Indie Book of the Week #2 - Stitch by Samantha Durante

Her heart races, her muscles coil, and every impulse in Alessa's body screams at her to run... but yet she's powerless to move.

Still struggling to find her footing after the sudden death of her parents, the last thing college freshman Alessa has the strength to deal with is the inexplicable visceral pull drawing her to a handsome ghostly presence. In between grappling with exams and sorority soirees - and disturbing recurring dreams of being captive in a futuristic prison hell - Alessa is determined to unravel the mystery of the apparition who leaves her breathless. But the terrifying secret she uncovers will find her groping desperately through her nightmares for answers.

Because what Alessa hasn't figured out yet is that she's not really a student, the object of her obsession is no ghost, and her sneaking suspicions that something sinister is lurking behind the walls of her university's idyllic campus are only just scratching the surface...

The opening installment in a twist-laden trilogy, Stitch spans the genres of paranormal romance and dystopian sci-fi to explore the challenges of a society in transition, where morality, vision, and pragmatism collide leaving the average citizen to suffer the results.

Stitch is a fabulously unique story – one of the most original I’ve read this year! We meet university student Alessa as she struggles to cope with her studies following her parents’ death a year before - and it doesn’t help that in her new home, she’s being haunted by a ghostly figure only she can see. She feels an inexplicable pull towards this strange boy, like she’s met him before, and determines to find out who he is and how he died.

But her search for answers leads in a different direction to how she anticipated, and she begins to suspect that he is not a normal ghost. The signs seem to point to his being a projection across time – but it doesn’t make sense that he can see her, too. When she finds out how he died, she becomes determined to find a way to warn him, but then her best friend reveals a secret that unravels her whole world: she is not who she thinks she is, and her life as she knows it is a lie.

Because her dreams of being imprisoned in a dystopian prison are more real than they seem, and she and the ‘ghost’ are both victims of the same system. Now they have to play out their roles until they find a way to escape.

This is a very cleverly written story that seamlessly meshes the two genres of paranormal mystery and sci-fi dystopia. What I liked most about it was the way in which Alessa’s feelings are mirrored in both of her lives. In both, she feels like a prisoner, yet she remains determined and strong. I was completely caught up in the story and found the horrifying future world fascinating.

This is a twist-filled ride with great characters and a unique blending of genres. If you’re looking for a new adult novel which does something totally unexpected, I can’t recommend this enough!

Rating: *****