Review: No One Else Can Have You by Kathleen Hale

No One Else Can Have You by Kathleen Hale
384 PAGES
Release Date: Jan. 7th, 2014
Publisher: HarperTeen
Genre: Mystery
Source: Publisher via Edelweiss
Rating: 2 STARS

Goodreads Summary:
Small towns are nothing if not friendly. Friendship, Wisconsin (population: 688) is no different. Around here, everyone wears a smile. And no one ever locks their doors. Until, that is, high school sweetheart Ruth Fried is found murdered. Strung up like a scarecrow in the middle of a cornfield.

Unfortunately, Friendship’s police are more adept at looking for lost pets than catching killers. So Ruth’s best friend, Kippy Bushman, armed with only her tenacious Midwestern spirit and Ruth’s secret diary (which Ruth’s mother had asked her to read in order to redact any, you know, sex parts), sets out to find the murderer. But in a quiet town like Friendship—where no one is a suspect—anyone could be the killer.

No One Else Can Have You was a very unique and different kind of YA mystery novel. It was not the plot particularly but the main character, Kippy. The main plot was okay, decent although a bit boring at times. Nothing too different than other mystery novels. I don't know why but I expected a paranormal twist/element in the book which actually would've been very very awesome. The main thing that stood to me in this book was the characters, the dark humor, and how Ruth was murdered.

Kippy was not expected. I really did presume Kippy would be a normal teenager who lost her best friend and had this burning rage inside of her. However, she really isn't like most YA heroines. Eccentric, Kippy has this childlike, innocent, and clingy vibe/personality. Sometimes it was hard for me to relate to her and understand where she was coming from which put me off a bit. It was easy to feel sympathetic for her but at the same time she seemed crazy. Not crazy, crazy but her thought process and actions was unanticipated. I think it would have helped to have gotten a more direct history of Kippy's family and the way they functioned because it was hard to keep up with them at times and I got befuddled on what was going on or what they were referring to. In the second half of the book, at some parts there was a character development or change with Kippy that made her seem as normal as anyone else.

The thing about small towns is that everyone has a story. And I like that we got to learn some of the characters' stories and how their life came to be how it is. Davey, Ruth's brother, was one of the normal characters. I was cool with him, not too much to fangirl over but I do like how he was incorporated into the novel and into Kippy's life. Colt, Ruth's ex-boyfriend, was actually one of my favorite characters. I'm still pondering why but he was broken and had his own story. I did ship him and Kippy but alas they were not meant to be. Then we come to know about and meet characters from the NVCG meeting (which you will learn more about once you read the book) and I loved their group and how different yet how much Kippy and Davey were able to fit in.

I'm not exactly sure who I would recommend No One Else Can Have You to since it's all over the place. Some may enjoy the way the characters are written or how well the plot was executed and others may just think it as odd. I was somewhere in between, so if you think you may like reading this mystery novel, then I say go for it, no harm in trying it out. Happy Readings!