In 2018, I read and reviewed An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen, noting “…I may be burned out due to reading too MANY of these plucky-heroine-in-danger stories, but I also was not impressed with the writing. It seemed geared for a relatively low reading level, strong on plot but weak (IMHO) on language, narrative voice, and description. Well, except for the MANY times we learned what the characters were wearing. In detail.”

But for some reason, I thought You Are Not Alone, the latest by the two authors, would be better. It sounded like a terrific premise in the plucky-heroine-in-danger genre, with a book-smart young woman who is somewhat lacking in people smarts trying to unravel the story behind the apparent suicide she witnessed when a young woman is killed right next to her by a passing subway train.

The backstory of protagonist Shay Miller, and why she continuously records data and statistics, is promising. Unfortunately, there is way too much willing suspension of disbelief required, as there are a gazillion implausible coincidences and a whole boatload of really stupid people.  

I’m generally fine with alternating points of view, as long as the characters and storylines remain clear. I’m willing to admit the fact that the supporting characters all seemed to blend together might be my fault, not the author’s…but it was disconcerting.  Their reasons for wanting revenge needed to be justified and clear, but their motivations were murky and their reasons never measured up to Shay’s storyline. Shay, as noted, has some interesting character traits, and her whole story had a lot of promise, but TBH I really didn’t care what happened to her – or anyone in the book, actually. Rereading my notes from my review of An Anonymous Girl, I realize this book has the EXACT same flaws for me: plot possibilities were there, but the simplistic style and presentation made it hard to get through. I have to repeat my rating: I rarely give only 2 stars, and because this did have some ingenious aspects and I was able to finish it,  it’s a 3-star from me.