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3.53 AVERAGE
3.53 AVERAGE
I borrowed this from work like forever ago and then promptly forgot all about it. So when I finished all my planned reading for the #AroundtheWorldAThon, I decided it was finally time to give this one a shot. And I sped through it in a couple of hours.
This is basically a story told in three time periods, but the three stories are interwoven. So one section of the story is Katherine's backstory and the horrible thing that happened to her sister that caused her family to move from Melbourne to Sydney. One section is once Katherine's in Sydney and attending school and tells the story of her friendship with a pretty fucked up girl named Alice. And one section is set five or six years after the Alice section and Katherine's a parent.
The Alice section reminded me a hell of a lot of My Sister Rosa in that it deals with a character who's clearly a psychopath. There were some parts of Alice's story that I saw coming () and there were other parts that were so surprising that I had to stop and stare at the wall for a minute until I processed the "OMG WHAT" of it all.
Frankly, I could have done without the Katherine As A Parent part, although I understand why it was included. It brings the story full circle. But it was also kind of a weird thing to have in a YA book. So. If you like fast paced and occasionally creepy thrillers that float somewhere between YA and new adult, give this one a go.
This is basically a story told in three time periods, but the three stories are interwoven. So one section of the story is Katherine's backstory and the horrible thing that happened to her sister that caused her family to move from Melbourne to Sydney. One section is once Katherine's in Sydney and attending school and tells the story of her friendship with a pretty fucked up girl named Alice. And one section is set five or six years after the Alice section and Katherine's a parent.
The Alice section reminded me a hell of a lot of My Sister Rosa in that it deals with a character who's clearly a psychopath. There were some parts of Alice's story that I saw coming (
Spoiler
dating Robbie's dad, for instance. Which, EW NOFrankly, I could have done without the Katherine As A Parent part, although I understand why it was included. It brings the story full circle. But it was also kind of a weird thing to have in a YA book. So. If you like fast paced and occasionally creepy thrillers that float somewhere between YA and new adult, give this one a go.
Great twists to be found in this psychological thriller. I am not sure it is worth the million dollar price tag, but the plot is cleverly constructed and I wanted to know what was going to happen next. My main reservation is about the age of the protagonists - it may have been more realistic if they were uni, rather than high school students with the lifestyles they were living!
This book was weird. It bounced a lot between time periods in her life, which made it feel slightly inconsistent. The plot was entertaining, but the book was pretty predictable at points. Fun quick read, but not that great.
Book #11 read in 2014
The narrative in this book was so disjointed that it was difficult to remember time and place. It was only toward the end when the revelation of the secrets began that the story actually took hold.
The narrative in this book was so disjointed that it was difficult to remember time and place. It was only toward the end when the revelation of the secrets began that the story actually took hold.
It was good, but just not as good as i expected it. I searched everywhere till i found it, because my book-store only had it in my tongue-language and i prefer english. So what I enjoyed was the way you could read into this book. It wasn´t hard to understand her feelings at all, even if she had a dramatic past, which isn´tthe type I like at all. But this time it was something which could have happened in real life. You can feel with her when she runs and leaves her sister I think. Because I don´t know what I have been doing, though I guess everyone thinks himself as a hero I guess. I liked the sweet relationship that ended to soon. And the best thing about this book was, that Alice wasnßt the HYPER PSYCH. She was someone you are able to imagine being your neighbor but you don´t know. kinda like that. Overall I liked that book. Especially the time-switching chaptors, because I wasn´t confused by them. Overall a very good story I´m proud to own. 3.5
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I found this book when I researched books containing "toxic friendship" as a topic and it... somewhat delivered in that respect. Not perfectly, but I'll get into that. Warning: mild spoilers ahead! (But honestly, they are pretty mild. Only stop reading here if you want to go into this book knowing nothing at all.)
First of all, the aspects of this book that I really enjoyed were the characters, who all felt really believable. I felt a lot for the main character Katherine, but also for Robbie. And another character, Philippa, was amazing and I actually really saw myself in her (also a psychology student, my age…). Another thing I noticed that a lot of the dialogue was much better than I had expected. There were conversations especially toward the beginning of the book that struck me as really authentic and refreshingly void of cliché, though they dealt with such tragic topics as a parent's death. Overall, there was a lot of suspense and the pace was fairly fast. I got through the book quickly and enjoyed my read a lot.
