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    The Edge of Nowhere
    The Edge of Nowhere
    The Edge of Nowhere
    Audiobook11 hours

    The Edge of Nowhere

    Written by Elizabeth George

    Narrated by Amy McFadden

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Becca King is on the run. Her ability to hear “whispers” — the thoughts of others — has put her at risk from her stepfather, whose criminal activities she’s discovered. When she arrives on Whidbey Island, beautiful, wild, and a world apart, she embarks on a life very different from her old one, with friends that include Seth, a kindhearted dropout turned gypsy jazz musician; Derric, a Ugandan boy adopted by a local family; Diana, with whom she shares psychic powers; and Debbie, who makes a habit of helping runaways. Blending strands of mystery and romance and a hint of the paranormal in a haunting setting, The Edge of Nowhere is the first in a cycle of books that will take Becca and her friends through their teenage years on the island.Elizabeth George, author of the bestselling crime novels about Inspector Lynley, brings her prodigious talents to her first book for young adults.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateJun 11, 2013
    ISBN9781480505285
    The Edge of Nowhere
    Author

    Elizabeth George

    Elizabeth George is the New York Times bestselling author of sixteen novels of psychological suspense, one book of nonfiction, and two short story collections. Her work has been honored with the Anthony and Agatha awards, the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière, and the MIMI, Germany's prestigious prize for suspense fiction. She lives in Washington State.

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    Reviews for The Edge of Nowhere

    3.5/5

    120 ratings21 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Elizabeth George enters the Young Adult genre with her wonderfully suspenseful novel, The Edge of Nowhere. The story is equal parts mysterious and romantic to create the perfect beginning to a series centered around perception and truth.Fourteen-year-old Becca King finds herself transported from San Diego to Whidbey Island, hiding from her sinister stepfather and waiting for her mother to find a safe sanctuary. The moment she steps foot on the remote island, the carefully laid out plans for Becca become awry and Becca has to make the best of a situation gone from unfavorable to downright unpleasant. The story's mild pace builds reader anticipation as an unexpected accident throws island residents into chaos; friends cast around blame and suspicion and secrets are subtly revealed.The wide range of colorful characters Becca meets on Whidbey provide entertainment and a reason to get involved with the outcome of the story. George's cast of characters are engaging, either deserving sympathy and devotion or a great wind to knock sense into them. The story is told in multiple perspectives, so readers are able to feel a medley of personalities. For instance, Becca is more mature for a fourteen-year-old on the run from a criminal than expected, giving her a more relatable connection, Seth is a little lost in life but filled with good intentions, and Derric is filled with promise that readers will hope to see more of in the series' future. As there are in most books, this one features characters like Hayley and Jenn that will raise eyebrows and cause readers to question their actions, reasoning, or sanity.George's ability to describe life on Whidbey Island, relationships, and interactions is astounding and familiar. It's not difficult to sink into the story, or become eager to crawl into Becca's shoes. The Edge of Nowhere is a novel that can be experienced by any measure of readers!*ARC provided through LibraryThing Early Reviewers program in exchange for an honest review*Also published on Lovey Dovey Books
    • 4/5
      After receiving this book as a Giveaway on Goodreads, I eagerly opened the package and instantly fell in love with this beautiful cover. The storyline was gripping and from the moment I started, I couldn’t stop. Becca was well described and the pace of the book was perfect. I felt that there were a lot of fillers which weren’t necessary and it wasted time that could be spent on reading the exciting parts. Had there been more romance/love triangle emphasis in this story, it would be perfect. Overall, it was a good read and I would recommend it.
    • 3/5
      Whilst this was one book that did keep me wanting to read more (I finished it in two days), it also left me feeling somewhat cheated. This is Elizabeth George's first delving into the teen market, and also my first George novel. The characters were interesting enough - well, Seth was interesting, anyhow, and Becca's problem - her hearing "whispers" of people's thoughts, is quite a nifty way to introduce a slightly paranormal element without going all-out weird, even if it didn't really help advance the plot at all. The set-up could have been better and the plot was rather weak - although this is more of a story about characters, rather than an actual plot. It is, as one reviewer pointed out, a story about trust and secrets. However, because George is noted for her thrillers, it cannot help but disappoint many of her readers. This is most certainly a teen DRAMA.

