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ljbentley27's review
2.0
The Letting Go is a campus novel. Our protagonist, Emily, has an obsession with Emily Dickinson – who history has recorded as having an obsession with death – much like our protagonist, Emily. Confused?
I really thought I would enjoy The Letting Go. Yes, I bought it on the strength of the book cover – an act that has burned me many times before. However, the story is told in a really disorienting choppy way that made me feel like I couldn’t keep up with what was going on. When the main dramatic moments happened I was so lost and confused that I honestly thought I hav accidentally read ahead.
For a story which seemed to have a lot of potential…based on the cover…it had a really disappointing execution.
The Letting Go by Deborah Markus is available now.
I really thought I would enjoy The Letting Go. Yes, I bought it on the strength of the book cover – an act that has burned me many times before. However, the story is told in a really disorienting choppy way that made me feel like I couldn’t keep up with what was going on. When the main dramatic moments happened I was so lost and confused that I honestly thought I hav accidentally read ahead.
For a story which seemed to have a lot of potential…based on the cover…it had a really disappointing execution.
The Letting Go by Deborah Markus is available now.
mikaylaleigh13icloudcom's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
utopiastateofmind's review against another edition
4.0
(Disclaimer: I received this free book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
The ominous thriller tone is established from the very beginning. This undercurrent pulls you along the whole story, making you need to figure out who the killer is. The premise along gets you, but what ended up keeping me was the character of Emily. Emily is entirely intriguing because while the struggles of Emily are unique, the challenges she deals with are also universal - this fear of getting close to people. Emily is also a lesbian, which made for a very lovely surprise!
full review: https://utopia-state-of-mind.com/review-the-letting-go-by-deborah-markus/
The ominous thriller tone is established from the very beginning. This undercurrent pulls you along the whole story, making you need to figure out who the killer is. The premise along gets you, but what ended up keeping me was the character of Emily. Emily is entirely intriguing because while the struggles of Emily are unique, the challenges she deals with are also universal - this fear of getting close to people. Emily is also a lesbian, which made for a very lovely surprise!
full review: https://utopia-state-of-mind.com/review-the-letting-go-by-deborah-markus/
jennvreads's review against another edition
2.0
I had a real tough time with this book. It took me probably 25-30 pages to realize it was written in diary format, and it was extremely slow to get into otherwise. I was expecting suspense all the way through, and I just didn't get that. I also wish that I knew more about Emily's history from the beginning, because not knowing details made it difficult for me to like her as a character.
jeanp's review
4.0
The novel is written as Emily's diary, mostly in little shortish entries that begin with a line of poetry from Emily Dickinson. It can get really broken up, especially as Emily gets more distressed, so it's important to pay attention, but it's always possible to figure things out, even if it takes a little while. I was wondering how the mystery could possibly be resolved, and the suspense is pretty terrific, but it does become clear and has a satisfying conclusion. I thought it all came together really well. Markus is also just a good writer -- she's not clichéd or muddled or bland, but clear and thoughtful and just good to read, and the Emily Dickinson obsession is an integral part of the story, not tacked on. YA fans should pay attention.
majesdane's review
4.0
3.5 stars, rounded up.
I don't really know what to say about this. I enjoyed it, but I honestly can't say it left a huge impression on me. This book is part murder-mystery and I really didn't feel like that was wrapped up particularly well. The f/f romance (Emily is a lesbian) is okay, but there was something about it that I found kind of lacking; it just didn't have that spark.
The whole time reading this I couldn't help but think of that quote from Wide Sargasso Sea: "names are important". There was certainly a heavy emphasis on names in this book, what they mean to yourself/others and the power they can have.
I don't really know what to say about this. I enjoyed it, but I honestly can't say it left a huge impression on me. This book is part murder-mystery and I really didn't feel like that was wrapped up particularly well. The f/f romance (Emily is a lesbian) is okay, but there was something about it that I found kind of lacking; it just didn't have that spark.
The whole time reading this I couldn't help but think of that quote from Wide Sargasso Sea: "names are important". There was certainly a heavy emphasis on names in this book, what they mean to yourself/others and the power they can have.
thewckedpages's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
There are some small spoilers in this review but not enough for me to want to mark it as spoilers. Read at own risk!
This book was such a pleasant surprise for me. We all know I have a habit of not reading the synopsis of a book before I read therefore having no idea what I’m getting into while I’m reading. Personally, I kind of like it that way. I like the surprise and being able to try and guess what’s going on without having any prior information.
That wasn’t this case with this. I did read the synopsis! But its was wonderfully vague as to what happens in the book so I was still on the edge of my seat and basically begging for Emily’s secrets to be revealed as the book progressed.
I also loved that basically all the main characters of this book had the same name as me. Emilys united!
