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3.53 AVERAGE
3.53 AVERAGE
I found that the characters lives were very unbelievable and it was difficult to enjoy the story.
I don't know that it's meant to be read this way, but Beautiful Malice was a great mystery. The entire story is told in flashbacks. Katherine, an adult with a young daughter, is looking back on her senior year of high school when she met and knew Alice. Eventually her teenage self is remembering and telling Alice about the events leading up to Rachel's death. In both scenarios, the reader should, on some level, know how the story ends: Katherine grows up and has a child; Rachel dies. And yet, I never felt impatient waiting for that end to come. In fact, there were plenty of points in the senior year storyline when I was sure that things could not possibly end the way adult Katherine seemed to imply that they would. Moreover, when the endings finally did come they were plenty twisted, making them surprising even if they really do amount to Katherine growing up and having a child and Rachel dying.
The bulk of the story is set during Katherine's senior year of high school, specifically when she is befriended by Alice. Katherine is Katherine, rather than Katie, because she is trying to move on in her life past Rachel's death, but it is still a big part of her. It takes a really long time for Katherine to open up to anyone, including the reader, about what happened to Rachel, and yet I wasn't annoyed by not knowing. From almost the beginning, I knew Katherine was dealing with some serious survivor guilt, but as her recollections of Rachel slowly unfolded, it became clear that her guilt went beyond just the guilt of still being alive. Katherine feels truly responsible for Rachel's death, and because her story of what really happened the night Rachel died is so drawn out, it looks like she just might be. She's dealing with all of this while she slowly gets sucked into Alice's world.
Alice, by the way, is the mayor of crazytown. She's fun-crazy in the beginning, always managing to have alcohol and a party to go to (and an awesome dress to wear to it, and one for you to borrow besides). She lives in an apartment of her own, paid for by her birth mother who feels guilty that Alice was adopted by hicks. She seems so grown-up and exotic to Katherine, who used to be a more suburban version of her. Alice drags Katherine back into the social scene she should have always inhabited, introduces her to new people and experiences, gains her complete trust and (for a while) adoration, and then goes crazy-crazy. When Katherine stops worshiping the ground Alice walks on and gets her own friends, Alice becomes possessive and stalker-y. It's pretty scary, and the lengths she goes to (and why) left me speechless.
I think Beautiful Malice will be devoured by readers looking for more thriller in their mysteries, but be warned that though Alice and Katherine are teenagers for most of the story, they have very few "typical" teen experiences. They're never in school, they hang out in bars, and they date grown men. I'm not saying that this book is inappropriate, because really, there's nothing graphic or too "adult" going on, but it's certainly not set in high school, even if the main characters are technically high schoolers.
Book source: Review copy from the publisher through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.
The bulk of the story is set during Katherine's senior year of high school, specifically when she is befriended by Alice. Katherine is Katherine, rather than Katie, because she is trying to move on in her life past Rachel's death, but it is still a big part of her. It takes a really long time for Katherine to open up to anyone, including the reader, about what happened to Rachel, and yet I wasn't annoyed by not knowing. From almost the beginning, I knew Katherine was dealing with some serious survivor guilt, but as her recollections of Rachel slowly unfolded, it became clear that her guilt went beyond just the guilt of still being alive. Katherine feels truly responsible for Rachel's death, and because her story of what really happened the night Rachel died is so drawn out, it looks like she just might be. She's dealing with all of this while she slowly gets sucked into Alice's world.
Alice, by the way, is the mayor of crazytown. She's fun-crazy in the beginning, always managing to have alcohol and a party to go to (and an awesome dress to wear to it, and one for you to borrow besides). She lives in an apartment of her own, paid for by her birth mother who feels guilty that Alice was adopted by hicks. She seems so grown-up and exotic to Katherine, who used to be a more suburban version of her. Alice drags Katherine back into the social scene she should have always inhabited, introduces her to new people and experiences, gains her complete trust and (for a while) adoration, and then goes crazy-crazy. When Katherine stops worshiping the ground Alice walks on and gets her own friends, Alice becomes possessive and stalker-y. It's pretty scary, and the lengths she goes to (and why) left me speechless.
