But she is also Violet, and she has a job: Stay long enough to steal the Silverman Painting, an Old Master legendary in the Vegas crime world. Walking a razor’s edge, calculating every decision, not sure sometimes who she is or what she is doing it for, Violet is an unforgettable heroine, and Pretending to be Erica is a killer debut.
Violet was seven years when she was adopted from the foster home by Sal, a very notorious and famous con-man in Vegas, and all her life she has been groomed like the dead and kidnapped princess named, Erica Silverman belonging from a very wealthy family. To play Erica's role, Sal has provided both medical and psychological training to Violet, so that not only even her looks and DNA matches with the dead princess but also she talks and walks like her. And right now Violet is 16 year old and she has to step into her father's quest to steal the famous Silverman painting by van Gogh. But on the other hand, Violet has her own life with school, projects, boys and friends, will she be able to completely embody herself into Erica's demeanor? And will she be able to come out of Erica's life after stealing the paining?
The writing style of this first time author is something beyond perfection. From the very first page, the author pulls us into the deep web of mystery behind two lives played the same person. The pacing is also quite fast given the fact that instead of thrilling me, it entertained me most of the time. The narrative and the thoughts of Violet while behaving as Erica are articulate and easy to contemplate thus made me feel closer to Violet as a person.
The main theme of the book is underlined with a mystery of stealing a painting was not that strongly put since most of the time, the author's focus was on both Violet and Violet-as-Erica, so this book is more like a transformative journey of a regular teenager. The characters are all very strongly developed and etched out with enough reality, especially the way the author have crafted the life and style of a con-artist and their demeanor.
Erica is a strong and brave heroine and the author have vividly projected her sometimes confused mind of pretending to be somebody else. Her decisions based on her emotions and her intelligence sets her apart from a normal teenager, since she was groomed in such a way that she became a mature woman even before her age. There is also a bit of romance and chemistry in the book which is not too strongly featured in the book and that what kept me wanting for a bit of love drama.
Although the premise promises to be a thriller, the book on the other hand, doesn't keep up to it's promise as there are only elements of mystery going on the background of Violet's dual lives. In short, it is entertaining and perfect for any teenager/adult looking for a bit of mystery and identity crisis drama of a teenager.
Verdict: YA lovers look out for this book, because I believe this is going to be quite huge.
Courtesy: Thanks to the author's publicist for giving me an opportunity to read and review this book.
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Author Info:
Oh my goodness this sound like such an intriguing story! The idea of pulling off pretending to be someone else to such a degree is astounding and I don't know how Violet is going to have been able to do it! I would be torn in such a situation, and I could see how this would also have close ties to theme of identity.
ReplyDeleteYeah it is a great book, thanks for stopping by Olivia! :-)
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