THAT’S NOT MY NAME by MEGAN LALLY
A REVIEW by ALEXA DUNCAN
Waking up half-dead in a ditch with no memory of how you got there, then being taken home by a man who claims to be your father is a little scary to say the least. This is exactly what happens to Mary Boone, a seventeen-year-old girl who has to learn to live her life all over again. Then there’s Drew, a teenage boy desperate to find his missing girlfriend, Lola. Everyone in his small town is convinced he has something to do with Lola’s disappearance. Drew insists he’s innocent. Determined to clear his name and find his girlfriend, he and his friends do whatever t
hey can to track Lola down–breaking into police stations, lying to their parents. Mary, meanwhile, struggles to put the pieces of her life back together. Who is this man who claims to be her father? And why can’t she remember anything about him?
That’s Not My Name by Megan Lally is a tense YA thriller that was almost intentionally written to read in one sitting. Captivating from the very first page, the tight narrative demands to be read as quickly as possible. Drew and Mary are both great main characters, though Mary’s story is more gripping by virtue of her mysterious circumstances and her amnesia. Drew’s story is interesting in other ways, however. He struggles with feeling like an outsider in his own town. He’s angry and doesn’t make the best choices, but that’ makes a good character. The novel is also well-written and witty–Mary is especially funny.
Overall, That’s Not My Name is a twisty, fun thriller and will appeal to fans of the genre, as well as those trying to read thrillers for the first time.