Another little piece by Kate Karyus Quinn

Annaliese Rose Gordon vanished in dramatic circumstances and now she has returned in circumstances that seem just as dramatic.  She has no memory of who she is or how she got to Oklahoma where she was found - and she has no memory of how she got the injury that left her with a scar on her forehead and a permanent bran injury.  The doctor said she was brain damaged, a monster, and as time passes the person inside Annaliese realises that the doctor has no idea.  On the outside she might be Annaliese, but on the inside she is someone else entirely, someone with incomplete memories and no idea how she came to be inside Annaliese's body - living her life.

When she is sent home to live Annaliese's life memories start to leach back into her life, memories that imply she has lived for a long time, memories that make no sense.  One thing is clear, the mother is scared that she will vanish again.  As she tries to settle into her new skin and her new life Anna, the person inside Annaliese, has to figure out which of the memories might be true and which might be plain nightmares (because surely they can't all be true).  As time passes and Anna learns more about who and what she is, she also comes to understand what it means to truly make connections with people, and what it can mean to loose someone you love.  When the time comes to make the ultimate choice who will she protect - the world, or herself?

Down with the shine was the first book I had read by Kate Karyus Quinn and it was such an unusual but well written story that I ordered the first two books she had written to see if they were as quirky and addictive.  Another little piece was an interesting and engaging read, from the start you couldn't help but feel Annaliese's confusion about what has happened, and why it has happened.  The characters are interesting and come with their own little flaws and quirks that make them more interesting and human - although the occasional cliche appears to make sure you know it really is high school.  I took longer to read Another little piece than I had hoped, and I think my picking it up and putting it down lead to the occasional moment of huh? (having to go back a few pages to make sense of something I was reading).  

Quinn doesn't fit neatly into any of the traditional genre, she takes pieces from horror, fantasy, romance, supernatural, and thriller and blends them into a unique genre that just doesn't have a name yet.  There are a few authors exploring this new genre at the moment so no doubt a name will be found for it soon.  For a debut novel Another little piece was well polished and had surprising depth.  An author and book that deserve to be discovered.

If you like this book then try:

• Anna dressed in blood by Kendare Blake
• Throne of glass by Sarah J. Maas
• The forest of hands and teeth by Carrie Ryan
• The bodies we wear by Jeyn Roberts
• The weight of feathers by Anna-Marie McLemore
• Daughter of smoke and bone by Laini Taylor
• Thirteen days to midnight by Patrick Carman
• Burn bright by Marianne de Pierres
• Something strange and deadly by Susan Dennard
• Asylum by Madeleine Roux
• Graceling by Kristin Cashore
• Vessel by Sarah Beth Durst
• Paranormalcy by Kiersten White
• Walk on Earth a stranger by Rae Carson
• Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Reviewed by Brilla