Release Me

Vieve Grayson had known for a long time that something is different about her; this fact colored her childhood and caused her to grow up isolated from her peers. She seeks meaning in her life, flitting from group to group and place to place. Vieve is followed by aliens and shadowy government agents, all the while dealing with self-discovery and accepting who she is.

Release Me by Melissa Swaim carries readers through a bizarre spectrum of aliens, the occult, and secret groups. Think “Men in Black” meets “The X Files”, add a little “Girl, Interrupted”, and you’ve got the gist of this work. Otherworldly and almost ethereal in style, Vieve is obviously troubled; her powers and observations are spooky and definitely out there, but she is so confused and wounded that you can’t help but feel sorry for her. Release Me tosses readers into a murky place, a place of parallel universes and alien abductions, even as you wonder how many more of “them” are out there.

Reviewed by: Michelle