Book #14 : Cross My Heart, Hope to Die

Title: Cross My Heart, Hope to Die (Book #5 of The Lying Game series)

Author: Sara Shepard

Date started reading: Feb. 12, 2013
Date finished reading:  Feb. 14, 2013

Publish date: February 2013
ISBN: 978-0062128195
Number of pages: 336

Official summary: "It's not easy being me. But my twin sister has no choice. When I died two months ago, my killer told my twin sister to become me — or else. Now Emma has it down to a T. She tosses her hair with the signature Sutton Mercer flip and can lead a Lying Game prank with the best of them. She's even repairing my relationship with my adoptive family. The only thing she hasn't done is solve my murder. Then our birth mother, the woman who abandoned us, showed up in Tucson. Emma hasn't seen Becky in twelve years, but Becky recognizes Emma immediately — as Emma. Is it a mother's intuition ... or does Becky know I'm already gone?" (http://www.epicreads.com)

How I obtained the book: Pre-ordered for $11.79 from Walmart using a giftcard I got for Christmas

My commentary:

• I can't believe that this series has went five books and the girls still have no idea who killed Sutton. I think there's only one book left in the series, so hopefully, everything will get figured out and it doesn't end up where Emma never knows what happens to Sutton. Surely, the author wouldn't do that.
• Part of me keeps hoping that Sutton isn't really dead. I keep hoping that she's actually in a coma somewhere and her spirit has just left her body, but she's alive and will wake up. Since Emma's been in Sutton's place for two months, Sutton was never reported as missing, so if her body's off somewhere in a coma, he'd be listed as a "Jane Doe." And, of course, no one would've reported Emma as a missing person most likely either because she had just been in foster homes all her life, and no one really cared enough for her to care that she's gone.
• Spoilery comments: I was totally shocked when it was revealed that Becky had a third daughter years after having the twins. And the fact that no one knew that she had twins in the first place. She had only wanted one daughter, so that's why she left Sutton with her parents and took off with Emma. Then she found out she was pregnant years later, and abandoned Emma because she was off her psych meds and wasn't thinking straight.  Then the third daughter was taken away from her because of her instability. I hope that Emma gets to meet the other daughter in the final book because, if Sutton truly is dead, Emma deserves to finally have a sister who is alive.

Memorable quotes:

• "We loved each other with a fierce loyalty, but we weren't the best at saying it. I think we were all so focused on maintaining our fabulous images that we forgot they weren't always real." ~ Sutton about her group of friends
• "Eating in nice restaurants instead of Jack in the Box was definitely on the list of Things That Do Not Suck About Being Sutton Mercer. ... The cost of her new life made it hard to enjoy the perks." ~ Emma
• "After seeing her mother tonight, Emma was no longer so sure her story would have a happy ending."
• "Keeping secrets for your parents suck." ~ Thayer
• "Of all things my death had taken away from me, Thayer had been the hardest to lose." ~ Sutton
• "Who died and made you the new age fashion police?" ~ Nisha to Celeste
• "Being dead had given me an entirely new perspective on the way that I had lived. I guess even ghosts could grow up." ~ Sutton
• "Everything changes. Sooner or later, we all grow up." ~ Sutton
• "Guys like me are a dime a dozen. What boy doesn't love poetry and astrophysics? Emma, you're the special one. I can't believe I've found you. I can't believe you're mine." ~ Ethan
• "You guys are the weirdest couple of all time." ~ Nisha about Emma-as-Sutton and Ethan
• "You're quite the safety hazard. Thayer sure seems to have a lot of accidents when you're around." ~ Madeline to Emma-as-Sutton
• "You can't help it. You're basically catnip to boys." ~ Charlotte to Emma-as-Sutton
• "Craigslist (is) the venue of all lost souls." ~ Madeline
• "Emma's investigation unearths as many questions as it does answers." ~ Sutton

Buy on Amazon.com: The Lying Game #5: Cross My Heart, Hope to Die