Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

The Letting Go by Deborah Markus

1 review

egurgens's review

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challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I didn't know what to expect going into this book, but it definitely delivered. Main character Emily has experienced the murder of anyone she gets close to, until she learned the 'rules'. She found her mother, at age 4, brutally chopped to pieces. Later, her dad was also murdered. Her best friend when she was 8, also killed. The pet dog that kept her company with her awful aunt: horrendously butchered. She learned that no one and nothing she loves is safe, so she learns how to lock herself away and let no one close. She becomes mean, sarcastic, and rude enough that no one ever wants to be her friend again. At least, until she meets M. M is just as sarcastic and rude, and very direct in her intent to become friends with the school's bitch. Hawthorne is a school for women who want to focus on their talents before going to college: art, poetry, theater, etc. It's a small school, so avoiding M is difficult for Emily. As much as Emily tries to drive M away, the more insistent M becomes at trying to befriend the snarky loner. The problem is, anyone who gets close to Emily gets murdered. A diary style novel, Emily tries to deal with growing affection for M, along with the guilt of being the 'cause' of so many deaths. Will she let her feelings overcome the rules she has set for herself? Will the murderer ever be found? The answer comes in the final third of the book. 
This book tends to focus mostly on Emily and her obsession with Emily Dickinson, as well as her guilt, loneliness, and desperate attempts to keep those around her safe from the murderer haunting her. What happens when one stubborn girl refuses to be driven away? What lengths will Emily go to in order to keep those around her safe? And why was a random man murdered, dragged, and left in front of her boarding school? She has no connection to him, is it just a coincidence? Or is it a reminder? 
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