One secret.Eight cryptic words.Lifetimes of ruin.
Wayland Maynard is just eight years old when he sees his father kill himself, finds a note that reads I am not who you think I am, and is left reeling with grief and shock. Who was his father if not the loving man Wayland knew? Terrified, Wayland keeps the note a secret, but his reasons for being afraid are just beginning.
Eight years later, Wayland makes a shocking discovery and becomes certain the note is the key to unlocking a past his mother and others in his town want to keep buried.
With the help of two friends, Wayland searches for the truth. Together they uncover strange messages scribbled in his father’s old books, a sinister history behind the town’s most powerful family, and a bizarre tragedy possibly linked to Wayland’s birth. Each revelation raises more questions and deepens Wayland’s suspicions of everyone around him. Soon, he’ll regret he ever found the note, trusted his friends, or believed in such a thing as the truth.
I Am Not Who You Think I Am is an ingenious, addictive, and shattering tale of grief, obsession, and fate as eight words lead to lifetimes of ruin.
| [I received a digital arc for an honest review] I absolutely love Eric Rickstad’s writing and was thrilled to find he was releasing a new book. I am Not Who You Think I Am is an addicting thriller filled with unlikable characters that I couldn’t seem to look away from, and a mystery with twists and turns that I didn’t seem happening. Wayland witnesses his father kill himself when he’s 8 years old and the only thing he has left of that day is a note that says “I am Not Who You Think I am”. He keeps the note secret until 8 years later when he decides it’s time for him to discover the truth of the note, his memories and what really happened. His actions along the way to discover the truth will forever change his life. The book took me a little bit to get into. None of the character are really likeable, even our narrator Wayland. I also struggled to not be frustrated with his actions and had to remind myself he was only 16 years old. Teenagers never make the most rational decisions, especially when they are emotionally distraught. However, by the time I was halfway through the book I was just as paranoid as Wayland, just as angry at his so-called friend and held no trust in his mother. So as the rest of the story unfolded, I was just as shocked as he was. I Am Not Who You Think I Am was wonderfully written, even if at times the circumstances happening on the page were hard to read. Wayland’s story of obsession to learn the truth comes neatly to a satisfying close, but that close is nothing short of depressing. |
OnceUpon_A_BookDream 