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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
See the thing with discovering a new-found affection with a particular genre, every book is just as awesome as the last. Moreover, for a sloth reader like me, to finish a book in 4 days just tells you this is, indeed, such a compelling read that for some of you will probably breeze through in one sitting.
So the storyline follows a 6-year-old girl that was kidnapped on her way to a friend's house for a play date. Her family is expectedly devastated but seems to have managed to live through their loss, until that one faithful day, 12 years after, Jenny Kristal miraculously came back.
I really love the premise of the story and enjoyed reading it. It's the kind of book you'll certainly latch onto because you've just got to find out how it ends. I love how the protagonist was redeemed towards the end coz' to be honest, despite of what she has gone through, I had a bit of a hard time liking her character initially for some reason. The last sentence in the book, albeit short and sweet, almost made me shed a tear. On the other hand, trigger warnings of child abuse and rape remain to be an excruciating theme for me to fathom.
Definitely worth squeezing in your summer reading pile for an awesome thriller read or to just simply break a slump perhaps.
*4.25*
So the storyline follows a 6-year-old girl that was kidnapped on her way to a friend's house for a play date. Her family is expectedly devastated but seems to have managed to live through their loss, until that one faithful day, 12 years after, Jenny Kristal miraculously came back.
I really love the premise of the story and enjoyed reading it. It's the kind of book you'll certainly latch onto because you've just got to find out how it ends. I love how the protagonist was redeemed towards the end coz' to be honest, despite of what she has gone through, I had a bit of a hard time liking her character initially for some reason. The last sentence in the book, albeit short and sweet, almost made me shed a tear. On the other hand, trigger warnings of child abuse and rape remain to be an excruciating theme for me to fathom.
Definitely worth squeezing in your summer reading pile for an awesome thriller read or to just simply break a slump perhaps.
*4.25*
Wow. This book is incredible! The twists just keep on coming. I literally flew through the whole book in one day. It had me hooked. In Safe, we learn about the miraculous return of Jenny, who disappeared off the face of the earth 12 years ago, when she was only 6 years old. Now she has finally been reunited with her family, and everything is sunshine and roses. Or is it? There are some unanswered questions about Jenny's ordeal, and there may be more than one skeleton in the closet. The tension just kept on building every page, and I think I said "wtf" and "omg" out loud more than once. I loved the depths of human depravity that was explored in this crackling, electrifying thrill ride. I definitely could not have predicted how things turned out. If you've been hungering for a good psychological suspense novel, definitely give Safe a read. You won't regret it!
4.5 stars
I was provided a review copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
Thank you to Dutton and Netgalley
4.5 stars
I was provided a review copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
Thank you to Dutton and Netgalley
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Minor: Child abuse, Rape
mysterious
medium-paced
I guessed what was gonna happen at the start but THAT WAS NOT THE FIRST PLOT TWIST. I feel like the author wants you to know the big plot twist just so he can hit you with those other plot twists and blow your mind
it was a very fast paced story and I enjoyed reading it a lot but it didn't do all that for me, this is just an average mystery thriller.
it was a very fast paced story and I enjoyed reading it a lot but it didn't do all that for me, this is just an average mystery thriller.
when i started this book, i thought i had it all figured out. girl goes missing and comes home twelve years later. i don’t know how many times i’ve read that plot. she’s either really messed up from her time gone or she’s a fake. too easy to even bother. i thought, why am i reading this? i guess i just wanted to know what happened before she came back.
but, friends, this is a completely different book.
i can’t tell you too much about what happens to make it different, but i can tell you that the writing is taut and it makes it hard to put the book down. it causes that certain anxiety in the pit of your stomach that good thrillers pull off. the edge of your seat suspense, the what the heck is going to happen? what has happened? it’s the kind of thriller i crave.
it took me a few days to read, but it still seemed to read really quickly. i think that if i were avoiding instagram more and i picked it up in the afternoon instead of at night, i would have finished it much faster. honestly, i didn’t want it to end. there aren’t really any likable characters. there’s one part where jenny fat shames an old friend in her head and i don’t even understand why that had to be part of the story. so she was definitely not my favorite main character. but everything else that happens is so gripping, it’s impossible to just push aside because of triggers (for some, anyway).
it’s a dark and disturbing book but i feel like the tension and suspense was worth it. it was an excellent thriller and take on something i thought had been done enough.
