From Goodreads: Natalie Watson doesn’t believe the reports about the way her parents died. In fact, she’s not sure she believes in much of anything these days. But after moving from her home in Georgia to her aunt’s boarding school in Maine, solving the mystery of her parents’ deaths is just one of several things on her mind. When she’s not fending off attacks from the popular kids or taking refuge in the pages of a novel, she ponders the rumors circulating about a certain boy in her math class… a boy with fiery red hair who never speaks to anyone.

Despite suspicions that he may have murdered his sister a year earlier, Natalie finds it impossible to stay away from Liam Abernathy – especially when he confesses to knowing something about her parents. Soon she’s following him into the forest, where things happen she doesn’t understand… things that shouldn’t be possible….

As Liam’s story unfolds, Natalie realizes she’s more connected to him than she ever thought – and not everyone she counts as a friend can be trusted.

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This is one of those novels that I just happened to stumble upon, thanks to Amazon.  I really love the recommendation feature on sites like Amazon and Barnes and Nobel, but I’m going to be honest, I am the reader that looks at the covers of books and, if it is appealing, will pick it up and read the synopsis.  Then, if the synopsis is interesting, I’ll read the book.  I know, I know, we aren’t supposed to judge books by their covers, but let’s be honest here: we are an aesthetic people.  We like things that are pleasing to the eye, or things that peak our interest, grab our attention.  That doesn’t mean there has to be a hot girl or guy on the cover; there doesn’t even have to be color on the cover!  But it does need to be alluring enough that I’ll pick it up, and though many readers won’t admit this, it’s true for a lot of us, and especially true for younger adults (at least, it’s true for the ones I teach).  A bland cover never cuts it for me, and I’ll walk right by the book because it didn’t strike my fancy.  I’m not saying that always happens, but it certainly does if I haven’t ever heard of the book before…  Now, looking at the cover of The Clearing, my interest was sparked, and by sparked I mean I looked at it and clicked the book right away.  That’s it, a split second decision.  I like the cover.  I like the woods, weird things happen in woods, so my interest has been peaked.  Of course, upon reading the synopsis, which you’ve now read above, I was sold.  It’s the second paragraph that really did it for me, a boy who might have killed his sister… a girl running off into the forest to see what he’s doing… wow!  This is right up my alley.  And so, I read it, and I loved it. 

Riley has done a phenomenal job creating an intense piece that keeps the reader’s interest from start to finish.  Natalie is a wonderful character.  She’s caring, concerned, smart, yet struggling with the death of her parents.  She’s not a push over, and though her roommate and school peers taunt her for being the new girl, she takes it with stride and doesn’t let it ruin her life.  I really liked that about her.  It was refreshing to see a character so sure of herself that bullying didn’t cause her to crumple to nothing.  I also really enjoyed the strong adult presence throughout the novel—Natalie doesn’t suffer alone, and she has a wonderful relationship with her aunt, confiding in her and letting her aunt know about the bullying.  Yet, the novel’s main focus isn’t as much dealing with bullying as it is with Liam and the secrets he holds.  Yes, Liam is the mysterious redhead suspected of murdering his own sister, though no evidence has even been found.  He’s a very cryptic character, and though we don’t get to know him right away, as the novel progresses, we learn a lot of interesting information about him as a character and, through him, we learn the connection between the alternating stories within the novel.

Okay, let me back up.  This novel really drew me in because there are alternating stories.  The novel actually begins 317 years in the past, and the scene we first witness is quite chilling.  Yet, Riley doesn’t give the reader all the facts just yet, and the next chapter jumps into present day, where we first meet Liam and Natalie.  I was intrigued by both stories, but didn’t make the connection until halfway through the book.  When I finally did make the connection, I’ll admit I was flabbergasted.  I can’t divulge any secrets, but I can say that it threw me for a loop and actually made the story even more powerful, in my opinion, as Riley made some awesome connections between the past and present.

Honestly, this is a phenomenal story, and I really enjoyed it.  The main characters are fleshed out and real, and while I would have liked to know a little more about some of the other characters, like Ethan, as they’re not the core characters, I feel Riley did a great job.  She is an author to watch, and she’s made a true fan out of me!  I cannot wait for more novels!  Four and a half stars!