Review: The Truth About Celia Frost - Paula Rawsthorne

Celia Frost's life is ruled by fear - fear of a rare disorder that means she could bleed to death from the slightest cut.  But when a knife attack on Celia has unexpected consequences, her mum reacts strangely.  Suddenly they're on the run, and Celia has no idea why.  All she wants is the truth . . . but the truth is more horrifying than she could ever imagine, and it's closing in fast.

A buried secret; a gripping manhunt; a dangerous deceit . . .

What is the truth about Celia Frost?

Visit Paula Rawsthorne's author page on Goodreads for more information


Review:
Celia Frost has a rare blood disorder and the smallest cut could cause her to bleed to death.  She has spent her whole life being treated as a freak by fellow students and trying to avoid any kind of injury.  When a bully takes things too far and Celia ends up in hospital after a knife attack everything changes.  Celia realises that her mum has been keeping secrets from her but why?  What is it that has her mother so scared that she insists they run?

I have to admit that I was scared to read this one, I have a blood phobia so reading the synopsis I got as far as reading "she could bleed to death from the slightest cut" and immediately put the book to one side.  It's taken me months to pluck up the courage to actually read it which I know sounds silly but I can't help it!  I almost put the book down again by the end of the first chapter because I didn't think I could handle reading any further but I'm so glad I persevered.  The story was completely different from anything I expected and once I got through the first couple of chapters I was able to put my nerves to one side and was completely hooked.

It is hard to go into any detail about the story because it would be too easy to give spoilers so I'm going to talk more about the characters than the plot.  I will say that the story is fast paced, has some fantastic twists and was so good that I finished it in one sitting.  There were times I was on the edge of my seat and I really had no idea how things would end.  The Truth About Celia Frost is a fantastic debut and I'm excited to see what Paula Rawsthorne comes up with next.

Celia is a great main character who has had a difficult life, she has never been allowed to do any of the things that normal kids do - even falling off a bike could kill her so her mother has never let her play with other children.  She feels like a freak and has never really had friends so she is intensely lonely and now that she doesn't feel able to trust her mother she is even more lost.  I loved the friendship that develops between her and Sol, finally Celia has someone who makes her feel normal and Sol helps her to experience the things she has missed out on previously.  I liked the fact that although there were hints at a possible future romance between Celia and Sol the story focuses much more on the friendship between them

This is a story that will make you think, it touches on all kind of issues from bullying & gang violence to various kinds of abuse and a few other things I can't mention because of spoilers.  I really had no idea what was going to happen in this book before I started reading it and I think that is the best way to go into the story - I guarantee it will surprise you.  This is a book I'd highly recommend to thriller fans and I'll definitely be picking up whatever this author brings out next.

Source: Received from Usborne in exchange for an honest review

Other Reviews:
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