trigger warnings: abuse, drugs, the r word, mental illness, fatphobia, prejudice, body shaming, rape/sexual assault of a minor. *i realize that the r word was spoken at the time that it was a typical word for kids to use. but still.
but, friends, this is a completely different book.
i can’t tell you too much about what happens to make it different, but i can tell you that the writing is taut and it makes it hard to put the book down. it causes that certain anxiety in the pit of your stomach that good thrillers pull off. the edge of your seat suspense, the what the heck is going to happen? what has happened? it’s the kind of thriller i crave.
it took me a few days to read, but it still seemed to read really quickly. i think that if i were avoiding instagram more and i picked it up in the afternoon instead of at night, i would have finished it much faster. honestly, i didn’t want it to end. there aren’t really any likable characters. there’s one part where jenny fat shames an old friend in her head and i don’t even understand why that had to be part of the story. so she was definitely not my favorite main character. but everything else that happens is so gripping, it’s impossible to just push aside because of triggers (for some, anyway).
it’s a dark and disturbing book but i feel like the tension and suspense was worth it. it was an excellent thriller and take on something i thought had been done enough.
trigger warnings: abuse, drugs, the r word, mental illness, fatphobia, prejudice, body shaming, rape/sexual assault of a minor. *i realize that the r word was spoken at the time that it was a typical word for kids to use. but still.
A really great and imaginative story line with lots of twists and turns. A quick read, but an very engrossing one. I did at times struggle to keep up with different characters coming and going.
There has been a lot of hype surrounding [b:Safe|51591889|Safe|S.K. Barnett|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1571128344l/51591889._SY75_.jpg|73394592] by [a:S.K. Barnett|19639430|S.K. Barnett|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1585322091p2/19639430.jpg] and now I can tell you I see why! It has a relatively slow pace which at first I wasn't excited about, but it definitely makes up for that at the end. I love the fact that this book has such a short synopsis, and this is truly a wonderful read to go into knowing very little, if anything at all. I got way more than I had bargained for which is one of the many things I loved about it. There are a few different viewpoints, but the majority of the story is told from Jenny's POV which is something I really appreciated. It also has lots of really short chapters which made it seem like it was going by really quickly despite the slower pace.
I also have to mention that there is some pretty disturbing content in Safe. A lot of it is alluded to for the most part, but at the end it gets a little more specific and could be a bit triggering for some people. None of it is graphic (at least I didn't think so) though so for the most part it would be considered to be pretty tame, at least to longtime thriller lovers and any Slaughter fans out there. This book is seriously unputdownable and I read it in the span of 2 days, I even found myself making time to read it because I had to know where the story was going. So if you start it at night, be prepared to want to stay up to the early hours to finish!
S.K. Barnett is a pseudonym for the author who also wrote the book [b:Derailed|314362|Derailed|James Siegel|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1173684161l/314362._SY75_.jpg|995] which was turned into a movie. I actually remember watching the movie and being completely shocked by it, and I didn't even realize it was by the same author until I started Safe. I was again completely shook, and the end of this book is CRAY. I never saw it coming and I am such a huge fan of Barnett now. I love when a new-to-me(ish in this case) author blows me away and makes me an instant fan and that is exactly what happened from reading this book. I don't want to give anything away, so I will just say that if you are a fan of slower paced thrillers with shocking endings Safe is going to be a must read! I can't wait for whatever this author writes next.
I also have to mention that there is some pretty disturbing content in Safe. A lot of it is alluded to for the most part, but at the end it gets a little more specific and could be a bit triggering for some people. None of it is graphic (at least I didn't think so) though so for the most part it would be considered to be pretty tame, at least to longtime thriller lovers and any Slaughter fans out there. This book is seriously unputdownable and I read it in the span of 2 days, I even found myself making time to read it because I had to know where the story was going. So if you start it at night, be prepared to want to stay up to the early hours to finish!
S.K. Barnett is a pseudonym for the author who also wrote the book [b:Derailed|314362|Derailed|James Siegel|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1173684161l/314362._SY75_.jpg|995] which was turned into a movie. I actually remember watching the movie and being completely shocked by it, and I didn't even realize it was by the same author until I started Safe. I was again completely shook, and the end of this book is CRAY. I never saw it coming and I am such a huge fan of Barnett now. I love when a new-to-me(ish in this case) author blows me away and makes me an instant fan and that is exactly what happened from reading this book. I don't want to give anything away, so I will just say that if you are a fan of slower paced thrillers with shocking endings Safe is going to be a must read! I can't wait for whatever this author writes next.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes