When I first saw this title, I�Ûªm not sure what drew me to it. Maybe it was the cute red polka dot dress on the cover, or perhaps the single line of text accompanying the dress: ‰ÛÏMake him pay, Bayley. Make him pay.‰Û It sounded slightly ominous, especially because the book blurb marketed it as a ghost story, love story, and a story about revenge.

Portraits of Celina was a very easy read for me. It‰Ûªs a short book, so I finished it within a few hours. The story flowed along at a good pace, and something interesting was always happening. While the plot was intriguing and the writing was good, certain elements were very easy to figure out. For example, I guessed who the murderer was the first time we were introduced to him. I also quickly deduced the reason why Bayley had a strong attraction to Oliver‰Ûªs father. Overall, these things did not detract from the story, but they did lessen the mystery a bit.

I would recommend this book to people looking for an easy, but well written, read who like ghost stories. However, I would warn them not to read this alone and at night if they are easily spooked. It took me quite some time to fall asleep after I had finished reading this because I kept thinking that the spirit of a long dead person would come haunt me and make me exact revenge on somebody. To me, that is the mark of a good book. It was just scary enough to bother me, but not so much that I wanted to stop reading. I will definitely be looking for more of Whiting‰Ûªs work in the future.


Ready my full review at http://nerdybookgirl.blogspot.com/2014/09/portraits-of-celina-by-sue-whiting.htm... ( )

*I received a free ARC of Portraits of Celina from Capsone Young Readers via Netgalley in exchange of an honest and unbiased review*

First, let me start with the cover: love, love, love it! Unfortunately, the book wasn't quite as fantastic as it's cover, but it was a quick, fairly enjoyable read.

The beginning started off quite slowly--it was disjointed and far too descriptive for my tastes, but as the story progressed, the intrigue overshadowed any problems with the flow. At times, eerie, this book could appeal to older teens, but is more likely suited to middle school aged teens because of the level of the language used.

This will make a great summer read for teens who enjoy mysteries. ( )

Portraits of Celina by Sue Whiting is a paranormal mystery book. Bayley Anderson’s mother has uprooted her family and moved them all to an old family home near Tallowood. Bayley’s father died a few months ago from an accident. Amelia (Bayley’s older sister) has not been acting out. She has been disappearing, getting drunk, and acting out. So now they are all stuck out in the middle of nowhere. No one has lived in the house since 1975.

In 1975 Celina O’Malley left for school and was never seen again. Celina was sixteen years old. When Bayley moves into her new room there is an old trunk. The trunk is full of clothes and other items belonging to Celina. Bayley is drawn to the trunk and its contents. She starts wearing the clothes and then Bayley starts seeing/experiencing snippets of Celina’s life. When Bayley sees a picture of Celina, it is like looking in a mirror. They could be twins.

Bayley starts looking into Celina’s disappearance to see what happened to her while dealing with her family. Bayley’s mother is not handling the loss of her husband very well and she is starting to fall apart. Amelia continues to act out, drinking, disappearing, and sneaking out of the house causing more problems for their mother. Seth, Bayley’s little brother, is anxious and scared all the time. Amelia’s hijinks are making things worse for poor Seth. Bayley is trying to hold their family together while finding out what happened to Celina. What happened to Celina all those years ago?

I give Portraits of Celina 3.5 out of 5 stars. It is set in Australia so some of the terminology and references will be foreign to American readers. It is also written in the first person. This book sounded so good, but I was very disappointed. The ending left me dissatisfied. I do not think that the mother’s first name was ever mentioned (I kept looking). I think a little rewriting and editing would do this book a world of good.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. ( )