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meeklovestoread's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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? Yes
4.0
Honestly this book is just such an experience from start to finish. This book is told from a then-and-now perspective where "THEN' is Ambrosia starting her freshman year of college and the "NOW" chapter surround her current life as a thirty-one-year-old as she contemplates going to her 10-year high school reunion and the events that followed.
Now, I will assume that the author made Ambrosia the way she was on purpose. Like we were supposed to dislike her and Sully because immediately she was giving me insecure vibes and not a "girl's girl" and I was right. Ambrosia frustrated me so much in the "then" chapters because I honestly can't begin to fathom how someone could be so callous, but a people pleaser, and yet internally insecure all at the same time. It took a while (I thought this book was just going to be a cliche mean girl trope), but this book did hold my attention and get me hooked. I was so anxious, angry, and frustrated for the rest of the book because Ambrosia and Sully's actions were downright reprehensible (Kevin is no saint either).
I still felt empathy for Ambrosia, Sully, and Kevin towards the end, however, I feel like they did get what was coming to them. It was really hard to have more sympathy because what they did was just downright wicked. Although I do think Ambrosia, Sully, and Kevin had their fates coming to them, but the moral compass in me just can't help but not support Poppy's actions. She stabs Sully and then pins her murder on Ambrosia and then goes out of her way to steal Ambrosia's husband and weasels her way into becoming her daughter's potential stepmother. Like what?! Although I'm not defending what they did to Flora at all I still think what Poppy did after lowdown behavior and I just can't support it (but they still had it coming so props to Poppy for being so smart). Honestly, Flora is the only good character in this book and it sucks that Sully just went out and killed her.
Overall this book was surprisingly very gripping and was super dark! I really liked how it shed light on the nuances and dark side to mean girl culture as well as displayed the different types of mean girls and how such a mentality can drive you to do unspeakable things. One thing I do wish though is that we got more of Sully's past. I don't think we got enough to fully understand why she was the way that she was.
Now, I will assume that the author made Ambrosia the way she was on purpose. Like we were supposed to dislike her and Sully because immediately she was giving me insecure vibes and not a "girl's girl" and I was right. Ambrosia frustrated me so much in the "then" chapters because I honestly can't begin to fathom how someone could be so callous, but a people pleaser, and yet internally insecure all at the same time. It took a while (I thought this book was just going to be a cliche mean girl trope), but this book did hold my attention and get me hooked. I was so anxious, angry, and frustrated for the rest of the book because Ambrosia and Sully's actions were downright reprehensible (Kevin is no saint either).
I still felt empathy for Ambrosia, Sully, and Kevin towards the end, however, I feel like they did get what was coming to them. It was really hard to have more sympathy because what they did was just downright wicked.
Overall this book was surprisingly very gripping and was super dark! I really liked how it shed light on the nuances and dark side to mean girl culture as well as displayed the different types of mean girls and how such a mentality can drive you to do unspeakable things. One thing I do wish though is that we got more of Sully's past. I don't think we got enough to fully understand why she was the way that she was.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, and Suicide
Moderate: Body horror, Gun violence, Bullying, Pregnancy, Blood, Drug use, and Grief
Minor: Cursing, Fatphobia, and Vomit
bookishgoob's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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? N/A
3.5
Before the ending, i was thinking this book was gonna be a 4-4.5 star read, but the ending fell so flat for me.
I loved the exploration of toxic female friendships and the feeling that you’re competing with the group or person that you want to be friends with. The uncomfortable thought of “do i hate this person or do i love them? do i want to be friends? is this an enemy?” Mean girls come in so many different shells, and the fact that Amb couldn’t admit that she was mean is one of the biggest types of mean girls there is. The quote earlier in the book where sully tells amb “flora is a mean girl, she’s a bitch. at least i can own it” felt like a subtle stab at Amb, because amb did the same thing. she hid behind her moral high ground. destroying Flora and her relationships because Flora had something she want. She had to make flora the villain in her fantasy. </ I think it’s really a bad choice to have ambrosia go to jail and have Poppy basically take over her life. it didn’t feel like justice to me. It felt like just another generation of mean girls, where poppy is hiding behind her moral high ground of “she did this to my sister so i’ll do this to her” the last chapter made me angry. Killing off Sully and Kevin and having Amb go to jail made me feel like the author didn’t know really how she wanted to end the story. I also feel like killing Kevin was just Poppy’s way to get rid of him. He was an asshole, sure, but he didn’t have anything to do with Flora’s death. it was completely Sully and Amb. killing Kevin was a vendetta because she never liked him. getting rid of these characters was lazy and honestly boring. Also it wasn’t revealed or clear what actually happened to Flora. Did sully kill her?>
I was invested in this story and the way the story was told. i’ve come to enjoy dual timelines because it adds so much depth to the story. I enjoyed the story, again, up until the last chapter. it’s a quick read so i do recommend it.
I loved the exploration of toxic female friendships and the feeling that you’re competing with the group or person that you want to be friends with. The uncomfortable thought of “do i hate this person or do i love them? do i want to be friends? is this an enemy?” Mean girls come in so many different shells, and the fact that Amb couldn’t admit that she was mean is one of the biggest types of mean girls there is. The quote earlier in the book where sully tells amb “flora is a mean girl, she’s a bitch. at least i can own it” felt like a subtle stab at Amb, because amb did the same thing. she hid behind her moral high ground. destroying Flora and her relationships because Flora had something she want. She had to make flora the villain in her fantasy. </ I think it’s really a bad choice to have ambrosia go to jail and have Poppy basically take over her life. it didn’t feel like justice to me. It felt like just another generation of mean girls, where poppy is hiding behind her moral high ground of “she did this to my sister so i’ll do this to her” the last chapter made me angry. Killing off Sully and Kevin and having Amb go to jail made me feel like the author didn’t know really how she wanted to end the story. I also feel like killing Kevin was just Poppy’s way to get rid of him. He was an asshole, sure, but he didn’t have anything to do with Flora’s death. it was completely Sully and Amb. killing Kevin was a vendetta because she never liked him. getting rid of these characters was lazy and honestly boring. Also it wasn’t revealed or clear what actually happened to Flora. Did sully kill her?>
I was invested in this story and the way the story was told. i’ve come to enjoy dual timelines because it adds so much depth to the story. I enjoyed the story, again, up until the last chapter. it’s a quick read so i do recommend it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body shaming, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Bullying, Car accident, Death, Murder, Pregnancy, Rape, Self harm, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Mental illness
jeanetterenee's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Drug use, and Cursing
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