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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
I liked it, but it took me an incredibly long time to get into it because it started off so slow. More complete review to come.
Full review:
After devouring Stevens' first two novels and being disappointed in her third, I find myself underwhelmed by this one. I think I liked it better than Always Watching, but I didn't like it anywhere near as much as her first two. Some spoilers to follow.
This book's biggest flaw is the main character, Toni. The book is told in alternating chapters, moving from Toni's experiences in high school to her adult struggles. Problem is, I could barely stomach the teenage Toni. She comes across as very whiny, and time and again my reaction was "DUH!" when she was wounded by the way the adults in her life treated her. Several of her classmates wage a Mean Girls-style campaign of bullying and harassment against her, but she doesn't tell an adult about it--with the exception of her confiding in her boss during one incident at the restaurant where she worked. She knows the other girls do a good job of conveying an image of themselves that masks their treatment of her, but she never stops to consider that maybe she ought to confide in her parents or a teacher or anyone about what the girls are up to. Meanwhile, Toni makes a lot of bad decisions and does a lot of stupid things teenagers are wont to due, but at every turn fails to realize that, because she comes across as irresponsible and immature, that's precisely how everyone sees her. Her lack of self-reflection really got to me. I had sympathy for her suffering at the hands of the vicious girl gang, but most of her problems were of her own making, and it made it difficult for me to really root for her.
When the book transitions to the adult Toni, however, I did feel more sympathy for her. She has undergone a lot of growth and change, and that made her easier to like. Her experiences in prison were very harrowing, and her post-prison struggles to make it inspired a lot of sympathy on my part. Stevens does a good job of showing how stacked the deck is against ex-cons, despite that they've paid their debt to society. That coupled with Toni's actual innocence raises an interesting fundamental question: how can we as a society ever hope to compensate the wrongly accused? Once society has taken away decades of a person's life and destroyed their reputation, is it even possible to somehow make up for that? While I'm certainly not advocating for a porous system that lets the guilty go free, this book does illuminate the importance of ensuring that the legal system strives to be as meticulous as possible in order to prevent the innocent from being imprisoned.
The book would have been much stronger had it focused on this aspect. Instead, the stark contrast between teenage Toni and adult Toni makes the book very uneven. Had Toni not come across as so self-indulgent as a teenager, I would have been left with a much different impression of the book. I'm not sure she was meant to be an entirely sympathetic character. If that is the case, inspiring a reader to root for an unsympathetic character is difficult to pull off, and it simply doesn't work in this book.
As for Ryan, there's not much to say about him. I neither liked nor disliked him. He comes from a difficult home life, which is supposed to make the reader feel sympathetic toward him, but he's also prone to making idiotic decisions. While I did appreciate that he was very sympathetic toward and supportive of Toni, I kept wishing he would have grown up and done something to make the adults around him see that he wasn't the loser they decided he was. Like Toni, he seems determined to do whatever he can to confirm people's bad opinions about him.
The mystery itself was interesting, and this is where Stevens shines. She has a knack for spinning convincing tales about the dark side of the human soul. The pacing of the revelations was good, and I was intrigued as layer after layer was peeled back and the truth was gradually revealed. I can't say the revelation entirely surprised me, but the book did grab me about halfway through, and I found myself turning pages, eager to know what was going to happen next.
At best, I'd say this book is a decent beach read, but if you're looking for a complex, well-structured mystery with compelling characters, I can't recommend this one. It has its merits, but I'm hoping Stevens' next effort will be better.
Full review:
After devouring Stevens' first two novels and being disappointed in her third, I find myself underwhelmed by this one. I think I liked it better than Always Watching, but I didn't like it anywhere near as much as her first two. Some spoilers to follow.
This book's biggest flaw is the main character, Toni. The book is told in alternating chapters, moving from Toni's experiences in high school to her adult struggles. Problem is, I could barely stomach the teenage Toni. She comes across as very whiny, and time and again my reaction was "DUH!" when she was wounded by the way the adults in her life treated her. Several of her classmates wage a Mean Girls-style campaign of bullying and harassment against her, but she doesn't tell an adult about it--with the exception of her confiding in her boss during one incident at the restaurant where she worked. She knows the other girls do a good job of conveying an image of themselves that masks their treatment of her, but she never stops to consider that maybe she ought to confide in her parents or a teacher or anyone about what the girls are up to. Meanwhile, Toni makes a lot of bad decisions and does a lot of stupid things teenagers are wont to due, but at every turn fails to realize that, because she comes across as irresponsible and immature, that's precisely how everyone sees her. Her lack of self-reflection really got to me. I had sympathy for her suffering at the hands of the vicious girl gang, but most of her problems were of her own making, and it made it difficult for me to really root for her.
When the book transitions to the adult Toni, however, I did feel more sympathy for her. She has undergone a lot of growth and change, and that made her easier to like. Her experiences in prison were very harrowing, and her post-prison struggles to make it inspired a lot of sympathy on my part. Stevens does a good job of showing how stacked the deck is against ex-cons, despite that they've paid their debt to society. That coupled with Toni's actual innocence raises an interesting fundamental question: how can we as a society ever hope to compensate the wrongly accused? Once society has taken away decades of a person's life and destroyed their reputation, is it even possible to somehow make up for that? While I'm certainly not advocating for a porous system that lets the guilty go free, this book does illuminate the importance of ensuring that the legal system strives to be as meticulous as possible in order to prevent the innocent from being imprisoned.
