Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick

Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick is a young adult suspense/thriller, semi mystery novel.  It follows teenage Britt Pfeiffer as she is kidnapped and forced to help two wanted men down from the mountain.  Britt and her friends planned a weeklong camping/hiking trip at her friend's family cabin.  What Britt hoped for but didn't expect was Korbie's older brother (and Britt's ex-boyfriend) would be joining them.  When the two girls get stranded on the way to the cabin they abandon the car in search of shelter for the night.  They never expect to fall into a trap.  The guys they meet seem to be nice enough, that is until one of them, Shaun turns on them and demand the girls help them off the mountain.  Britt convinces the men to leave Korbie behind and risks her life to help these men.  Along the way she learns things about both men, all the while hoping that Calvin (the ex boyfriend) would find and rescue her.  Britt soon learns things are not as they appear, and people have hidden secrets.

<sigh>  There are good and bad things about the novel, sadly it seems the bad might outweigh the good.  While the story itself is interesting and has some merit to it, there are aspects of the storyline and characters that are disappointing.  First off we have Britt who completely admits that she relies on the men in her life to provide and protect her, so then how does she expect to backpack 40 miles by herself?  The novel spend a great deal of time with her re-living memories with Calvin and expecting him to come to her rescue, all the while thinking she might return to him if he asked.  She then begins developing feelings for her kidnapper!  WHAT REALLY?  I understand Stockholm Syndrome and all but she even tells herself this is the case, but still makes out with him and forgives him for what he's done.

Aside from the annoyance of Britt and her characteristics the story wasn't too poorly written, it was entertaining and compelling.  I actually finished the book within a day,  but I did find myself sighing throughout the novel.  at one point Calvin kills someone in cold blood and Britt doesn't bat an eye, and Ace continues to keep secrets from her and she completely trusts him enough to begin cuddling and kissing.  Her actions towards men are completely stupid and naïve, maybe that was the point as she is a teenager after all.  The good parts of the book were the descriptions of the settings, dialog for the most part, and while Britt's character can be annoying and starts off as a pampered little girl, she does change and begins to learn to try and protect/provide for herself.  She begins to actually think about her actions, though it is far and few between that she does.

I understand Mason/Jude was trying to find a killer, but what I don't understand is how he got mixed up with Shaun when he had no real evidence linking him to anything.  He was a likeable enough character, but when given the chance to explain everything to Britt, he still keeps secrets.  He did try to convince them to leave but doesn't even give the suggestion of driving them to their cabin.  We get the sense he isn't like Shaun at all, maybe a good guy mixed up with the wrong crowd feeling.  As for the plot twist, I feel it was almost predictable, I figured it out fairly early in the novel.  The clues were pretty obvious once you started into the core of the story.

Overall, this is a good YA book reading it as an adult does make it harder to find perfect enjoyment out of the novel because I think as an adult and see the stupidity in the actions taken throughout the novel.  I think a young adult who is into the thriller/suspense would enjoy the book.  Fans of Becca Fitzpatrick would definitely enjoy this novel.  As for my rating, I struggled with what I would give this book, and I decided to give this book a rating of 3 out of 5 stars.