Waiting on Wednesday (3) : Pretending to be Erica, Michelle Painchaud

I heard about Waiting on Wednesday on the fantastic Lit Up Review blog, and it seemed to me like a great idea to tag along with. Originally coming from the Breaking The Spine blog, Waiting on Wednesday allows me to talk about a book I just can’t wait to get my hands on. Let’s get started !

Pretending to be Erica, Michelle Painchaud
Expected publication : July 21st 2015
Publisher : Viking Juvenile

“We Were Liars meets Heist Society in a riveting debut!”
Seventeen-year-old Violet’s entire life has revolved around one thing: becoming Erica Silverman, an heiress kidnapped at age five and never seen again. Violet’s father, the best con man in Las Vegas, has a plan, chilling in its very specific precision. Violet shares a blood type with Erica; soon, thanks to surgery and blackmail, she has the same face, body, and DNA. She knows every detail of the Silvermans’ lives, as well as the PTSD she will have to fake around them. And then, when the time is right, she “reappears”—Erica Silverman, brought home by some kind of miracle. But she is also Violet, and she has a job: Stay long enough to steal the Silverman Painting, an Old Master legendary in the Vegas crime world. Walking a razor’s edge, calculating every decision, not sure sometimes who she is or what she is doing it for, Violet is an unforgettable heroine, and Pretending to be Erica is a killer debut.

Well, first of all, let me start by saying this seems like an amazing debut ! I found out about this young author and her first book on Goodreads, and the title intrigued me. But I was completely caught in by the synopsis…what a story ! Why did I put it on my to-read shelf ? This talks to me. There are books, it’s like they’re calling out to you.  How does someone comes up with this kind of story? Usurp someone else’s blood type, exploring how far science and identity quest can go…Violet’s character impersonnating another in this suspenseful and, well, kind of chilling synopsis, makes me want to know more about this. How, why, how?! How can all of this happen, how can they get away with this, how does someone’s life become so calculated and…made-up ?

Pretending to be Erica appears to be an attractive, ingenious and well-plotted story. All the reviews I read, out of curiosity are certainly saying this book is mind-blowing. I can’t wait for July to come to make up my mind about it !