Now on to the question of whether or not in delivered in terms of my expectations of the "toxic" friendship: I said "somewhat" and what I mean by that is that in the beginning, it was amazing! Alice is a really complex character and I thought it was so plausible how her friendship meant a lot to Katherine. For a while, the book struck a really nice balance between Alice being lovely, then doing awful things, then being lovely again and apologizing for them. But this is a dynamic I really wish it had explored more deeply. Because to me it felt like Katherine was letting go of Alice much to easily, when I would have really liked to read about somebody trapped in the manipulative type of friendship where you refuse to realize how toxic the other person really is and how much their actions have harmed you, instead opting to forgive them over and over again. That's the complex dynamic I came for that I would have really liked to see more of. In a similar manner, I was also disappointed in a certain revelation late in the novel that took away from Alice complexity again by reducing her motivation to something more simple than it could have been. I wanted to see her as a somewhat gray character, as somebody who did terrible things but out of some deep, dark Impulse they were struggling to control. I thought I had got that with Alice, and after that certain revelation I felt a bit disappointed.
Overall, though, this was a quick, highly enjoyable read with characters who I know I won't remember forever, but who I was pleasantly invested in while reading. 4/4, definitely recommend!
First of all, the aspects of this book that I really enjoyed were the characters, who all felt really believable. I felt a lot for the main character Katherine, but also for Robbie. And another character, Philippa, was amazing and I actually really saw myself in her (also a psychology student, my age…). Another thing I noticed that a lot of the dialogue was much better than I had expected. There were conversations especially toward the beginning of the book that struck me as really authentic and refreshingly void of cliché, though they dealt with such tragic topics as a parent's death. Overall, there was a lot of suspense and the pace was fairly fast. I got through the book quickly and enjoyed my read a lot.
Now on to the question of whether or not in delivered in terms of my expectations of the "toxic" friendship: I said "somewhat" and what I mean by that is that in the beginning, it was amazing! Alice is a really complex character and I thought it was so plausible how her friendship meant a lot to Katherine. For a while, the book struck a really nice balance between Alice being lovely, then doing awful things, then being lovely again and apologizing for them. But this is a dynamic I really wish it had explored more deeply. Because to me it felt like Katherine was letting go of Alice much to easily, when I would have really liked to read about somebody trapped in the manipulative type of friendship where you refuse to realize how toxic the other person really is and how much their actions have harmed you, instead opting to forgive them over and over again. That's the complex dynamic I came for that I would have really liked to see more of. In a similar manner, I was also disappointed in a certain revelation late in the novel that took away from Alice complexity again by reducing her motivation to something more simple than it could have been. I wanted to see her as a somewhat gray character, as somebody who did terrible things but out of some deep, dark Impulse they were struggling to control. I thought I had got that with Alice, and after that certain revelation I felt a bit disappointed.
Overall, though, this was a quick, highly enjoyable read with characters who I know I won't remember forever, but who I was pleasantly invested in while reading. 4/4, definitely recommend!
My full review can be found on the Epilie Aspie Chick blog!
I did NOT expect this one to wrap up as perfectly as it did in the end! This one is quite a ride and although the beginning is a bit slow, it was worth trudging through it to get to the end.
Katherine's life is changed forever when she meets Alice. A fun, bubbly girl whose effervescent style can be felt everywhere, Katherine meets Robbie through her. Soon enough, the three musketeers are born and the most epic adventures are had.
Too bad there's more happening here. Alice has a serious dark side that is detected once Phillipa is introduced along with our romantic lead Mick. Soon friendship turns to hatred... which evolves into the scariest stalking you can imagine. How it ends I won't spoil, but it's an absolute mind blower for me.
I did NOT expect this one to wrap up as perfectly as it did in the end! This one is quite a ride and although the beginning is a bit slow, it was worth trudging through it to get to the end.
Katherine's life is changed forever when she meets Alice. A fun, bubbly girl whose effervescent style can be felt everywhere, Katherine meets Robbie through her. Soon enough, the three musketeers are born and the most epic adventures are had.
Too bad there's more happening here. Alice has a serious dark side that is detected once Phillipa is introduced along with our romantic lead Mick. Soon friendship turns to hatred... which evolves into the scariest stalking you can imagine. How it ends I won't spoil, but it's an absolute mind blower for me.
After just the first few pages, I don't want to put it down.
This was a great book - I loved the ending
This was a great book - I loved the ending
Un libro duro y triste, con el que te emocionarás, con una antagonista cruel pero genial, aunque sin demasiados giros inesperados.
Reseña completa: http://paseandoentrepaginas.blogspot.com.es/2015/06/bella-malicia-de-rebecca-james.html
Reseña completa: http://paseandoentrepaginas.blogspot.com.es/2015/06/bella-malicia-de-rebecca-james.html