The book would have been much stronger had it focused on this aspect. Instead, the stark contrast between teenage Toni and adult Toni makes the book very uneven. Had Toni not come across as so self-indulgent as a teenager, I would have been left with a much different impression of the book. I'm not sure she was meant to be an entirely sympathetic character. If that is the case, inspiring a reader to root for an unsympathetic character is difficult to pull off, and it simply doesn't work in this book.
As for Ryan, there's not much to say about him. I neither liked nor disliked him. He comes from a difficult home life, which is supposed to make the reader feel sympathetic toward him, but he's also prone to making idiotic decisions. While I did appreciate that he was very sympathetic toward and supportive of Toni, I kept wishing he would have grown up and done something to make the adults around him see that he wasn't the loser they decided he was. Like Toni, he seems determined to do whatever he can to confirm people's bad opinions about him.
The mystery itself was interesting, and this is where Stevens shines. She has a knack for spinning convincing tales about the dark side of the human soul. The pacing of the revelations was good, and I was intrigued as layer after layer was peeled back and the truth was gradually revealed. I can't say the revelation entirely surprised me, but the book did grab me about halfway through, and I found myself turning pages, eager to know what was going to happen next.
At best, I'd say this book is a decent beach read, but if you're looking for a complex, well-structured mystery with compelling characters, I can't recommend this one. It has its merits, but I'm hoping Stevens' next effort will be better.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book is so upsetting. It greatly succeeded in making you upset for the main characters but seriously almost nothing went well for them and after completing it I'm still furious!
In general it felt like it took ages for all of the set up and I'm not sure if it was all necessary. Admittedly I had to stop reading it a few times simply because it upset me so much. Then to top it off I felt like it had nothing going for it until a little after halfway through.
The first half (and even part of the second) is basically how shitty this girls life is. How her mother doesn't stick up for her and how quick she is to not believe her. How her ex friends turned on her and make her life a living hell in any way they can. And the kicker is how she ended up in prison for a crime she didn't commit.
If you take away my anger towards the crappy stuff that happened to her... the book took too long to get to the actual story and then the ending was just a little too abrupt to be satisfying.
But it did a great job making me feel...
In general it felt like it took ages for all of the set up and I'm not sure if it was all necessary. Admittedly I had to stop reading it a few times simply because it upset me so much. Then to top it off I felt like it had nothing going for it until a little after halfway through.
The first half (and even part of the second) is basically how shitty this girls life is. How her mother doesn't stick up for her and how quick she is to not believe her. How her ex friends turned on her and make her life a living hell in any way they can. And the kicker is how she ended up in prison for a crime she didn't commit.
If you take away my anger towards the crappy stuff that happened to her... the book took too long to get to the actual story and then the ending was just a little too abrupt to be satisfying.
But it did a great job making me feel...
“want to go for a drive?” “where are we going?” “whereever we want” AAAAAAHHHHHHH!! i came for the mystery, but stayed for the crumbs of romance.
im so happy they can finally do whatever they want because after what went through THEY DESERVE IT.
i almost dnf’ed this but something told me to hold out and this turned into a pretty solid if completely predictable thriller. the first 30% was completely agonizing and any dialogue pretty much nonexistent. plus the three different timelines had me STRUGGGLING to keep up and i do not pick up these thrillers so i can grind like please save that for someone else
im so happy they can finally do whatever they want because after what went through THEY DESERVE IT.
i almost dnf’ed this but something told me to hold out and this turned into a pretty solid if completely predictable thriller. the first 30% was completely agonizing and any dialogue pretty much nonexistent. plus the three different timelines had me STRUGGGLING to keep up and i do not pick up these thrillers so i can grind like please save that for someone else
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
Wow. Just.....wow. Okay, I think I'm done with teenage books for awhile. Damn, those bitches be crazy!
As I sit here, reading chapter after chapter, and how things transpire from the time of the incident to the end, I gauge my feelings pretty close to what Toni experiences throughout the book. The anger, the loneliness, the fear, and downright survival instinct that naturally kicks in. This whole entire book evokes real, raw emotions.
So is it me, or is the Canadian justice system just blind and stupid?? Do the judges there just convict people purely on circumstantial evidence and hearsay?? I mean, really. No direct evidence, no "smoking gun." That part was a little farfetched, but I understand that the story would not have been without the conviction itself, along with the buildup of all the backstory involving Toni, her sister, and Shauna and her minions. And I don't know about any other mothers, but I was saddened and ashamed by the reaction of Toni's mom at the end. So unexpected, so unnecessary. I don't want to ruin anything, but it just goes to show how people deal with grief and loss so differently.
With a mild twist at the end, I really feel like Stevens has more stories out there that I'm just dying to sink my teeth into. A great thought-provoking book.
As I sit here, reading chapter after chapter, and how things transpire from the time of the incident to the end, I gauge my feelings pretty close to what Toni experiences throughout the book. The anger, the loneliness, the fear, and downright survival instinct that naturally kicks in. This whole entire book evokes real, raw emotions.
So is it me, or is the Canadian justice system just blind and stupid?? Do the judges there just convict people purely on circumstantial evidence and hearsay?? I mean, really. No direct evidence, no "smoking gun." That part was a little farfetched, but I understand that the story would not have been without the conviction itself, along with the buildup of all the backstory involving Toni, her sister, and Shauna and her minions. And I don't know about any other mothers, but I was saddened and ashamed by the reaction of Toni's mom at the end. So unexpected, so unnecessary. I don't want to ruin anything, but it just goes to show how people deal with grief and loss so differently.
With a mild twist at the end, I really feel like Stevens has more stories out there that I'm just dying to sink my teeth into. A great thought-provoking book.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Suspense and mystery and a love story all wrapped up in one!