I think Beautiful Malice will be devoured by readers looking for more thriller in their mysteries, but be warned that though Alice and Katherine are teenagers for most of the story, they have very few "typical" teen experiences. They're never in school, they hang out in bars, and they date grown men. I'm not saying that this book is inappropriate, because really, there's nothing graphic or too "adult" going on, but it's certainly not set in high school, even if the main characters are technically high schoolers.
Book source: Review copy from the publisher through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.
A quick and intriguing read. I enjoyed the story, but it was a little predictable and felt something like an R.L Stine super chiller that I would have read when I was 15. It was a very stereotypical teen mystery with very familiar characters. But it was definitely much better written and more complex than anything that came from Fear Street. I am glad I read it and would recommend it if you are looking for a quick mystery read.
I had this book on my to read list for about six years. So you can imagine how delighted I was to find it in my local library.
Alas, it was not a happy ending for me. The book was predictable and overly dramatic. The characters were about as deep as a teaspoon and as interesting as a cardboard box is to entities other than cats. The plot twist was totally predictable.
I feel like James could have used more editing when it came to this book. And someone to tell her that rape is not just a plot point to make her MC ~suffer~ more. It felt like James was using Rachel's rape just to be more dramatic and that didn't agree with me.
Then again, the whole book was incredibly melodramatic and didn't handle any of the issues well.
Alas, it was not a happy ending for me. The book was predictable and overly dramatic. The characters were about as deep as a teaspoon and as interesting as a cardboard box is to entities other than cats. The plot twist was totally predictable.
Then again, the whole book was incredibly melodramatic and didn't handle any of the issues well.
After the death of her younger sister and the disintegration of her family, Katherine Patterson moves to Sydney and starts again at a new school. When the beautiful and charming Alice befriends Katherine, she's easily sucked into Alice's fabulous world and the two soon become firm friends. However Alice has a dark side, making her unnecessarily cruel and selfish, as Katherine finds out and soon Katherine is wondering if she and Alice are friends at all. When Katherine starts questioning hers and Alice's friendship she discovers yet another side to Alice: a side that doesn't like being put out into the cold.
Like most books I end up buying, I found out about Beautiful Malice on another book site. Someone added it onto their GoodReads page and because I adored the beautiful dark blue cover, I clicked it to see what it was about. Then I saw the quote, and I knew I had to have the book and I pre-ordered it and I absolutely couldn't wait for its release. I knew that as soon as it arrived (with an orange cover, which is still beautiful, but I quite liked the dark blue) I would have to read it immediately so I decided that after I'd finished The Killing Place by Tess Gerritsen, it would be what I read next. I finished Tess's book yesterday and started Beautiful Malice this morning, not expecting to finish it today, but I have because it was that good.
Here's the quote that attracted me to the book (after the cover, of course): "So. Were you glad, deep down? Were you glad to be rid of her? Your perfect sister? Were you secretly glad when she was killed?" You have to admit, that is a pretty intriguing quote, no? It's a strong quote and is probably a quote that will make many people (like me) buy the book because you want to know the answer and see why such a question was asked. I certainly wanted to know the answer and I started the book eagerly, hoping to get stuck in. The book opens with a Prologue before heading into the main plot of the story, Katherine's friendship with Alice. At first, Katherine and Alice's friendship seems perfect; Katherine has just moved to the school after the death of her sister Rachel and Alice comes up to Katherine and the pair make friends and are joined in their little twosome with Robbie, a friend of Alice's and they become a threesome, always hanging out together.
