Choker

Elizabeth Woods

Jan 2011 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

What are best friends for? Murder, maybe.

Zoe and Cara were as close as friends could be—until Zoe moved away in fourth grade. Miserable without Zoe, Cara grew into an unhappy sixteen-year-old, tormented by the popular girls and nursing a hopeless crush. Then one day Cara returns home from a miserable day at school to find Zoe sitting on her bed. Shocked and delighted, Cara agrees to hide Zoe from troubles at home and the two resume their friendship as though no time has passed. Zoe even helps Cara get up the courage to stand up for herself and talk to her crush. But when one of the popular girls winds up dead, Cara begins to suspect that Zoe is responsible, and her questions only feed Zoe’s anger. As Cara searches for answers, she is forced to confront a deadly truth….

Ratings and reviews

The book started out all right. I hated what the other girls did to Cara. They were awful and despicable. So, I did sympathize with her. For a while. Then she just got to me. She just seemed so, weak and a pushover at times. You couldn’t help but get frustrated at her sometimes. When Zoe comes in, she does take an interesting personality change and Zoe is partly responsible for that. However, as the plot wore on, I rather guessed what was going on, and the underlying secret. I am not sure if the big secret was obvious to other readers who have read this book, but I did figure it out when Zoe starts to have a more prominent place in the story. Although it started off rather interesting, I could not help but lose interest. It was predictable, and Cara as a character just did improve and I stopped liking her. I felt sorry for her, but she didn’t make herself likable at all. It came to the point where you can’t feel sorry for her anymore she just became so...pathetic. She did manage to grow a spine, but it would shrink rapidly as well. Another thing I did not take kindly to was the animal cruelty mentioned in the book. It was horrible to read and to me, unnecessary. It was already evident that Zoe and Cara aren’t really all “there” so I don’t see why there had to be any mentioning of any animals being killed. The ending, well it was predictable, therefore it wasn’t that exciting or a complete revelation to read. I thought there could have been more to the book. It’s not a book I would recommend, I would say take it or leave it. I’ve read much better than this. It’s predictable, and by the time you finished the book you find it lacking in something, perhaps a new twist should have been brought in, or something that would have brought the plot to a more interesting level.

After reading a list of books similar to Gone Girl, I thought Choker would be a good fit. I read a bunch of reviews and it sounded intriguing and full of twists. Let me just say, I saw the ending coming a hundred miles away...it's so obvious. All the people out there who were so shocked need a lesson in foreshadowing...there are at least 20 instances where the author gives it away. Overall, I was really disappointed...I kept hoping for something to shock me, never happened. Snooze.

From the minute I started reading this book I couldn't stop. Cara is like a lot of girls in high school. She doesn't seem to fit in at times. She has busy but loving parents. Then one day at school she chokes on a small piece of carrot. When the popular crowd begin to make fun of her and call her Choker it is more than she can bear. She returns home to find an old friend from her past sitting on her bed. The friend has run away and needs a place to hide. Cara watches as her friend helps her become a little more outgoing then watches her friend's dark side come out. When girls start dying, Cara begins to suspect her friend while her new boyfriend becomes the prime suspect. That is all I will say about the plot of the book except, don't put it down. The minute you think you have it figured out it takes another sharp twist. Everything I thought I knew was wrong. This was a terrific book and I look forward to reading more by this author.

About the author

Elizabeth Woods lives in Cincinnati, Ohio. Choker is her debut novel.