Review: Losing Logan by Sherry D. Ficklin

Title: Losing Logan
Author: Sherry D. Ficklin
Published: May 2, 2014
Pages: 230
Source: purchased

Goodreads Summary: What if the one thing you never meant to hold on to, is the one thing you can’t let go of?

Normally finding a hot guy in her bedroom wouldn’t irritate Zoe so badly, but finding her childhood friend Logan there is a big problem. Mostly because he’s dead. 

As the only person he can make contact with, he talks Zoe into helping him put together the pieces surrounding his mysterious death so he can move on. 

Thrust into his world of ultra popular rich kids, Zoe is out of her element and caught in the cross-hairs of Logan’s suspicious ex-girlfriend and the friends he left behind, each of whom had a reason to want him dead. The deeper they dig to find the truth, the closer Zoe gets to a killer who would do anything to protect his secrets. And that’s just the start of her problems because Zoe is falling for a dead guy.

**REVIEW**

How crazy good it feels to give 'Losing Logan' its five stars.

First off, I want to say that the story isn't depressing, it's actually strangely heartwarming. I smiled a lot while reading it and chuckled at the impressively witty banter. Secondly, what you won't learn from the premise is that 'Losing Logan' has so much emotion. The plot is simple but the soul of the book is all intertwined.

Zoe was relatable, authentic, and independent. She was sassy and snarky in the most humorous ways. We learn that Zoe and Logan were childhood friends but drifted apart once Logan became popular and Zoe did not. This sounds like the typical case of "you turned popular, I turned geek" and I highly appreciate Ficklin for not making Zoe such a character - she was the total opposite, fearlessly awesome but closed-off.

Logan was like a rock in the story, which is ironic since he's dead and the one depending on Zoe. Though, somehow she ends up needing him just as much. His character radiated a sense of warmth and calmness. I definitely grew attached to him, to the point that I wanted to pause in the middle of the book and write Ficklin to beg her to re-write the plot and have Logan come to life again. I mean, it could happen.

The absolutely hilarious and frustrating banter between the two won me over from the start. I couldn't stress how much I loved it.

I read 'Losing Logan' in one sitting, not only caught up by the characters but by the plot line and mystery surrounding Logan's death. There were little surprises here and there, for sure. I did manage to predict the killer (not because of the clues, but my own logic just asking why this person was there in the story at all.)

What isn't mentioned in the premise is the reaper following Zoe or Logan around, which was quite creepy and suspenseful. I was a little disappointed how everything turned out and ended up having a few questions about it (mostly just: well, why?)
I guess I'd been hoping for a crazy sub-plot. The ending was a tad unsatisfying and rushed. I would've loved a few more pages with Zoe and Logan, just to round everything out. The epilogue, however, almost-maybe made up for it.

There is a love triangle and I think Ficklin's execution of it was utterly beautiful. I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

'Losing Logan' was fun, mysterious, heartbreaking, and heartwarming. I laughed, I cried, I fell in love.

(5/5)