It doesn't take long for Alice's spiteful streak to come out and she quickly went down in my estimation. When Robbie called her narcissistic, he was spot on in his assessment. Alice gets progressively worse culminating in Katherine questioning their friendship, which Alice obviously doesn't take too kindly. But while we're learning all of this about Katherine and Alice's friendship, we also learn about Katherine's life as it is now (five years later) but the most important aspect of the entire story is the flashbacks we get to the night Rachel, Katherine's sister, was killed. It's given to us in snippets and I didn't think we'd get the entire story of that night. In hindsight, I rather wish we hadn't, I must say. Eventually, though, it all tumbles out and it's not light stuff; nothing in the entire book can be described as "light". But what the book is, is that it's engrossing. It's so engrossing. I wasn't too sure at the beginning but I was sucked in quickly. All three separate, but interlinking, stories were interesting because it was, if I'm honest, as if Katherine was three separate people, one for each story, rather than one person throughout the book and that kind of showed how all of the incidents that happened had changed her.
It was hard to really get a handle on any of the characters; as I said, Katherine seemed like three entirely separate people, but I liked her. The journey she goes on is difficult and the guilt and despair she feels over the loss of her sister was rather enlightening and the way she sees herself and her life, you just couldn't help but feel so sorry for her. She was in a lose/lose situation; either spend her life feeling overwhelmed by guilt or attempt to move on and be shot down for doing so. Her friendship with Alice - and Robbie - helps her to try and move on until Alice's narcissistic side begins to take over and she begins to show some of her true colours. Alice was totally unlikeable, even when she was showering Katherine with attention and being her charming self, I just couldn't take to her at all. I did, however, like Robbie, a friend of Alice's. He seemed so sweet and I hated the fact that he was so stuck on Alice despite the fact she didn't seem to reciprocate those feelings. Two more characters come into the story, Phillipa and Mick, and I liked them, too. In fact, most of the characters were well portrayed. Even Alice was well portrayed and I really got a feel for each and every one of the characters.
Beautiful Malice is so well written, which is unusual for a debut novel, and is told entirely from Katherine's point of view. Which works, because we really get a feel for Katherine and we see things from her point of view. Katherine is unfailing throughout the book and the emotions we see from her are wide and varied and how Rebecca James managed to craft her so well is just awe-inspiring. But the stand out character is Alice. How Rebecca gave us Alice, I have no idea. She was narcissistic, selfish, but she was the most vivid character of the entire book and every scene she was in, she stole without fail. I might not have liked her, but I certainly admired her, in a weird and twisted way. What really made Beautiful Malice for me though was the absolutely shocking, jaw-dropping twist that happens. I was literally stunned and, even now, I still can't get over it. I'll debate over it for an absolute age because it was such a shock. I usually see twists in books coming, but this was completely out of left field.
Overall, I found Beautiful Malice a hard book to put down, but at the same time it was a difficult book to read. The death of a sibling is always going to be hard to read; the death of anyone in a novel is hard to read, despite the fact it's fiction, but in Beautiful Malice, under the circumstances, it was harder and it wasn't at all pleasant. The way in which the book is written though makes it hard to put down and, despite how the book plays how and despite the fact it's not a light read at all, I did love it. It's a psychological thriller at its very best and even now, a day later, I still can't get over how it all panned out. I'll continue to turn it around and around for a very long time and there's a good chance I'll have to re-read the book again at some point in the future just to see how it all comes across second time around. It's the mark of a good book when you can't forget it and Beautiful Malice was better than good, it was stunning.
Like most books I end up buying, I found out about Beautiful Malice on another book site. Someone added it onto their GoodReads page and because I adored the beautiful dark blue cover, I clicked it to see what it was about. Then I saw the quote, and I knew I had to have the book and I pre-ordered it and I absolutely couldn't wait for its release. I knew that as soon as it arrived (with an orange cover, which is still beautiful, but I quite liked the dark blue) I would have to read it immediately so I decided that after I'd finished The Killing Place by Tess Gerritsen, it would be what I read next. I finished Tess's book yesterday and started Beautiful Malice this morning, not expecting to finish it today, but I have because it was that good.
