Escape Theory

By Margaux Froley

Sixteen-year-old Devon Mackintosh has always felt like an outsider at Keaton, the prestigious California boarding school perched above the Pacific. As long as she’s not fitting in, Devon figures she might as well pad her application to Stanford’s psych program. So junior year, she decides to become a peer counselor, a de facto therapist for students in crisis. At first, it seems like it will be an easy fly-on-the-wall gig, but her expectations are turned upside down when Jason Hutchins (a.k.a. “Hutch”), one of the Keaton’s most popular students, commits suicide.
 
Devon dives into her new role providing support for Hutch’s friends, but she’s haunted by her own attachment to him. The two shared an extraordinary night during their first week freshman year; it was the only time at Keaton when she felt like someone else really understood her.  As the secrets and confessions pile up in her sessions, Devon comes to a startling conclusion: Hutch couldn't have taken his own life. Bound by her oath of confidentiality—and tortured by her unrequited love—Devon embarks on a solitary mission to get to the bottom of Hutch's death, and the stakes are higher than she ever could have imagined.

Read an excerpt of Escape Theory. http://bit.ly/Yi5DZf

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Mar 12, 2013
• ISBN: 9781616951283

Reviews for Escape Theory

[roses7184_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Escape Theory My first thought upon finishing Escape Theory? Whoa. This book is like a runaway train and a wonderful soap opera mixed together. Friendship, secrets, scandal, it's all here and Margaux Froley has written a book that is hard to put down once you start. Be warned my friends, this is a book you'll read straight through in one sitting.

Devon has always been an observer. The one who watches rather than participates. The one who listens rather than speaks. After the death of Hutch she decides to put it to good use by becoming a counselor. I really liked this aspect of the story. It allowed Devon to dive deeper into the people who surrounded Hutch while he was alive, and therefore allowed me to slowly unravel the mystery. Oh, and what a gorgeously written mystery it was. You won't see the ending coming at all.

I'm getting ahead of myself though. Really, what kept me reading more than anything was the relationship between Devon and Hutch. This isn't a story of a girl who is utterly distraught over the death of her boyfriend. Instead, the relationship between these two is more complicated and yet infinitely more interesting. Devon is strong, but you can still see the cracks in her facade. It makes her more human and, in my opinion, more likable. The stakes are high for Devon as she tries to figure out what really happened the night Hutch died. I felt myself really connecting with her, and it made me love this book so much more.

When I said this book is like a soap opera, I meant it. It can feel a little over the top at times, but the characters are bright and vivid, the scenery perfect for a mystery of this magnitude. This is a story that you'll eat up from start to finish and, more than likely, your mouth will be hanging open at the ending. I adored Margeaux Froley's Escape Theory and I honestly can't wait for more.

[destinyisntfree · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

(Note, I received a copy from the publisher for review)

Okay. Wow. I really didn't think this book was going to affect me the way it did. I had a little trouble getting started with it, mostly because I was mad that my Nook broke and it is hard for me switching gears when I was in the middle of something else. But the story quickly sucked me in.

I found myself becoming very emotionally invested in the story, sucked in. I personally adore Nutter Butters, and let me tell you, I am going to have to find the recipe for Nutter Butter Pancakes!

Hutch reminded me of that boy. You know the one. The one you meet when you first start high school, the one you hope will notice you, but usually he doesn't. That is what Hutch made me think of. And I am definitely Devon. Well, without the boarding school. But the analytical, never take anything at face value because it is seething under the surface. That is totally me. Wanting to help people without knowing the right way to go and struggling with the decisions was definitely me.

This book goes straight to the soul of a teenager. The author truly captures what the turmoil of school is like in this novel, and I felt as though I was going through the struggles with the characters and felt like I was a part of it.

This, to me, was a unique YA novel. I had never read anything like it, that I can recall. There is mystery, intrigue, romance, and all without a single vampire! It is refreshing. There is no paranormal element to this book, and I think it was just the change of pace I needed right now. I write paranormal/fantasy YA. I needed to go out of my element a little to get my groove back, and this was the one. I read this book in less than 2 days. That should tell you something about how much I enjoyed it. 2 and a half days is about my average. This went faster. I loved it.

There were a couple of editing errors, and since I am the editing nazi (I cannot help it sometimes), it effected the flow for me a little bit, but not enough to totally distract. I have had books come across my desk where the editing was so bad I couldn't keep reading. Overall, this was a must read.

The ending..needed a little something more for me though. It does, however, leave this wide open for a sequel and I really hope that there will be another book. I want to know if Devon makes it to Stanford, if she decides to continue counseling. I want to know what happens to Reed's land and if the legacy is continued. Please, please, Ms. Froley! I need another book!

[eheinlen_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was a wonderful book with a wonderful story. It shows how you can see your flaws through others and make changes for the better. I highly recommend it.

