READING : Choker by Elizabeth Woods

Choker by Elizabeth Woods

Publication date: January 4th, 2011
Published by: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 4/5
Eligible for Debut Author Challenge 2011!

Zoe and Cara were as close as friends could be—until Zoe moved away. 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…

In Choker we are introduced to Cara, a teenage girl who is a bit of a loner, someone who other people just don't chose to hang out with.When she was a little girl her family had to move, thus leaving her best friend Zoe behind.But when Zoe suddenly comes back in to her life can Cara handle it or will she find her best friend completely changed?

Choker was a pretty decent debut novel,it was twisted and disturbing and pretty damn scary at parts.Cara is a character that inspires your pity from the very beginning.You feel so sad for her throughout the whole book.Her classmates decide it'd be awesome to make fun of her because she dared choke on a carrot during lunch at school, hence the nickname. Imagine that you're about to die from a stupid carrot, at 17,and then saved,only to have the whole school call you Choker wherever you go!Plus, she was obviously still traumatized even after all these years from the move and from losing Zoe, whom she practically adored.Add totally absent and in my opinion uncaring parents in the mix, and you have yourself a very unhappy teenage girl.
Wood's writing was good, very dark and glum.There were scenes like a certain someone's decay while still alive(!) which was so morbid and twisted, it was beautiful!What put me off in Choker though is the ending. Not what actually happened in the end, but the fact that I saw it coming miles away, after finishing the 1st half of the book to be exact.I mean, if the book has this demented feel to it and Woods wanted it to be dark and bleak,she should have tried to make the ending a liiiitle bit more unexpected, because otherwise it takes away its grimness and spookiness.
Very short review, I tried to stay away from potential spoilers as much as I could.If you don't figure out Choker's ending early, then it's guaranteed that it will blow your mind!Recommended.