Here's the quote that attracted me to the book (after the cover, of course): "So. Were you glad, deep down? Were you glad to be rid of her? Your perfect sister? Were you secretly glad when she was killed?" You have to admit, that is a pretty intriguing quote, no? It's a strong quote and is probably a quote that will make many people (like me) buy the book because you want to know the answer and see why such a question was asked. I certainly wanted to know the answer and I started the book eagerly, hoping to get stuck in. The book opens with a Prologue before heading into the main plot of the story, Katherine's friendship with Alice. At first, Katherine and Alice's friendship seems perfect; Katherine has just moved to the school after the death of her sister Rachel and Alice comes up to Katherine and the pair make friends and are joined in their little twosome with Robbie, a friend of Alice's and they become a threesome, always hanging out together.
It doesn't take long for Alice's spiteful streak to come out and she quickly went down in my estimation. When Robbie called her narcissistic, he was spot on in his assessment. Alice gets progressively worse culminating in Katherine questioning their friendship, which Alice obviously doesn't take too kindly. But while we're learning all of this about Katherine and Alice's friendship, we also learn about Katherine's life as it is now (five years later) but the most important aspect of the entire story is the flashbacks we get to the night Rachel, Katherine's sister, was killed. It's given to us in snippets and I didn't think we'd get the entire story of that night. In hindsight, I rather wish we hadn't, I must say. Eventually, though, it all tumbles out and it's not light stuff; nothing in the entire book can be described as "light". But what the book is, is that it's engrossing. It's so engrossing. I wasn't too sure at the beginning but I was sucked in quickly. All three separate, but interlinking, stories were interesting because it was, if I'm honest, as if Katherine was three separate people, one for each story, rather than one person throughout the book and that kind of showed how all of the incidents that happened had changed her.
It was hard to really get a handle on any of the characters; as I said, Katherine seemed like three entirely separate people, but I liked her. The journey she goes on is difficult and the guilt and despair she feels over the loss of her sister was rather enlightening and the way she sees herself and her life, you just couldn't help but feel so sorry for her. She was in a lose/lose situation; either spend her life feeling overwhelmed by guilt or attempt to move on and be shot down for doing so. Her friendship with Alice - and Robbie - helps her to try and move on until Alice's narcissistic side begins to take over and she begins to show some of her true colours. Alice was totally unlikeable, even when she was showering Katherine with attention and being her charming self, I just couldn't take to her at all. I did, however, like Robbie, a friend of Alice's. He seemed so sweet and I hated the fact that he was so stuck on Alice despite the fact she didn't seem to reciprocate those feelings. Two more characters come into the story, Phillipa and Mick, and I liked them, too. In fact, most of the characters were well portrayed. Even Alice was well portrayed and I really got a feel for each and every one of the characters.
Beautiful Malice is so well written, which is unusual for a debut novel, and is told entirely from Katherine's point of view. Which works, because we really get a feel for Katherine and we see things from her point of view. Katherine is unfailing throughout the book and the emotions we see from her are wide and varied and how Rebecca James managed to craft her so well is just awe-inspiring. But the stand out character is Alice. How Rebecca gave us Alice, I have no idea. She was narcissistic, selfish, but she was the most vivid character of the entire book and every scene she was in, she stole without fail. I might not have liked her, but I certainly admired her, in a weird and twisted way. What really made Beautiful Malice for me though was the absolutely shocking, jaw-dropping twist that happens. I was literally stunned and, even now, I still can't get over it. I'll debate over it for an absolute age because it was such a shock. I usually see twists in books coming, but this was completely out of left field.
Overall, I found Beautiful Malice a hard book to put down, but at the same time it was a difficult book to read. The death of a sibling is always going to be hard to read; the death of anyone in a novel is hard to read, despite the fact it's fiction, but in Beautiful Malice, under the circumstances, it was harder and it wasn't at all pleasant. The way in which the book is written though makes it hard to put down and, despite how the book plays how and despite the fact it's not a light read at all, I did love it. It's a psychological thriller at its very best and even now, a day later, I still can't get over how it all panned out. I'll continue to turn it around and around for a very long time and there's a good chance I'll have to re-read the book again at some point in the future just to see how it all comes across second time around. It's the mark of a good book when you can't forget it and Beautiful Malice was better than good, it was stunning.
