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3.3 AVERAGE
3.3 AVERAGE
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
25 years ago, three teenagers went up the mountain--two in their usual pattern, but this time one brings a girl. One boy leaves for a bit, and returns to find the girl tied to a tree, with the other boy shooting her repeatedly with a BB gun.
In the present day, the three are about to reunite, mostly by chance. They all hold secrets about that day. They all hold secrets about the present.
Dark and psychological, intricately plotted. Not as good as Black Chalk, but still engrossing--just not as thrilling a thriller. I'll be watching for his next book.
In the present day, the three are about to reunite, mostly by chance. They all hold secrets about that day. They all hold secrets about the present.
Dark and psychological, intricately plotted. Not as good as Black Chalk, but still engrossing--just not as thrilling a thriller. I'll be watching for his next book.
A solid 3.5. The alternating chapters move along both the 1982 plot line and the 2008 plot line in a way that makes it hard to say “I’ll take a break at the end of this chapter.” This is a great book to read in single weekend or on vacation; it’s a dark but quick and fairly gripping read. If you liked Black Chalk (I did), you’ll definitely enjoy Grist Mill Road.
All my reviews can be found at: http://jessicasreadingroom.com
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Grist Mill Road was a book that was not a good fit for me. The premise was strong and promised to be one I would not want to put down. In actuality, it was anything but that. I will try to review as best I can without giving away spoilers.
The opening shows the true horror of a crime that occurs that involves children. Remember this fact. Our protagonists Patch, Hannah, and Matthew are a young ‘twelve’, thirteen, and an ‘older’ fourteen years old. The crime is barbaric and it is described from the first line that you won’t forget.
There are two time periods in Grist Mill Road: 1982 and 2008.I found the 1982 time period more thought provoking than the 2008 time period. I also found myself losing interest in the middle of the novel. What kept me reading was wanting to find out the motive of this crime. The crime is a very heinous one and ultimately not forgivable. Yates tried to make us feel empathetic for the guilty party based on other things done to this person, but he was not successful. I understood the pain the person felt, but I felt no empathy. The crime is too extreme and there was nothing redeeming in this novel for me.
There are many themes including secrets and trust which becomes very important in 2008. I felt like I did not get to know Hannah well in her narrations as the main focus seemed to be her partner. I wanted to get to know more about Hannah.
The biggest difficulty for me with Grist Mill Road was the lack of quotation marks. They are not used in the entire book. This made it difficult to distinguish who was talking. It became distracting for me.
I wanted to like this book, but sadly this was not the case. I would like to thank the publisher Picador for my copy I was granted. I wish I could give a positive review. I would be willing to give Yates another chance and read his first novel Black Chalk.
I would like to say that I love the cover of Grist Mill Road! It is perfect for this novel. It is so simplistic, yet accomplishes what it needs.
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Grist Mill Road was a book that was not a good fit for me. The premise was strong and promised to be one I would not want to put down. In actuality, it was anything but that. I will try to review as best I can without giving away spoilers.
The opening shows the true horror of a crime that occurs that involves children. Remember this fact. Our protagonists Patch, Hannah, and Matthew are a young ‘twelve’, thirteen, and an ‘older’ fourteen years old. The crime is barbaric and it is described from the first line that you won’t forget.
There are two time periods in Grist Mill Road: 1982 and 2008.I found the 1982 time period more thought provoking than the 2008 time period. I also found myself losing interest in the middle of the novel. What kept me reading was wanting to find out the motive of this crime. The crime is a very heinous one and ultimately not forgivable. Yates tried to make us feel empathetic for the guilty party based on other things done to this person, but he was not successful. I understood the pain the person felt, but I felt no empathy. The crime is too extreme and there was nothing redeeming in this novel for me.
There are many themes including secrets and trust which becomes very important in 2008. I felt like I did not get to know Hannah well in her narrations as the main focus seemed to be her partner. I wanted to get to know more about Hannah.
The biggest difficulty for me with Grist Mill Road was the lack of quotation marks. They are not used in the entire book. This made it difficult to distinguish who was talking. It became distracting for me.