So this book is about a young girl whose parents are brutally murdered when she is just a little baby. She basically goes into what I think is witness protection and is moved around a lot throughout her child and teen years. Every person she gets close to gets killed at some point so she distances herself from everyone by being a complete and total bitch. She believes that it is her parent’s murderer that is following her and making sure she is never allowed to find friends or any kind of companionship.
I stan an unlikable female character. Especially when there is a backstory as to why they intentionally make themselves unlikable.
This book is also formatted to be Emily’s journal which made it a very personal read!
The setting for this book is this really cool school called Hawthrone and its basically a place were girls go to develop their specific passions. There is no forced learning and the girls can choose what they want to specialize in and focus their efforts on that. I love the open idea of learning that this presents. It seems to give the students the freedom to independently learn and learn in the ways that work best for them.
Emily has found a home here because it is secluded and she is mostly left to her own devices to continue her studies of Emily Dickinson and her poetry. I didn’t know much about Emily Dickinson before this, but I learned a few cool facts about her and her life which was really cool. Emily’s quiet, secluded safe places becomes less safe when someone is murdered in the woods on campus.
Emily thinks it is the same person that has been following her whole life and continues to push everyone farther away from her. Everyone is happy to oblige except a new girl named, M.
Her name is also Emily! This pleases me.
I had no idea going into this book that it had a F/F relationship. I started guessing about halfway through the book, I think, that it was going to end up that way and I was right. I loved the way it was done. Everything about the two characters getting together was so natural. There was no struggle to it. There was no judgement to it. Because it was an all girls school, the only mention of it even being a little bit different is when the head mistress said she had never had to enforce bedroom rules and things like that before. I loved it and it was very slow burn. It took them forever to act on these feelings because Emily refused to let anyone get close to her, no matter how much M seems to thwart her plans.
The end of this book had me on the edge of my seat. I honestly didn’t see it coming and I was kind of freaked out because I had just listened to a podcast that featured a similar real life case. I was fascinated by this plot twist though. I won’t spoil anything.
Please read this book. It’s a murder mystery/thriller with a F/F relationship that is slow burn. There is a little bit of an underlying theme of dark academia. I really enjoyed this book from how it was written to the plot twist at the end.
This book was such a pleasant surprise for me. We all know I have a habit of not reading the synopsis of a book before I read therefore having no idea what I’m getting into while I’m reading. Personally, I kind of like it that way. I like the surprise and being able to try and guess what’s going on without having any prior information.
That wasn’t this case with this. I did read the synopsis! But its was wonderfully vague as to what happens in the book so I was still on the edge of my seat and basically begging for Emily’s secrets to be revealed as the book progressed.
I also loved that basically all the main characters of this book had the same name as me. Emilys united!
So this book is about a young girl whose parents are brutally murdered when she is just a little baby. She basically goes into what I think is witness protection and is moved around a lot throughout her child and teen years. Every person she gets close to gets killed at some point so she distances herself from everyone by being a complete and total bitch. She believes that it is her parent’s murderer that is following her and making sure she is never allowed to find friends or any kind of companionship.
I stan an unlikable female character. Especially when there is a backstory as to why they intentionally make themselves unlikable.
This book is also formatted to be Emily’s journal which made it a very personal read!
The setting for this book is this really cool school called Hawthrone and its basically a place were girls go to develop their specific passions. There is no forced learning and the girls can choose what they want to specialize in and focus their efforts on that. I love the open idea of learning that this presents. It seems to give the students the freedom to independently learn and learn in the ways that work best for them.
Emily has found a home here because it is secluded and she is mostly left to her own devices to continue her studies of Emily Dickinson and her poetry. I didn’t know much about Emily Dickinson before this, but I learned a few cool facts about her and her life which was really cool. Emily’s quiet, secluded safe places becomes less safe when someone is murdered in the woods on campus.
Emily thinks it is the same person that has been following her whole life and continues to push everyone farther away from her. Everyone is happy to oblige except a new girl named, M.
Her name is also Emily! This pleases me.
I had no idea going into this book that it had a F/F relationship. I started guessing about halfway through the book, I think, that it was going to end up that way and I was right. I loved the way it was done. Everything about the two characters getting together was so natural. There was no struggle to it. There was no judgement to it. Because it was an all girls school, the only mention of it even being a little bit different is when the head mistress said she had never had to enforce bedroom rules and things like that before. I loved it and it was very slow burn. It took them forever to act on these feelings because Emily refused to let anyone get close to her, no matter how much M seems to thwart her plans.
The end of this book had me on the edge of my seat. I honestly didn’t see it coming and I was kind of freaked out because I had just listened to a podcast that featured a similar real life case. I was fascinated by this plot twist though. I won’t spoil anything.
Please read this book. It’s a murder mystery/thriller with a F/F relationship that is slow burn. There is a little bit of an underlying theme of dark academia. I really enjoyed this book from how it was written to the plot twist at the end.
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