[pattylouise_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Escape TheoryByMargaux FrawleyMy "in a nutshell" summary...Private school...drugs...privilege...death!My thoughts after reading this book...I loved this book...those are my first thoughts...Devon is a fascinating character. I always love the sometimes misunderstood good girls/ heroines. This book weaves an interesting web of mystery and suspense within the lives of these private school students. A popular student dies...everyone believes it s a drug related suicide but Devon is committed to finding out what really happened. Her commitment to this is admirable. She uncovers sex, lies and a possible pregnancy and doesn't rest until the mystery surrounding Hutch's death is discovered.What I loved about this book...I love the bad girls...so mean and privileged and righteous in their bullying. I love the good girls...I love when they have the courage of their beliefs.What I did not love...It's such an essential part of this book but the loss of Hutch was just really so sad. Final thoughts...This was one of those really good YA books that allows the reader to think about choices and how the choices ultimately affect what we become.

[hellen0-4 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book reminded me a bit of the detective procedure in Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express because a good chunk of the information that Devon gets is through interviews. In this case they’re not police interviews but counselling, but some people lie, others tell the truth and others only half truths and it's up to Devon to figure out what's true and what's a lie.

It was in general a nice story, but it dragged a bit for too long at first, because there's nothing that suggests that Hutch's death was anything other than a suicide until much later. We know there's more to it if we read the summary, but there's no way that Devon would know it. She didn't even know Hutch that much. It's more the hope that the boy that was nice to her once years before was as good as she thought what keeps her investigating his death.

Other than this, the story did get interesting once some people's secrets were uncovered because not everything is as nice as it looks like and many people are hiding things.

[jeneaw-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

3.5 heart

Escape Theory offers a mystery of what really happened to Jason Hutchinson. A popular boy who seemed to have it all. Sometimes when searching for the truth, you get answers that you don’t expect nor want.

Devon was always labeled as an outsider, but it didn’t really bother her at all. She is one those friends that believes in no matter what the circumstances. And that is just what she does when she learn that Jason (Hutch) killed himself. She just doesn’t believe it and the more she learn from sessions with other student being a counselor, the more she believes believes she is right about Hutch. Devon is one determined girl, and when she her mind to something, not much is going to stop her. She is one those friends that you would want on your side.
The kids at this school, don’t seem to do a lot of school work or study much. From what I can tell, they mostly party, with lots of drinking, drugs and sex. All of them have something they are hiding about themselves and boy do they spill each others secrets. And Devon has to put it all together. One character that stood out like Devon, was Raven. She was amazing and they made a great team.

World building wise, this was slow and it does take some time to get into. But the main person this story was about was the driving force to continue reading. I wanted to know what happened to Hutch. He seemed so together, smart and incredibly sweet. Why he would do something like this? The mystery was great, yes some of it was predictable but did not take away from the story itself. Devon flashbacks of her time with Hutch was enjoyable, and you could tell they cared about each other even if it was a couple years ago. The ending was satisfying with the truth of what really happened to Hutch, and everything seemed to wrap up nicely.

Fans of boarding school settings, mystery and a dash of romance will enjoy this. It was a fairly quick and fun read.

[slavenrm · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

As is my usual preamble, I received this book through the kind consideration of the people at GoodReads. Well, that, and my tendency to sign up for lots of drawings.To put the plot in a nutshell, our protagonista is a reluctant entrant into a high-end California prep school. After a couple of years there, one of her intermittent acquaintances commits suicide… or DOES HE…? and the hunt is afoot for what REALLY happened.So, in judging such a work the first thing I remind myself of is that it’s a book intended for teens. In that light suffice to say that the writing is adequate and appropriate for the age group. The themes are no doubt of interest and the work features all the usual characteristics that youth like to read about: bumbling, clueless adults… exciting intrigue that goes unnoticed by bumbling, clueless adults… kids who solve mysteries that were just too perplexing for bumbling, clueless adults. This is the standard one-upmanship of the genre. As an adult I can’t restrain a certain sense of incredulity at the whole thing but I won’t fault the book for this because it’s one of the charms of kid-lit and one thing that youthful audience loves to see in a book. Sure, the average kid certainly can’t sneak out in the middle of the night without getting caught and have wild adventures until all hours of the morning so they might as well read about someone who does so with regularity.Also with young adult fiction I always ask myself if I would want my young children to read this book. Perhaps it’s my prudish Midwestern values showing through but I can’t help but come back with a resounding: NO. Sure, I accept that the kids portrayed get away with things and pull one over on the adults. I can roll along with the idea that maybe they’re smarter and more attentive too. What horrifies me is the prolific presence of sex, drugs and alcohol in a book about kids between the ages of 13 and 17. It’s not that real kids don’t engage in these things; they certainly do. The kids in this book though do so with utter disregard. They’re not just drinking at parties, they run a drug cartel and for the most part this is considered just fine and normal. Sure some small subset of kids who “aren’t smart enough to handle it” pay the price by getting pregnant or ending up dead from an overdose, but for the most part everybody does whatever the heck they want and they get away with it. That’s really not an example I’d want to put in front of my children. If they’re going to get into things they shouldn’t then they should bloody well do so with the right and proper respectful fear that accompanies such things, not emboldened by some mythical world where everything turns out just fine most of the time.Alright, enough rant. In a nutshell, this book is a modernized Nancy Drew. “Those Meddling Kids” as they might say on Scooby-Doo, come to the rescue and solve a mystery. The author draws some interesting characters at times and it’s reasonably entertaining but falls rather outside the bounds of what I’d want to give my kids for reading material.