The Killing Woods-Inspired Look

Happy Friday, readers and fashionistas!  

Yesterday I reviewed the book The Killing Woods by Lucy Christopher, a mystery involving a girl whose PTSD-suffering father is accused of murdering her classmate.  Creepy, right?

Well, in the book, Ashlee (the victim) often played a game called "The Game" with her boyfriend Damon and his friends.  The Game basically involved hiding in the woods while looking for the others; then you fight with them until you get their dog collar off their neck.  The person with the most dog collars at the end of the night wins.  Totally not a game I would want to play as a girl, but to each his own, right?

Since Ashlee is the only girl that played the game, she chose a pink, girly dog collar.  So today's outfit is based off her...it's an outfit that I could see a girl wearing while running through the woods at night, with an added splash of color.  And here it is:

Athletic but girly, right?

Let's break it down:

• The shorts are the splash of color that I wanted.  Even though Ashlee would probably only want to wear dark colors in the woods (to prevent the other guys from finding her), she did choose a pink dog collar so I chose pink for the shorts.  She seemed spunky enough, too, that I could see her wearing these shorts just to prove that she could be tough competition in any outfit.  I love the tuxedo stripe along the edges of the shorts!
• The rest of the outfit was kept dark but girly--a simple black V-neck t-shirt.  Shirts like these are so comfortable.
• Cute black running shoes.  Gotta be comfortable to run in the woods, right?
• Ashlee and the guys had watches or cell phones to keep track of their time in The Game, and this one is chic and black.
• I thought I'd be clever and throw in a dog tag necklace...close enough to a dog collar, right?  It's tough jewelry with a feminine touch.  I just couldn't resist.

So what do you think?  Could you see Ashlee running through the woods in this outfit?  

Check back soon for more great posts on YA books!  Have a great weekend!

Shorts--Merona from Target
T-shirt--House of Fraser
Shoes--Nike Free 5.0
Watch--Debenhams.com
Necklace--Forever 21

*I am not associated with any of the companies or products mentioned.

REVIEW--The Killing Woods

Good morning, readers and fashionistas!

This month, I picked up Lucy Christopher's newest book, The Killing Woods.  It was just published in January, so I was excited to get my hands on it early (I think I was the first from my library, actually, to check it out!).  I think the gloomy weather here in Indiana has had me in a murder mystery mood, so this was a good choice...let's get started!

• Standalone novel
• Mystery

The Gist:
Emily's father recently returned from serving in the army.  But he's not the same.  While serving overseas, he accidentally shot and killed a civilian whom he thought was an opposing soldier.  Devastated and traumatized, he now suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and often lives in flashbacks.  When he returns home one night carrying Ashlee, a classmate of Emily's who is now dead, everyone assumes that he killed her during a flashback.  He now sits in jail and says very little, which makes Emily even more determined to prove his innocence.  But Damon, Ashlee's boyfriend, wants to prove his guilt more than ever and soon finds himself crossing paths with Emily.

What I Liked:

• The double point of view.  The chapters alternate between Emily and Damon, so readers get to see both sides of the "case."  I found myself preferring Damon's side of the story since he is trying to uncover memories he's lost about the night Ashlee died.
• The premise of the book.  A dad with PTSD, a murder mystery--it had me very intrigued.

What I Didn't Love:

• This book had very little action.  It was so much thought--Emily thinking about her dad's innocence, Damon thinking about his lost memories...but VERY little action.  I wanted clue-hunting, high anxiety scenes, light-bulb moments.  Nope.  A lot of thinking.
• Emily introduces some of her school friends (well, not really friends anymore now that they think her dad is a murderer) in the first chapter or so, but then they disappear and never appear again.  I wanted more drama between them (that would have provided more action!).
• The whole premise of The Game (a game that Damon and his friends play) was just bizarre to me, and the fact that Emily's dad could have witnessed it so intimately seemed far-fetched.
• Emily's mom was just another weak adult character in a YA book.
• I guessed the ending ahead of time (not every detail, but most).

My favorite quote: "I want to hate her...but if I hate Mum too, I'm running out of people to love."
 
This book actually took me a few weeks to get through, so I'm afraid I have to give it a low rating...eek!...1 star.

I'll be back with an outfit based on Ashlee and The Game...stay tuned to see it!