Cease & Desist
Genre: YA Thriller
Release Date: October 10th 2016
Summary from Goodreads
What if the secret to being charismatic were actually a gene you could inherit, and pass along to your children. What if this “X-factor” could make you a star?
Welcome to the world of Cease de Menich, a sixteen-year-old actress in New York City who gets cast as Joan-of-Arc in a reality-drama, only to discover her “acting gift” has been passed down through her bloodline for almost six-hundred-years. Cease finds the plot of the drama reveals dark secrets from her past–an abusive mother, a brother who committed suicide–and the reader must decide if she’s a reliable narrator or a terrified girl who’s succumb to the pressure of fame and the abuse of her past.
Cease & Desist is a dark, contemporary YA thriller with a supernatural twist. Readers of books like I Let You Go and The Girl on the Train will enjoy this coming-of-age story, which struggles with the realities of sexuality, violence as entertainment, and mental illness. Cease & Desist has excellent crossover potential into the adult marketplace.
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My Review
There are a lot of different layers in this book. Cease & Desist has a mix of thriller and corruption created for the entertainment of the masses. I honestly was confused on how the spectrum of the reality show worked at first but was very determined to find out what happened next.
Cease de Menich is a young actress cast as Jeanne d’Arc, not Joan as she sternly instructs, in a reality drama show. Different from the other girls with her looks and station in life, she struggles with the challenging and chaotic structure between her ‘reality’. I enjoyed the overall plot of this book. It’s definitely different from anything I’ve ever read. While the narrative can be confusing and jumbled sometimes, Cease comes to life in her perspective.
As Cease goes through her daily life, she discovers truths about her own family. This book had some dark moments and very notable awareness into growing up with dangers, peer pressure, and abuse. It also touches on the media’s overwhelming expectation that violence and sex need to be included to be entertained. My recommendation is to not get to hung up on the timeline of the plot since Cease’s thoughts can be a bit scattered. Once you get into it though, it’s really hard to put down.
The Page Unbound 