The Only Girl In Town by Ally Condie is a unique mystery

Some authors changed the game for certain genres and to me, one of those is Ally Condie. Whether you picked up her Matched series or not, she’s now coming out with The Only Girl in Town.

Condie has written a lot of books since the series that skyrocketed her to the top of the book charts. This is the time when I admit that I’ve never read any of her books until now. I know, it’s hard to believe.

Let me also admit that I was thoroughly in my Twilight and Jonas Brothers phase then. I mean I’m still in my Jonas Brothers phase. That’s why when the publisher reached out about her upcoming book, I knew I had to say yes.

Let me start by saying thank you to Dutton Books for Young Readers for sending me a digital ARC so I could read and review it for you.

The Only Girl in Town by Ally Condie is unique from start to finish.

As someone who isn’t much of a young adult reader now, I’m always nervous about picking up books for young adults. Regardless, I decided to give The Only Girl in Town a try because it was Ally Condie. Of course, the woman who wrote such a prolific series is coming out with something new so I had to pick it up.

This book follows July Fielding who wakes up one day and is suddenly alone. She’s at her house but no one else is around. As the narrative plays out, we get some chapters in the present with July and some in the past where we find out about a few incidents that impacted July. It can be a bit confusing when you first read it.

Regardless once you start reading The Only Girl in Town, you aren’t able to put it down. I don’t know if it’s Ally Condie’s writing style or just the way the story was told, but I read 70% of this in one sitting. The only reason I didn’t finish it was that I fell asleep so clearly, this book captured my attention and wouldn’t let it go.

The plot of the book was good and I loved unraveling the mystery but my only critique and main issue was with the ending. I won’t get into how the book ends, but I just wish we’d found out a little bit more. It just felt a little anticlimactic and I wish we could have gotten an epilogue or something.

As my first Ally Condie book though, I was thoroughly impressed. I can see why she was such a huge fixture in the bookish community with Matched. If anything, it makes me want to go back and read that series. Her writing style was so fun and punchy so it makes sense why that series was so popular.

I don’t read much young adult anymore, but I think The Only Girl in Town is fast-paced and fun so it’s worth picking up. I think this would also be a great one to read if you’re a teacher as it could open up so much discussion or if you host a book club. There is just so much to discuss when it comes to spoilers, but what do you think?

Will you be picking up the newest from Ally Condie? Let us know in the comments!