I'm not a big fan of thriller, so I didn't have high expectations. I was ridiculously wrong.
The story talks about a newborn friendship between Alice, the most popular in high school, and Katie, a smart,shy girl with a hidden familiar trauma.
The plot is basic, but what makes this book so worth reading is Rebecca James' writing: the most captivating and enganging I've ever found.
I started reading it sceptically...when I turned the last page, I realized I had spent over three hours with my eyes glued to the pages, I couldn't tear them away.
I saw many people stated Rebecca James could be the next J.K.Rowling and THEY WERE RIGHT! I couldn't put it down, what was going on in my mind was:
"one page is gone TURN THE PAGE TURN THE PAGE I NEED TO KNOW WHAT'S IN THE NEXT PAGE".
I was completely immersed in Katie's world: this is one of those readings which make you forget about hunger/thirst/physical needs and the world around you.
The story talks about a newborn friendship between Alice, the most popular in high school, and Katie, a smart,shy girl with a hidden familiar trauma.
The plot is basic, but what makes this book so worth reading is Rebecca James' writing: the most captivating and enganging I've ever found.
I started reading it sceptically...when I turned the last page, I realized I had spent over three hours with my eyes glued to the pages, I couldn't tear them away.
I saw many people stated Rebecca James could be the next J.K.Rowling and THEY WERE RIGHT! I couldn't put it down, what was going on in my mind was:
"one page is gone TURN THE PAGE TURN THE PAGE I NEED TO KNOW WHAT'S IN THE NEXT PAGE".
I was completely immersed in Katie's world: this is one of those readings which make you forget about hunger/thirst/physical needs and the world around you.
You know how sometimes you read about a book and instantly know you're going to love it? Well Beautiful Malice was one such book for me. But as I'm well aware, sometimes when you over anticipate something, it can turn out to be a let down. This certainly wasn't the case here and Rebecca James' debut novel was every bit as brilliant as I'd hoped. From the very first page, Beautiful Malice sucks you in and just doesn't let go. It begins with a short prologue and immediately creates questions you desperately want to know the answer to.
Told in the first person from Katherine herself, it's easy to connect with her right away. It's obvious she's had a traumatic experience, I felt sorry for this lonely and damaged girl despite not knowing what it was that had happened to her. When Alice takes an interest in her, I was as intrigued and delighted by her as Katherine herself is and could completely understand her becoming so caught up in her new friendship. I loved seeing Katherine emerge from her barricade under Alice's influence.
Alice herself is a fantastic character. She's impulsive, exciting, generous and larger than life. At times a little intimidating and forceful, but mostly the type of person whose glow we'd all like to bask in. But little by little we see her façade slip and a sinister turn to her character creeps in. This is done very slowly, with just a look or a strange comment that on it's own could be dismissed. But as the story grows, so does the creepy feeling you have towards Alice making her absolutely terrifying, without even knowing why.
The book is punctuated with flashbacks to the past and the evening when Katherine's sister was killed. Again, this information is trickled in slowly to the reader and while you know the eventual outcome quite early on, you have no idea what happened and why Katherine feels so much guilt. We're also served with glimpses of the future, five years after the story is set. I found this style fascinating as it added to the intrigue, creating even more questions I was desperate to know the answers to. It astonishes me how James has created so many dimensions and layers of past, present and future and manages to weave them all up together perfectly. I think it's also a great achievement and testament to how well executed this novel is, that there's absolutely no confusion or disruption to the story, it flows beautifully and is constantly suspenseful and intriguing.