I wanted to like this book, but sadly this was not the case. I would like to thank the publisher Picador for my copy I was granted. I wish I could give a positive review. I would be willing to give Yates another chance and read his first novel Black Chalk.
I would like to say that I love the cover of Grist Mill Road! It is perfect for this novel. It is so simplistic, yet accomplishes what it needs.
Wow great book. Had me wondering what happened until the very end. Great writing with great characterization. My favorite read of 2018 so far.
I truly enjoyed this one: the story, the complex characters, the style. Looking forward to reading Christopher Yates' debut novel next.
In retrospect, I should note that I had to fast forward through the description of the cement factory and even Hannah's early blathering chapters.....
In retrospect, I should note that I had to fast forward through the description of the cement factory and even Hannah's early blathering chapters.....
Grist Mill Road was a book I had liked the look of on Netgalley so I was delighted to be approved to read it. It wasn’t what I was expecting, but I really enjoyed the change of pace with this one.
The book jumps back and forward in time between Patrick, Matthew and Hannah and recounts a terrible event in 1982 versus how they are living their respective lives twenty six years later.
Character is key with this one. Each character has their own stuff going on, and I liked how the author managed to give the reader little bits of information on each throughout the book without actually giving away too much. The three characters are well-developed too, and they all have their own unique voices. Their pasts are intricately linked, and the author does a great job of tying it all together.
This is less of a whodunnit and more of a whydunnit. The reader learns early on what happened, and then gets all sides of the story as the book progresses. It takes a bit of time to get there though, but ultimately, the journey is well worth it.
Grist Mill Road is more thoughtful than your usual crime thrillers. It’s not as punchy, and it focuses on character development more than the actual crime itself. I really enjoyed the story, not least because it was a welcome change of pace from the norm for me.
Recommended for sure!
The book jumps back and forward in time between Patrick, Matthew and Hannah and recounts a terrible event in 1982 versus how they are living their respective lives twenty six years later.
Character is key with this one. Each character has their own stuff going on, and I liked how the author managed to give the reader little bits of information on each throughout the book without actually giving away too much. The three characters are well-developed too, and they all have their own unique voices. Their pasts are intricately linked, and the author does a great job of tying it all together.
This is less of a whodunnit and more of a whydunnit. The reader learns early on what happened, and then gets all sides of the story as the book progresses. It takes a bit of time to get there though, but ultimately, the journey is well worth it.
Grist Mill Road is more thoughtful than your usual crime thrillers. It’s not as punchy, and it focuses on character development more than the actual crime itself. I really enjoyed the story, not least because it was a welcome change of pace from the norm for me.
Recommended for sure!
30 pages in and I already have to put this down.
The story began with an intriguing start but the rest of the pages slowly got filled with irrelevant information (IDGAF about Paddy's sous vide). The characters aren't very interesting and they're difficult to relate to. Although the book started with a gruesome scene, I had zero f*cks to give about their fate at the end of the novel.
The story began with an intriguing start but the rest of the pages slowly got filled with irrelevant information (IDGAF about Paddy's sous vide). The characters aren't very interesting and they're difficult to relate to. Although the book started with a gruesome scene, I had zero f*cks to give about their fate at the end of the novel.
dark
mysterious
tense
Yates’ debut novel, Black Chalk, was one of my favorite books of 2014 and I had high expectations for his sophomore effort. Though Grist Mill Road wasn’t perfect and I didn’t love it as much as Black Chalk, I couldn’t put it down. It’s the kind of book I could’ve read it in one sitting if I had the time. It’s part coming of age story (reminiscent of My Sunshine Away) and part psychological thriller, while managing to remain literary (well…until the overly thriller-y ending). The opening Prologue reveals the big “what” of the story and will take your breath away, but the intensity doesn’t let up as you start to learn the “how” and “why.” I do wish Matthew’s backstory had been introduced earlier in the book and that certain storylines hadn’t been told in letter format. Nevertheless, Grist Mill Road is a solid choice if you like dark, twisty, literary thrillers about extremely complicated friendships (a la If We Were Villains).
For more reviews, visit my blog: https://www.sarahsbookshelves.com
For more reviews, visit my blog: https://www.sarahsbookshelves.com