13 Minutes by Sarah Pinborough

13 Minutes by Sarah Pinborough
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I was dead for 13 minutes.

I don't remember how I ended up in the icy water but I do know this - it wasn't an accident and I wasn't suicidal.

They say you should keep your friends close and your enemies closer, but when you're a teenage girl, it's hard to tell them apart. My friends love me, I'm sure of it. But that doesn't mean they didn't try to kill me. Does it?



When I first heard about 13 minutes I was intrigued. It sounded like something right up my street, unfortunately I couldn't start it straight away but as I have just been off on half term I thought it would be the ideal time to start. To be honest I read it in a couple of days and I probably would have still have got through it quick even if I had been at work because I can only describe it as epic. This is the first thriller I have read this year that has blown me away, I honestly didn't want to put it down. So lets get back to the book...

Natasha, 16 is pulled from the icy river one morning by a man and his dog, the girl is thought to be dead, her heart stops...for 13 minutes. When she comes round and is asked how this happened, she can't remember. This is a brilliant YA novel that everyone is going to be talking about this year. I have never read anything by Sarah Pinborough before but on the strength of this I would be keen to read her previous novels.

Natasha is a cool kid, always has been and is the type of girl everyone wants to be friends with and actually be. She has had her friends that she has dropped, she decides to revive an old friendship with Becca, Becca never really 'fit' in her group but is flattered she wants to renew her friendship and of course drops her current friend Hannah for her.

Although this book is targeted at the young adult market, I think this is a psychological thriller that everyone would enjoy, Pinborough manages to get into the heads of teenagers and to be honest it makes me thankful that I am no longer a teenager if this is how they behave!

As an adult I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it is full of twists and turns, most of which I never saw coming, as soon as I thought I knew what was happening something, I was thrown another curve ball. I would happily recommend this book to everyone, regardless of age. All I would say is make sure you clear your diary for 2 days as you are not going to be able to or want to put this down. It had me racing to the end. The only slight negative I have was the ending itself, I thought it was a bit flat after everything that had happened. I am not sure if it was intentional or the writer ran out of steam, it wasn't bad, but it wasn't as good as it could have been. Then again that is only my opinion and the reason I would give this book 4.5* and not 5*.

So there you have it, it is only my opinion but I suggest if you are looking for a twisty thriller look no further, pop this in your basket next time you are out shopping, I guarantee you will not be disappointed!

I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.