      Becca is on the run and has been abandoned, in the isolated Whitby Island, Washington state. The novel starts with her mother more-or-less dumping her, and then disappearing for the remainder of the plot, not a trace to be seen (I can only assume she will turn up again later in the series, because that's a pretty loose thread to leave hanging). Suposedly, Becca is supposed to be entrusted into the care of her mother's friend - who has a badly timed heart attack just as Becca arrives. Luckily, Becca makes a few new aquantinces - meeting up with firstly an older lady named Diana, and then befriending a teenage boy, Seth. Soon she has found accommodation and is enrolled in school. It's then that we veer away from what I thought was the plot - which is to say, the storyline that started in the prologue and explained WHY her mother and her were on the run, but instead Becca finds herself caught up in a sort of whodunnit.

      However, for all her fear of police finding out her identity, I could not understand why Becca did not just go to them and explain the situation - she need not mention who issue with being able to hear people's thoughts - all she needed to do was explain that she had overheard her stepfather admitting to killing someone, that he'd realised she'd overheard, and that her mother had panicked and whisked her away to the middle of nowhere. Everything she did just made things more difficult for herself, and the stepfather did not even show up again until the second to last page. I expect they're saving him for the sequel.

      Not a bad read, and it WILL keep you guessing - although you probably won't be too concerned about who actually DID do it, I wasn't, as there is no build up or thrilling climax, and Becca's life is never at risk - merely her identity. But oh-so definitely just a set up for more.
    • 1/5
      gave up on this one... It was an Early Reviwers copy that I put off for ages, but even 70 pages into the story, I could find nothing I cared for. The writing felt stilted, the "mindreading" thing felt gimmicky, and the main character and her mother have some serious eating disorder issues.
    • 1/5
      I had to force myself to finish this book. Elizabeth George may be a bestselling adult author, but the writing in this book was just awful--George has no idea how to write dialogue that actually sounds like a teenager is speaking. Her attempt at slang was cringe-worthy and her main antagonist, a snotty "mean girl", was so outrageously petty and small-minded that it was laughable. Even the "mystery" that drives the novel was a joke. I will not be reading the sequel.
    • 3/5
      Whidbey Island, telelpathy, mystery, and suspense.It all works, and it all kind of doesn't. The characters could have benefited from a little less "hey I'm an adolescent" fuzzy thinking and a little more edge. Enjoyed it mainly because I lived on Whidbey Island for 3 years.
    • 3/5
      This was a true disappointment. The Edge of Nowhere is an Edgar nomininee. How it was nominated is beyond me. I love the Inspector Lynley TV series but have never read Elizabeth George's books...they're way too long. (I know that makes me sound lazy.) So I thought this would be a good opportunity to read one of her books. I barely got through the 400 pages, so I'd have never made it through 700. Besides having a mundane, non-mystery story, of particular annoyance was the fact that instead of characters speaking out the word "can", George wrote it as "c'n". Come on now. Most people CAN and do say the word "CAN", not c'n. Talk about writing down to teens. Yikes.As I'm writing this, I'm liking the book less and less and just downgraded it. So, my advice: if you want a good mystery read the Edgar Award nominees Amelia Ann is Dead and Gone or Cody Name Verity. These are two award worthy mysteries for teens.
    • 5/5
      I won this book via LibraryThing. When I requested it, I didn't fully grasp how much I was going to enjoy it. I'd never heard of Elizabeth George, so I didn't know she if she was good. There were many interesting things about this book I want to point out. For one, the setting. I like places that are surrounded by woods and nature. I also like the Pacific Northwest area. The combo of both was really appealing to me. Setting, to me, is much more than a physical place. It's atmosphere, tone, etc. The feeling the one gets when reading about Whidbey Island is almost dazing. Whidbey Island seems to have an alluring pull. It just felt like it contained secrets.The characters. The story goes through different P.O.V.'s. It's very hard for a writer to maintain multiple point of views. For one, you have to keep in mind that these are different people with different experiences, thoughts, motivations, personalities. One HAS to be thorough when writing in different point of