When Jane first wakes up in hospital she has no memory of the events that lead up to her being run over by a car and left for dead lying in a rosebush. But as her memory starts to return she begins to realise that the her friends versions of events don't quite match up to the way she remembers things happening. Was it really an accident or did one of her friends try to kill her? If so who was it? When she starts receiving threats in the hospital the doctors put it down to hallucinations because of the medication she is taking but is it really the killer letting her know they are planning to finish the job they already started?Rosebush is a well written thriller that managed to keep me hooked even though I didn't really like any of the main characters. Jane is a member of the popular crowd at school, she has the perfect friends, the perfect boyfriend and a perfect life - well that's what it looks like at first but you soon start to realise that things aren't quite what they seem. I've never been much of a fan of stories about the popular crowd so I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this one and that just goes to show what a good job Michele Jaffe did writing it.
The story starts with Jane waking up in the hospital and we discover more about the night of the accident and her life leading up to it through flashbacks. I'm not always a fan of flashbacks as they can sometimes make a story disjointed and hard to follow but in this case they were really well done giving just enough information to keep you interested without becoming confusing. When it comes to trying to figure out who the killer is I found myself suspecting pretty much everyone at some point, I even started to wonder if there really was a killer or if it was all just Jane's imagination. The ending managed to surprise me although I did find part of it slightly far fetched and unbelievable.
Even though I didn't love the story I did enjoy it and I think it will be popular with teens who like things like Mean Girls and Pretty Little Liars. It's well worth picking up a copy if you're looking for a high school thriller that will keep you guessing right to the end.