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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
If you like true crime podcasts, I think you’ll like this book. It was a surprisingly quick read and I thoroughly enjoyed how the book delved into chapters focusing on one character at a time while still evolving the overall story.
Three and a half stars
Brilliant premise but skipped around without warning so didn't flow. I was gripped by the end, but it took a while.
Brilliant premise but skipped around without warning so didn't flow. I was gripped by the end, but it took a while.
challenging
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Very interesting story with a great twist. Written in multiple timelines in a way that could be confusing, but was actually very easy to read and executed nicely.
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The surprise twist made me cry. This book was really well done, leaving the biggest horrors to your imagination. The scene with the teacher Miss Glade was heartbreaking and no surprise that after that interaction they were in lockdown. Looking at the earlier memories, you can see her fathers mental decline, although it was a surprise to Girl A. I believe this happens more often than people are willing to admit or realize. Denial is a string state.
This will be a book I won’t soon forget.
This will be a book I won’t soon forget.
This is a well crafted, creepy, "true" crime fiction novel. I wish there had been a little more plot development and less fizzle at the end, but I really liked how the author structured the story. The chapters focus on a different sibling in this broken family, but the progression works through the main character's trauma and fills in the gaps in her memory, completing the story of her family.
This book entirely full of triggers, and could be a very hard read for some.
This book entirely full of triggers, and could be a very hard read for some.
DNF @ 54%
i'm not going to go into a reading slump for the second time this year already. i'm done with this.
the more i think about it, the more frustrated i become because this could have been good. i wanted to like our main character and i wanted to see the sibling relationships, but what i got was something disjointed and clinical. i couldn't relate to any of the characters, let alone Lex--our narrator and protagonist. the things depicted in this book are horrific, but even then it felt like i was watching from behind several layers of curtains with headphones on. it was difficult to care because the tone was just so very, very dry. plus, the time jumps were dizzying and, while i realize what the author was trying to do, completely unnecessary imo.
it sort of felt like the book was trying to be a thriller when it really was more of a character study. like, the way it was structured was very much thriller-esque--i.e. flashing forward and back from present day to the past, revealing tidbits of information at a time--but it just didn't work here. especially when those time jumps often happen one right after the other in the same chapter.
idk, 2021 so far has been a mostly miss year with the things i've read (not counting re-reads), so i'm saving myself the time and sanity by not forcing myself to finish books i'm not enjoying.
i'm not going to go into a reading slump for the second time this year already. i'm done with this.
the more i think about it, the more frustrated i become because this could have been good. i wanted to like our main character and i wanted to see the sibling relationships, but what i got was something disjointed and clinical. i couldn't relate to any of the characters, let alone Lex--our narrator and protagonist. the things depicted in this book are horrific, but even then it felt like i was watching from behind several layers of curtains with headphones on. it was difficult to care because the tone was just so very, very dry. plus, the time jumps were dizzying and, while i realize what the author was trying to do, completely unnecessary imo.
it sort of felt like the book was trying to be a thriller when it really was more of a character study. like, the way it was structured was very much thriller-esque--i.e. flashing forward and back from present day to the past, revealing tidbits of information at a time--but it just didn't work here. especially when those time jumps often happen one right after the other in the same chapter.
idk, 2021 so far has been a mostly miss year with the things i've read (not counting re-reads), so i'm saving myself the time and sanity by not forcing myself to finish books i'm not enjoying.
Following Lex as she attempts to reconnect with her siblings after their mothers death I was left a little disappointed by this book. I had expected a faster pace and some more intrigue around the plot itself; although the story was enough to keep me reading it felt a little lack lustre at times. The chapters were very long which I don’t think helped the pacing. I enjoyed the relationships between some of the siblings but wish we had learnt more about Ethan & Delilah as they seemed interesting characters! I did not expect the ending with her relationship with Evie and thought this gave Lex more depth - I wish it had been discussed earlier!
I might have enjoyed this more if I’d have read it instead of listening to the audio book. The way the story jumped around made it extremely hard to follow. Unfortunately, I don’t foresee enough potential enjoyment to want to give it another chance, but I’ll at least recommend that anyone who wants to give this book a shot should skip the audio version and go for the written copy.