views. With each person's side of things, the story came together artfully. And I enjoyed reading each character's point of view. I could definitely see each of their motivations clearly. It was so interesting to see how Elizabeth George developed the story through different eyes. Each character has a lot of depth. (I'm a huge fan of authors have know how to give depth to their characters.)The plot. As a writer and a reader, I'm aware of the many cliches that authors use when story-telling. There are so many patterns with books, so it's refreshing when you a read a new story that's different plot-wise from the general consensus of books. The Edge of Nowhere's main character, Becca, has an ability to hear whispers, the thoughts of people. She doesn't know why she has this power, only that she does.Recently, I read an essay by an author who pointed out that it's better to start a story at the beginning of a character's journey rather than in the middle or near the end. If you start at the beginning, there are so many places the story could go, so much the author can do with it. And I think this holds true. Becca is at the start of her journey. And I look forward to see what happens with her step-father, where & how her mother is, and to learn more about her mysterious gift. It'll definitely be interesting.All in all, I extremely enjoyed The Edge of Nowhere and I can't wait for book number two. I definitely recommend it to any and every one.
    • 4/5
      Amazon lists THE EDGE OF NOWHERE as a young adult novel and Elizabeth George's own site tells us it is the beginning of a 4 book series located on Whidbey Island (where the author lives). The blurb there describes it as " a compelling coming-of-age" story. I think it will appeal in particular to teenage female readers who will enjoy the various mysteries and will look for the main story to continue in the next book. They'll also like the relationships and conflicts that make up the main part of the action. This story does not contain a murder investigation, or any forensic details, so it is really new ground for the author, who does fairly well, although I felt at times she was struggling to make the content of interest to teenagers (but I could be wrong).
    • 5/5
      I really liked this book, I was caught from the first chapter. There were a couple of areas that weren't explained well, you were left a little confused, but within a couple pages you knew where you were suppose to be. Other than that this was a very enjoyable book. You are left wondering what wil happen next to Hannah/Becca.
    • 3/5
      Thank you to the early bird reviewers for a copy of this book!So Edge of Nowhere. I had hopes but also misgivings before starting this book. I was somewhat glad I read it.What I liked:The cast of characters (well most of them anyway.) I liked that they were so diverse and interconnected in the smallest ways.the plot- I liked how nothing was super happy or perfect (like the fact that Hannah/ Becca could only hear snatches of thoughts instead of reading peoples minds completely.) Also, that nothing wraped up perfectly. (it is refreshing.)I also liked the fact that our protagonist was not perfect. She wasn't secretly this amazingly beautiful person that everyone was falling all over for. I liked that she was friends with a guy but that they were just friends.What I did not like:the big reveal of "what happened." It seemed very anticlimatic. like, Seriously? That was the truth? (Though I am talking about an event not the information that is revealed about certain characters.)Anyway, I also didn't like the absense of good parents. I mean her mom tried, but wasn't she just conveniently totally out of the picture during the entire book?Also, i didn't see much development and honestly, I could not connect with Becca really at all. I thought this book was good, even though it is not the usual stuff I read and i have some problems with it. I recommend it.
    • 3/5
      The Edge of Nowhere was interesting enough, and the plot line was captivating, but I personally had a hard time connecting to the characters. Hannah/Becca isn't the type of character I typically enjoy is all.
    • 4/5
      I have not read Elizabeth George's adult mysteries but if they are half as suspenseful as The Edge of Nowhere then I will in the future. She starts off with a bang when the main character Hannah must be on the run from her criminal stepfather, be separated from her mother (also on the run) and reinvent herself in unfamiliar surroundings in the Pugent Sound area far away from home. Right from the beginning there are problems with the plan and she becomes Becca King trying to do the right thing, trying to lay low, and trying to block the many whispers in her head. When a boy that she begins to like is hurt and her secret is exposed she must learn who to trust and how to stay away from her stepfather. There are so many sub plots going on in this book and you begin to love the characters , all of whom are dealing with past hurts and present drama. The only criticism is that I wish she would have made Becca seem more worried about her mother not getting back to her or looking for her. She had so much going on and it should have been more evident that she was in serious trouble.
