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3.44 AVERAGE
3.44 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I... have a lot of thoughts about this book, and none of them are good.
3.5 stars
Georgia is determined to be an Aspera girl. Aspera, the country club that chewed up and spit out her late mother. At the same time that Georgia is getting an in with Aspera, she discovers the body of a 13-year-old local girl and is shoved into investigating her death.
I'd like to note that this is a "spiritual successor" to Summer's Sadie (which I adored). There is a small connector between the two, but that is more of a nod than this being a proper companion story.
This was such a difficult read - I had to pause the audio several times because of the content. This is like a YA My Dark Vanessa, in the type of main character we have and the trauma they go through (the plots, however, are different enough). It is infuriating and scary to read about this young girl being taken advantage of at every single turn by every adult in sight, and how she has to synthesize the experience into something palatable so that she can survive. She believes she is wielding the power - the only thing she's ever wanted - and can't cope if that's not true. This definitely covers the topic of "imperfect victims," where we see multiple examples of people who are not naive and angelic having terrible things done to them, and how those things are deplorable regardless of the character or activities of the victim. Georgia is vain, she wants to gain power though her looks. She acts "adult" and I hope this book can help open eyes to some to reexamine their opinions of innocence and victimhood. However, I think this book really struggled in its plotting/pacing. It didn't feel like enough events actually happened, and they all happened way too far into the book. I would've liked to have seen more coverage of the murder investigation and her working with the sister. I also think this being pitched as a "thriller" is doing it a disservice - the mystery/thrilling parts of this very much take a back seat to the terrible things that happen to our main character. I'd have called it a literary suspense or hard-hitting contemporary.
Overall, this was a very difficult look into how young people can be taken advantage of without their knowledge. Easy comp title for My Dark Vanessa.
Georgia is determined to be an Aspera girl. Aspera, the country club that chewed up and spit out her late mother. At the same time that Georgia is getting an in with Aspera, she discovers the body of a 13-year-old local girl and is shoved into investigating her death.
I'd like to note that this is a "spiritual successor" to Summer's Sadie (which I adored). There is a small connector between the two, but that is more of a nod than this being a proper companion story.
This was such a difficult read - I had to pause the audio several times because of the content. This is like a YA My Dark Vanessa, in the type of main character we have and the trauma they go through (the plots, however, are different enough). It is infuriating and scary to read about this young girl being taken advantage of at every single turn by every adult in sight, and how she has to synthesize the experience into something palatable so that she can survive. She believes she is wielding the power - the only thing she's ever wanted - and can't cope if that's not true. This definitely covers the topic of "imperfect victims," where we see multiple examples of people who are not naive and angelic having terrible things done to them, and how those things are deplorable regardless of the character or activities of the victim. Georgia is vain, she wants to gain power though her looks. She acts "adult" and I hope this book can help open eyes to some to reexamine their opinions of innocence and victimhood. However, I think this book really struggled in its plotting/pacing. It didn't feel like enough events actually happened, and they all happened way too far into the book. I would've liked to have seen more coverage of the murder investigation and her working with the sister. I also think this being pitched as a "thriller" is doing it a disservice - the mystery/thrilling parts of this very much take a back seat to the terrible things that happen to our main character. I'd have called it a literary suspense or hard-hitting contemporary.
Overall, this was a very difficult look into how young people can be taken advantage of without their knowledge. Easy comp title for My Dark Vanessa.
I loved Summers’ book Sadie, and I was so excited to read this one. I enjoyed the plot, and I thought her writing was good, but I just didn’t like the main character. I felt bad for her, because she definitely had a tough lot in life, but I just didn’t find her likable or believable. Honestly, I didn’t really like any of the characters, which dragged down the quality of the rest of the book for me.
Courtney Summers knows how to write a book that can both beautifully demonstrate the strength of "troubled" girls and show you the disgusting world that they're up against. I work in behavioral education and this story, among Summers' other books, really hits me at the core. Georgia is a determined and resilient MC that I really enjoyed, and reading everything she was going through was such an emotional ride. I think Summers did a really good job with the setup of all of the characters' relationships, as well as the structure of the establishment Georgia was up against. I very highly recommend this book, though I do think it is important to read any content warnings and know your limits!
I needed some time to process this one. It is by far Courtney Summers’s best (and I am a CS fan, so this is high praise). the juxtaposition of the beautiful setting and the ugly underbelly has been done a million times before, but I don’t know that it has ever been as impactful as it was here.
My only complaint—the reveal about Katy is just plonked into the last tenth of the book and never really picked up or dealt with in a way that would make it feel like anything more than a plot twist.
My only complaint—the reveal about Katy is just plonked into the last tenth of the book and never really picked up or dealt with in a way that would make it feel like anything more than a plot twist.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Suicide
Minor: Medical trauma
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
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:
Complicated
Don’t love the narration of this audio.