Get hooked even further into the series: My review of Temptation: A Novel (Solitary Tales Series) by Travis Thrasher

Publisher: David C. Cook; New edition (April 1, 2012)

What would you do if your search for the truth meant that those important to you ended up disappearing or hurt because of their connection to you? What would you do if your mom kept descending deeper and deeper into the haze of alcohol? What if there seemed to be no purpose in fighting the evil threatening to overtake you?

These are questions Chris Buckley is running from in book three of the Solitary Tales. Sentenced to summer school for no conceivable reason, Chris is soon side-tracked by a gorgeous senior girl who offers him an escape from his struggles. Chris suddenly finds himself facing temptations to lose himself in new friendships, in parties and drinking, and in all-consuming thoughts of the possibility of having sex for the first time. However, when events in his life spiral out of his control, he finds he must decide whether he will embrace the darkness of evil or submit to the Light.

Thrasher's third installment in the Solitary Tales echoes the hopelessness of today's teen culture. What's the point in believing in something beyond yourself, beyond doing what feels good? Why not just lose yourself in the pursuit of fun and pleasure and doing what's right in your own eyes? And yet it also exposes this thinking for what it is - utter lies. And it does so in a highly entertaining, imaginative, and at times creepy manner. If you haven't yet found yourself endeared to Chris Buckley, then you may not want to pick up this book. But if you already feel like taking Chris home and giving him a normal life, if he already seems to be the face of a searching teen in your own life, then you will love this installment with it's darkness, it's questioning, and it's hope. Thrasher has created a character that will long live in my memory.

As with previous novels in the series, the pacing is once again spot on, and as more and more answers emerge as to what on earth is going on in the town of Solitary, you will find yourself hooked even further and desperate for the last book in the series.

I once again find myself highly recommending the latest book from Travis Thrasher, and give it 4.5 out of 5 stars. I can't wait for the final book, Hurt, coming out September 1, 2012.

An egalley of this book has been provided courtesy of the publisher for the purposes of this unbiased review.

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