While Beautiful Malice could be considered a book aimed at Young adults, because of the main protagonists age, I think this book is one that has a huge crossover appeal and will be appreciated by anyone who enjoys a very good psychological thriller (I'm not sure it's being marketed as a YA novel in the UK as I found it amongst the adult fiction in our local bookstore) In fact, I'd go as far to say that it probably isn't that well suited to a younger audience at all. There's some very disturbing scenes throughout the book, often quite graphic and I found myself shocked at times. I also felt that the characters seem very mature for their age, and most of the time I forgot they were teenagers. 99% of the book is set away from a school setting, which is really only used to introduce Katherine and Alice, and if I didn't actually know their ages I may have presumed them to be in their early twenties. For these reasons I'd be cautious about recommending this book to a younger teen reader and would urge those who wouldn't usually consider this book because of the characters ages and setting to put aside any misgivings and give this a try.
Beautiful Malice lived up to my expectations and more. Once I started this book I didn't want to put it down and not once in it's 350 pages did I become bored. The writing is beautifully descriptive, creating suspense and tension in the subtlest way then completely hitting you when you least expect it. The book leaves you with a lot to think about; how much responsibility should we take for others actions, how we must live with our choices even when we feel they're the wrong one's and how no matter how well we think we know someone, chances are we don't know anything. There's also some incredibly touching and beautiful scenes that had tears rolling down my face and a sense that despite everything, there's always a place for hope and love. With a debut like this, I can't wait to read more from Rebecca James. Highly recommended.
Told in the first person from Katherine herself, it's easy to connect with her right away. It's obvious she's had a traumatic experience, I felt sorry for this lonely and damaged girl despite not knowing what it was that had happened to her. When Alice takes an interest in her, I was as intrigued and delighted by her as Katherine herself is and could completely understand her becoming so caught up in her new friendship. I loved seeing Katherine emerge from her barricade under Alice's influence.
Alice herself is a fantastic character. She's impulsive, exciting, generous and larger than life. At times a little intimidating and forceful, but mostly the type of person whose glow we'd all like to bask in. But little by little we see her façade slip and a sinister turn to her character creeps in. This is done very slowly, with just a look or a strange comment that on it's own could be dismissed. But as the story grows, so does the creepy feeling you have towards Alice making her absolutely terrifying, without even knowing why.
The book is punctuated with flashbacks to the past and the evening when Katherine's sister was killed. Again, this information is trickled in slowly to the reader and while you know the eventual outcome quite early on, you have no idea what happened and why Katherine feels so much guilt. We're also served with glimpses of the future, five years after the story is set. I found this style fascinating as it added to the intrigue, creating even more questions I was desperate to know the answers to. It astonishes me how James has created so many dimensions and layers of past, present and future and manages to weave them all up together perfectly. I think it's also a great achievement and testament to how well executed this novel is, that there's absolutely no confusion or disruption to the story, it flows beautifully and is constantly suspenseful and intriguing.
While Beautiful Malice could be considered a book aimed at Young adults, because of the main protagonists age, I think this book is one that has a huge crossover appeal and will be appreciated by anyone who enjoys a very good psychological thriller (I'm not sure it's being marketed as a YA novel in the UK as I found it amongst the adult fiction in our local bookstore) In fact, I'd go as far to say that it probably isn't that well suited to a younger audience at all. There's some very disturbing scenes throughout the book, often quite graphic and I found myself shocked at times. I also felt that the characters seem very mature for their age, and most of the time I forgot they were teenagers. 99% of the book is set away from a school setting, which is really only used to introduce Katherine and Alice, and if I didn't actually know their ages I may have presumed them to be in their early twenties. For these reasons I'd be cautious about recommending this book to a younger teen reader and would urge those who wouldn't usually consider this book because of the characters ages and setting to put aside any misgivings and give this a try.
Beautiful Malice lived up to my expectations and more. Once I started this book I didn't want to put it down and not once in it's 350 pages did I become bored. The writing is beautifully descriptive, creating suspense and tension in the subtlest way then completely hitting you when you least expect it. The book leaves you with a lot to think about; how much responsibility should we take for others actions, how we must live with our choices even when we feel they're the wrong one's and how no matter how well we think we know someone, chances are we don't know anything. There's also some incredibly touching and beautiful scenes that had tears rolling down my face and a sense that despite everything, there's always a place for hope and love. With a debut like this, I can't wait to read more from Rebecca James. Highly recommended.
