Just as Skye is getting to grips with the touchy-feely ethos of Morley Hill whilst simultaneously trying to be blasé about her phobia surrounding water, a series of strange text messages sent from a private group chat app that only she and Luisa have access to appear on her mobile phone.

This YA debut is a moving account of overcoming grief, and also a gripping psychological thriller as Skye tries to find out who is behind the texts. It is a mixture of harsh reality and poignancy, and I found this aspect of the book to be very believable and well-written, tying in smartly with the concept as a whole. Although some of the described events may be reminiscent of similar experiences to some us readers, a full to the top tissue box probably won’t be necessary here. Her sister died in a tragic accident and her parents think a camp for grieving teens might help her.And as someone who has gone through grief/is going through grief (depending on how you look at me/it), it's refreshing to see a book that looks at grief and shows that every person goes through this very differently. Skye is funny and very likeable, the kind of heroine you find yourself rooting for from the very start - and though she's utterly believable as a teenager of 2016, her thoughts and feelings are achingly recognisable to those of us whose teenage years are long behind us too. Even the Big Twist was foreshadowed to death (bad pun but I can't think of a better term right now) and fell a bit flat. Not only is it super gorgeous (and as author Sue Wallman said the reddish glow on the cover could be sunshine in the water or blood, dun dun dun) but it has a super awesome finish which makes it feel all special and I couldn't stop stroking the cover while reading. Yes, pleasant, breezy summer nonsense is always welcome, but a little bit of darkness now and again is most welcome and Lying About Last Summer explores a safe amount of darkness without becoming inappropriate for younger readers or betraying the nature of the story.

Paralysed by shock and crippled with fear, Skye hears her sister’s final moments but has kept this detail to herself and is tormented by guilt about failing to protect her sister. There is mystery surrounding Luisa's death, the messages in the private chat and some of Skye's fellow campers, and when everything started to come together into its exploding conclusion I was on the edge of my seat. I came across Sue Wallman’s books about six months ago when I was browsing through YA, and have now read all three. All of the kids at the summer camp have lost someone close, but the last thing Sky wants to do is think about the past.

Many of these themes are reasonably hard-hitting, but they are handled in an accessible way that is ideal for a young adult audience. There are some heavy issues throughout the book (drug dealing, minimal drug usage and suicide), but this is all handled well and shown from Skye's critical view. Loved this book - it's officially a Young Adult title and it's a very long time since I was a young adult, but the engaging central character and the twists and turns of the plot kept me reading.

In short, Lying About Last Summer is street smart YA for the 12-16 age bracket who are intuitive enough to read between the lines, able to appreciate the excellent character development but demand the thrill of the chase and a rousing denouement! To see what really happened to Luisa was chilling, it seemed kind of too extreme for the book, which is a crazy thing to say, but when you think of Skye's life, and they're idyllic little house, it's hard to see it all going wrong, not helped by the fact Skye starts receiving text messages from Luisa, or so it seems?The book begins in the past at Yew Tree House, last summer, where we catch a glimpse of what happened to Luisa, Skye's sister and how Skye was involved. When Skye starts receiving text messages from someone pretending to be her dead sister, she knows it's time to confront the past.