    • 2/5
      Prolific mystery author Elizabeth George's foray into young adult fiction finds telepathic high schooler Becca King running for her life. Accidently stranded in a small town on Washington State's Whidbey Island, the suddenly homeless Becca struggles both to survive and hide her true identity. Forced to trust the kindness of strangers, she finds herself embroiled in a police-investigation, but in this town everyone has something to hide and she isn't sure she can trust anyone.For an author who seems to enjoy moderate success in the adult mystery market, I found this book surprisingly weak. The plotting, structure, and writing disappointed. Little of the story was engaging; the inner tension that is essential to a mystery novel was almost nonexistent. Despite George's attempt to give her characters satisfying backstories, they nonetheless felt flat and were largely uninteresting. Two impressions I got reading the book: 1) the author was "dumbing down" her writing for a younger audience (there are no words for how much this bothers me), and 2) this story, which is the first in a series, was less about solving a crime than simply introducing characters that, hopefully, in future installments will be better fleshed out. Overall, this was a disappointing read and I can't recommend it. Just because someone is an accomplished author for adults doesn't mean they should write for the red-hot YA market. Publishers take note.
    • 4/5
      The heavily wooded Whidbey Island is the perfect setting for this mystery. The characters all have secrets and are suspicious of one another. Rumors abound. The truth is elusive. Nothing is exactly as it seems. Becca King, the main character, must keep her secrets or risk her life. Becca has courage and heart. I couldn’t help but like her. The relationships she develops are filled with complex emotions as she struggles to trust in the face of uncertainty. Her unique ability to hear “whispers” is a magical thing that she has yet to master but is very intriguing. The Edge of Nowhere is the first in a cycle of books that will be following these characters, and I look forward to the next in the series. There are many secrets yet to be revealed.In compliance with FTC regulations, please note that I received a free review copy through LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
    • 2/5
      I cannot finish this book. I'm sorry, I tried. The style is very literary and very dense, which is sure to please some readers, just not me. For much of the book, we're trapped inside Becca's head - Becca, the girl who hears the "whispers" of others' thoughts. I felt constantly drowned by her thoughts and the thoughts of the people around her to the point that it was no longer pleasant to read.Intellectually, I understand that this feeling was probably a conscious choice on the part of the author, but I did not enjoy myself. Nor did I enjoy the pile of lie upon lie upon lie by all of the characters in the books. Again, this pile was probably a choice by the author, some sort of commentary on the difference between external and internal truths, but it made for a very dull, frustrating read for me.The plot itself was an interesting conceit. A girl who can hear others' thoughts is separated from her mother and on the run from her murderous stepfather. She ends up in a town with people who have as many secrets as she does, and then when a friend ends up being pushed... An interesting idea, but the execution killed it for me.
    • 4/5
      This is the first novel I've read by Elizabeth George. I'm not much into mysteries. I requested this title from Librarything because it's YA and because of the setting - I love traveling to the Pacific Northwest. The plot is slightly paranormal - Becca can hear "whispers," snippets of people's thoughts. It's not outright mind reading, though, and she can't always be sure of who is "whispering" what. Because of her ability, however, Becca learned about her stepfather's criminal activities, and now she and her mom are on the run from him, which is why Becca ends up on Whidbey Island. Her mom leaves her there with a friend who dies in the first chapter while she tries to find them a safe home in Canada, so Becca is alone with no way to reach her mom.I had a bit of trouble getting into this book. The plot was rather frustrating in its implausibility - why didn't they just go to the