At moments I was thoroughly intrigued by and engrossed in this book. At other times I was confused and bewildered by the actions of the characters and was unsure I'd pick it back up after putting it down. The beginning is strong, and the end was as well when I got to it, but in the middle, for me personally, it floundered a bit. I appreciated some things very much. Rebecca James doesn't unnecessarily fabricate drama or draw things out with misunderstandings taken too far. The three threads of the story, Katherine's life the night of her sister's murder, her life with Alice, and her life with Sarah, are well balanced. It's not something I regret reading, but it's also not something I feel so strongly about that I'll push it on (or away from) my friends.
For some odd unknown reason, I keep picking up these heart-wrenching, engaging and emotionally charged novels that leave my sobbing, clutching a pot of ice cream and wondering why the world hates me so much.
After the murder of her sister, Katherine Patterson moves in with her aunt Vivien, far away from her family and childhood home. She meets the charming, beguiling, eccentric Alice and immediately things begin to go back to normal for Katherine. She feels alive, wanted and loved. But little did she know that things were going to get bad very, very soon.
Just the blurb had me grasping for more, and within two pages I was completely entranced, so much so that I began reading this book at 6:30 this morning (2/1/2014) and finished it this evening at 19:30 (2/1/2014). Yep. After 13 hours, far too many coffees and cigarettes, torn up tissues and ugly sobs, I am proud to say I finished it.
Although it might not appeal to everyone, I definitely recommend it to everyone. The unbelievable twists, the agonising cruelty of the world through the eyes of a seventeen year old and a life full of obstacles that seem impossible to overcome, you live and breathe the story just like Katherine does. You feel, you cry and laugh along with her and yeah, sometimes you get angry, annoyed maybe even violent towards those who cause her pain, and yeah at the end you're left empty and emotionless like you might feel after a crazily emotional ride, but it's worth it. The tubs of ice cream, hysteria inducing coffees and boxes of tissues are WORTH IT.
So please, even if you think or know you won't like it, give it a shot.
Because chances are, you're wrong.
After the murder of her sister, Katherine Patterson moves in with her aunt Vivien, far away from her family and childhood home. She meets the charming, beguiling, eccentric Alice and immediately things begin to go back to normal for Katherine. She feels alive, wanted and loved. But little did she know that things were going to get bad very, very soon.
Just the blurb had me grasping for more, and within two pages I was completely entranced, so much so that I began reading this book at 6:30 this morning (2/1/2014) and finished it this evening at 19:30 (2/1/2014). Yep. After 13 hours, far too many coffees and cigarettes, torn up tissues and ugly sobs, I am proud to say I finished it.
Although it might not appeal to everyone, I definitely recommend it to everyone. The unbelievable twists, the agonising cruelty of the world through the eyes of a seventeen year old and a life full of obstacles that seem impossible to overcome, you live and breathe the story just like Katherine does. You feel, you cry and laugh along with her and yeah, sometimes you get angry, annoyed maybe even violent towards those who cause her pain, and yeah at the end you're left empty and emotionless like you might feel after a crazily emotional ride, but it's worth it. The tubs of ice cream, hysteria inducing coffees and boxes of tissues are WORTH IT.
So please, even if you think or know you won't like it, give it a shot.
Because chances are, you're wrong.
I've loved this book ever since I first read it 3 years ago. I borrowed it from my school library and once I started reading it I just didn't want to put it down. Of course though I had commitments with school and such but any chance I got I was reading this book. I found it so intriguing and loved all the little plot twists it featured. I loved how it was from the point of view of a woman who had grown and moved on with her life even after some really terrible things happened to her. It feels real to like you're actually their witnessing these things. I finally bought this book about a month ago and once I finish reading the few books I'm currently on I definitely gonna give this another go. This story has stuck with me since reading it the first time and I feel as if it's one of those books that will be in my head for a long time. One of my favourite books ever.
Read twice.
Read twice.