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jillie's review against another edition
4.0
This one took me a little longer to get into than The Book of Cold Cases and The Sun Down Motel, but I was engrossed once I got into it. I really enjoyed the ensemble cast. The romance in this one wasn’t my favorite but it’s such a small plot point that it doesn’t really affect anything.
November 2023
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Violence, Antisemitism, and Murder
Moderate: Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, and Police brutality
savvyrosereads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Told in dual timelines, The Broken Girls is the story of four best friends at a remote boarding school for troubled teens, and a journalist trying to learn buried details of her sister’s murder.
I love a good ghost story, and Simone St. James writes some of the best. The Sun Down Motel remains one of my all time favorites thrillers, and I really enjoyed The Book of Cold Cases earlier this year, so I was super excited to get my hands on The Broken Girls this spooky season. Overall I really enjoyed it—the themes of female friendship and empowerment were really meaningful to me, and I particularly loved the underlying message about the importance of telling stories and not erasing women’s trauma.
I will say that I ultimately wanted a little more from the plot, which sometimes felt a bit disconnected to me, and I wish there had been a bigger twist or two. Still, the creepy boarding school vibes and hauntingly (pun very intended) beautiful writing definitely make this a top notch recommendation for this time of year!
Recommended to anyone, but especially if you like: ghost stories; stories about uncovering and healing from trauma; dual timeline thrillers
CW: Death/murder/attempted murder (including of a child); grief; sexual assault/rape; traumatic brain injury; mentions of anti-semitism/Nazism/concentration camps; mentions of PTSD/suicide/suicide attempt; miscarriage/stillbirth.
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Violence, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Antisemitism, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment
Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Drug use
shannananahey's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Drug abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, and Antisemitism
Minor: Body shaming, Cancer, and Child death
beccam22's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
🕰 Actually good dual timelines
👯♀️ Close friend groups
🔪 who done it
Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Confinement, Eating disorder, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, and Classism
author2223's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Child abuse and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexual assault, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Addiction
onemamareads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Misogyny and War
toofondofbooks_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
There is so much to like about this book. First and foremost, the students at the boarding school were excellent, by far my favorite characters, Katie and Sonia especially. There were moments between them that were just so genuine and beautiful that it broke my heart. I thought the paranormal element of the story was very spooky and I loved the historical details that were there throughout. The 1950 chapters were my favorite because I loved the gothic boarding school setting and the haunting that came with it.
On to some negatives: The first 50 or so pages were a little slow and it made it hard for me to concentrate. I feel like this book would have benefitted greatly from some first person narration. I didn't like how detached the third person made me feel at times. I think that seeing at least one of the girl's from the first person perspective would have made a difference. I also thought the relationship part of the plot with Fiona and her boyfriend was annoying and took me out of the experience whenever it was being focused on. Additionally, during Fiona's investigations, a lot of things seemed to come to her very quickly and conveniently, which more than once made me, out loud, go "really?" It just seemed like she should've had to work a little harder for information that seemingly fell into her lap.
Overall, because of how much the characters overall meant to me, I gave this a 3.5. It was a perfect spooky wintry book for December!!
Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Blood, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, Stalking, and Death of parent
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Gun violence, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and War
Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Drug use, Fatphobia, Miscarriage, Sexual content, and Excrement