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oceanwriter's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I ate up the setting of this book. Ellingham Academy would have been my dream school at this age and I loved all of the different personalities of the characters. It could be over the top at times, but that's to be expected in a YA book. That was part of the fun, too. It's also the definition of a page-turner. As soon as I got to the end I had to start The Vanishing Stair.
Graphic: Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death
Moderate: Child death, Kidnapping, and Mental illness
laurenevlyn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Death, and Mental illness
Moderate: Child death, Kidnapping, Murder, Violence, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Racism
quillify_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Murder, Cursing, Death, and Panic attacks/disorders
joanna77_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.75
best friend: and you loved it right?
me: sure….. 😬
Spoiler, I didn’t love this. I didn’t really even like it. It felt so unrealistic and I hated that the murder mystery book didn’t even solve a mystery, and yes, I know it’s a series but I wanted some sort of resolution!
I really hated the main character too. She gave me major Karen vibes (especially with her dumb blond pixie cut) and I hated her disregard for other people’s feelings. I felt like all of the characters were super one-dimensional and unrealistic.
There were so many plot things that also didn’t make sense. How did Stevie not know that David’s dad was Edward King? How does the school run when it’s completely free?
My friend got me the box set for Christmas so I will be continuing the series, but my expectations are so low the bar’s in hell.
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
slimepuppy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
- main character, despite being an avid true crime fan, dreams to be a cop. cops, famously known among true crime fans to be useless, corrupt and uncaring of victims. Stevie doesn't even point this out, or make some bullshit statement about wanting to be "one of the good ones", the law enforcement is portrayed as being one hundred percent effective and great
- boring romance with a character that spends the majority of the book being annoying to Stevie for no good reason... and that's about it for his character. one moment they're fighting, the other they're rolling around on the floor making out. why? he hasn't shown a single redeeming quality other than being attractive
- no actual sleuthing or investigating is done by the main character for over HALF THE BOOK. even then, Stevie doesn't do any investigating about the Ellingham case, the main thing that made me want to read this book in the first place
- the main mystery is too old. none of the people affected by it are alive. we don't even hear about offspring or any descendant who might care about seeing the mystery be solved. who cares if Stevie cracks the case? everyone who could find peace from it being solved is long gone.
- the culprit of The main is mystery is painfully obvious from the moment he shows up on the page. I searched for some spoilers out of curiosity to know if my guess was right, and voilà, I even guessed the motive right. does this mean I'm a genius and I get to go to a fancy school in the middle of nowhere? no, it just means the mystery is predictable.
despite all this, the writing is well done, (most of) the characters are cute, and it be could a great read for someone younger as an introduction to mystery stories.
Graphic: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, and Murder
lqvekanej's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, and Murder
Moderate: Child death and Death
Minor: Blood
mcc004's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, and Death
Minor: Death of parent
akirokis's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Moderate: Death, Violence, Kidnapping, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Death of parent, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
verysillygoose's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death
Moderate: Kidnapping, Mental illness, and Child death
books4em's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Kidnapping, Murder, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Gaslighting, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence