Book Review: Skeletal by Kathering Hayton

I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

What the hell did I just read?

I'm still in shock. This book was a whirlwind of action throughout and I have a lot of conflicting feelings about it.

Skeletal is a story of a girl who was lost. Daina moved from town to town with her mother, changing schools three to four times a year, running from problems and never putting down roots. Daina is heavily independent and tries desperately to maintain control of her hectic life. She tries to prevent her mother from spending all of their money on alcohol and keeps her grades up. She never expected a bully to turn on her and make her life a living hell.

But this is much more than a bullying story. Daina is a fighter and she strives to make the struggles in her life building blocks. She tries to make friends and is happy for a short while. Life has a way of going to hell really quick and despite her best efforts, Daina gets sucked down a road that she never wanted to go down.

Daina is an interesting character but I struggled with her age, among other things. She was 14 in all of this. I understand that she had to grow up quick because of the life that she had but it felt too extreme. She didn't react in a relatable way. Certain things that would drive most teenagers into a panic barely phased her. I can understand rolling with the bullying but she lets everybody take advantage of her. Her mother, her guidance counselor, the bullies, the creepy guy in the bushes...I won't go further. She was a doormat. 

All the rest of the characters were severely twisted. Who does this? Even adults don't do this! It's so messed up. Maybe I am having issues with this because I've never experienced bullying in this extreme but I feel like most people haven't either. 

The administration of this school is unbelievable at best. NO SCHOOL WOULD IGNORE WHAT IS GOING ON. No school. At all. Know why? Lawsuits. The school would be shut down in a hot minute. And then teachers and administration and principals would be fired and possibly go to jail. It's simply not logical.

There were just so many plot holes. 

The paranormal element in this book was understated at best and left me a little underwhelmed. There was really no reason for the way things played out and I can understand having a ghost as a plot device but it didn't feel fully realized.

The end of the book was rushed and the conclusion was never fully explained. There was too much suspense and building on the front end to justify the conclusion.

In the end, I couldn't connect with the characters and there were too many missing parts for me to enjoy this book. Maybe I'm in a bad mood but this book was not for me.