police? How could a mother leave her 14 year old child alone like that? Becca befriends Derric, an adopted Ugandan boy, with whom she shares a mysterious connection (which is never really explained). The main mystery of the novel centers around Derric - he falls in the woods and ends up in a coma. Everyone in town has secrets, and even though the fall is presented as a whodunit, no one is believably sinister enough. I found it disappointing that Becca doesn't utilize her "whisper" ability more to solve the mystery. If I look at this novel as being more about the individual character mysteries, and as a set up for sequels (the ending is a MAJOR cliffhanger), then it's a pretty good book. Once I got used to George's writing style, I could appreciate her character development, and her use of Whidbey Island as an atmospheric setting. I'm not sure I loved this book enough to read the sequels, however.
    • 2/5
      I received this book from the Early Reviewers Program on librarything in exchange for an honest review.The Edge of Nowhere by Elizabeth George is about a girl named Becca King who can hear whispers of thoughts in people's heads and because of this "talent," she is on the run from her stepfather who has done something horrible that she was never supposed to find out about. She ends up in Whidbey Island, where she is supposed to stay with her mother's friend, but quickly is met with issue after issue and gets wrapped up in a mystery shrouding a friend's terrible accident. She doesn't know who to trust and fights to get back into some sort of normalcy.I obviously was intrigued by the blurb I saw on librarything because I chose this book out of many others. And it seems like it could have been interesting. The first chapter seemed very promising and it's not poorly written. Soon though, the book runs into issues. I agree with several other reviewers-- the transition from writing for adults to young adults can be more difficult than one expects. There is a different mindset to young adult fiction, and I felt that this was merely an adult book that was "dumbed down" for a teenage audience. The plot drags for the middle 300 pages, and the mystery turns out not to be that interesting after all. In young adult books, we expect to see some growth of the character-- but I didn't really see any of that with Becca. We have a "mean girl" who stays mean the entire book. None of the characters seem that three dimensional to me. I wasn't thrilled with how the prose was put together and the "whispers" were more distracting than interesting. I found myself trying to read them and figure out what was being "thought." I know that we think in bits and pieces, but come on, there has to be some flow to the text. Lastly, I have to agree with the reviewer who asked "What's up with the trees??" There are so many descriptions of trees and woods and boring landscape (this probably takes up at least 100-200 pages alone) that I had to skim through those in the end. Overall, this book could have been really interesting with a riveting mystery, but ends up failing in most aspects.
    • 3/5
      I really wanted to love reading this book, not realizing it was meant to be a YA book, the plot was wonderful and characters were developed nicely. Unfortunately like the title, towards the middle of the book it teetered on the edge and then went nowhere fast. Even the end left me uninspired. Believe me when I say I could never write a book, so when I start to want to do a rewrite it can't be a good thing.
    • 3/5
      This book was good. I got really caught up in the intrigue, the characters, the personal histories and the secrets. And yet, it had its problems.Did George think that for it to be YA appropriate, it also had to be safe? And as a result, the ending is a bit of an anticlimax and a cop out. I also found it to be bordering on pedantic at moments. How many times did she mention the theme of jumping to conclusions and making assumptions? But still it was good. Its strength lies in the characters and their interaction. I was engrossed through the last half of the book in particular, and I find the way George handles the whispers to be intriguing.
    • 4/5
      Becca-Hannah has been dropped off on Whidbey Island with a new identity by her mother in order to escape her step-father's pursuit. Becca hears whispers, other people's thoughts, and her step-father had used her to assist with his investment schemes, until she threatened to blow the whistle. The arrangement on WI falls apart immediately, but Becca is unable to reach her mother, and must fend for herself, without any resources. She quickly becomes embroiled in local relationships, always with the threat of being found by her step-father in the background. Great story, but with an annoying cliff-hanger ending, presumably a set-up for the sequel.