By Any Other Name by Laura Jarratt

Taken from the back cover:
"I picked up the book and thumbed through the pages.
Names in alphabetical order,
names with meanings,
names I knew,
names I'd never heard of.
How to pick? Nothing that would stand out, nothing that would link me to the past -
those were the instructions.
The past.
As if everything that had gone before this moment was buried already.

New girl, new school, new home, new life - everything about Holly is new. That's the point of witness protection; nobody knows the truth. But one wrong move will put her whole family in danger..."

The idea of the story of a girl in witness protection sounded like it could be good as you can imagine the possible danger she could be in as well as expecting the back story as to why she's in witness protection in the first place as being quite exciting. Add in the selling point that it's written by an author who is rumoured to be pretty good and you've got me interested. I am happy to say that for once I wasn't going to be let down!

By Any Other Name is a really good story that is brilliantly written and very gripping especially as Jarratt doesn't feed you everything at once but keeps you hooked by dangling little pieces of information within your grasp and then just when you think Holly is going to reveal something major she snatches it away again! It was done in a way that kept you hanging on without infuriating you and so you just wanted to keep reading.

Holly is your typical teenage girl who finds herself being confronted by some uncomfortable truths and so has to decide what to do with what she learns, growing and discovering who she really is and who she wants to be. She acts exactly as any normal teenager would, giving in to temptation when it becomes too great and then experiencing the regret that goes with it. I really loved her honesty. She has so much more to deal with than most and Jarratt does a fantastic job of writing each issue into the plot. Joe is also brilliantly written. I loved him instantly as he's that darker, more appealing type and by the end he is so warm that he really works his way into your heart. You really go on an emotional journey as you feel the loss and hurt and happiness along with each of these characters. Jarratt's characters really come alive as you read them and they are so beautifully human.

Overall, this is a good, solid read and is perfect for any teenage girl (or woman!) who loves a gripping and emotional novel set in the real world. Plus it's a stand alone novel which is an added bonus these days!

I give it 8/10!

Title: By Any Other Name
Author: Laura Jarratt
Publisher: Electric Monkey (Egmont)
Teenage Fiction