Review: Identity Theft by Anna Davies

Identity Theft by Anna Davies
Publisher: Point
Release Date: April 30, 2013
Purchase: Amazon / Barnes and Noble

The third title in our exciting relaunch of Point Horror!

Hayley is going to have the best year ever. After years of careful planning, she's ready to serve as student council president AND editor-in-chief of the newspaper. Ivy League, here she comes!

However, just before student council elections, someone creates a fake facebook profile for Hayley and starts posting inappropriate photos and incriminating updates. It must be the work of a highly skilled Photoshopper, but the attention to detail is scary. The embarrassing photos of "Hayley" in her bathing suit reveal a birthmark on her back--a birth mark Hayley has never shown in public. . . .

The situation escalates until Hayley's mother reveals some shocking information. Hayley isn't an only child: She has a twin sister who was adopted by a different family. And that's not all. Soon, Hayley discovers that her long-lost sister isn't just playing a prank--she's plotting to take over Hayley's life . . . by any means necessary.

My Thoughts:
When I first saw Identity Theft I knew I had to read it.  It looked like a fantastic edge of your seat thriller that would leave me in a panic to make sure my own identity was safe.  Unfortunately this book was not at all what the synopsis promised and I am left with an itch that didn't get scratched. 

Identity Theft starts off like most YA novels.  Girl is trying to get good grades to make it into college, has been made fun of my girls who used to be her friends, and has a absentee mother.  Even with all that I was still willing to give the book the benefit of the doubt.  The story goes on and eventually we see Hayley's identity being impersonated.  Hayley needs her social media life to be super clean so that she can win a scholarship and well with no friends and a non existent social life she isn't worried, but then a mysterious Facebook page pops up and the girl in the pictures looks exactly like Hayley.  Things go from bad to worse when her classmates start talking to her about events that she was there for and Hayley has no memory of.  This is when she finds out that there is someone out there trying to ruin her life and she has no idea who that person could be.  In order to win this scholarship Hayley knows she has to find this person and stop them from ruining her life.

I really thought this was going to be a very intense read, but what I got was very boring and ho hum.  Hayley snaps at all the wrong people and I am more than a little mad at her mother.  In the beginning I looked at Hayley as just being driven and socially awkward but after awhile it was evident she was just a mean person by the way she treated the one person who has been there for her from the beginning and instead of really confiding in this person she turns to a strange irritating boy.  I saw no chemistry whatsoever with Matt. He was so aloof and his moods just bothered me.  I didn't like them together at all and at least we are spared a huge romance since Matt never really gets his stuff together enough and Hayley pretty much pushes him away.  Adam on the other hand I rooted for.  She didn't deserve him, but I kept wanting her to turn to him and for him to believe her. In the end she chooses the wrong person and as expected is doesn't work out to her advantage.

Now for her mother.  I am used to absentee parents in books and honestly in the beginning she didn't bother me, but when  huge bomb is dropped on Hayley and her mother decides to leave her in their house alone so that they don't say things they will regret I was done.  What mother does that?!  This bomb was huge for Hayley and for her mom to just up and leave left me wanting to strangle the woman!  Not to mention that her mom was the only source of information we had and when she left so did the info.  I still don't understand why this person wanted to steal Hayley's life.  Nothing is ever fully explained even when these two are face to face.

I have a whole list of things that bothered me about this book but I am going to just leave it.  The book didn't give enough details for me to buy it and even the end with it's somewhat cliffhanger didn't help.  The only thing that really stood out was the switch that was created about 3/4 of the way through and that was a little to late not to mention that Hayley was let out of the situation too easily and again we the reader never get to know why.  So that is that and I really hope if you read this one you like it better than I did.

2 snowflakes