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colourado's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Antisemitism, Genocide, Gun violence, Rape, Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, and War
lampbee's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I like her books. Ghost mysteries sound stupid on paper but the way she does them makes them entertaining :) It wrapped up so well in a way I wasn’t necessarily expecting but one that was satisfying. Vivid imagery and solid characterization of what a girls school is like.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, Violence, Hate crime, Murder, Death, Child death, Torture, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Police brutality, Addiction, Antisemitism, Genocide, and War
Obviously a lot of the book centers around how one of the school girlsfatimaelf's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
This book was devastatingly sad. There’s no getting around the fact that it centers around two murdered girls: one from the 50s, and one from the 90s. To be honest, for much of the book I was far more interested in the flashback period, where the book focused on the boarding school and the four girls’ relationship within it. The boarding school enduring what they believed to be persistent haunting, the generations of girls passing wisdom to each other in their textbooks, the delinquent students clashing with each other while only having each other to rely on — this was far more compelling for much of the book than the return to modern times. Fiona’s story really only became interesting about halfway through, because though she purportedly had a purpose (to find out what really happened to her sister, and to figure out why someone was restoring the grounds upon which her body was found), the purpose seemed non-urgent considering her sister’s murderer was in prison, and there didn’t seem to be much of a story behind the school’s restoration. Once the book picked up, though, it really did pick up. I liked the mystery surrounding Mary Hand, the ghost — the question of how real she was, what she could really do. Mary Hand’s story ended up being fairly banal: a girl birthing a supposed stillborn child out of wedlock, accusing her parents of murdering the baby, then being locked out in the cold to her death. I suppose, though, that the ordinariness of the story is the point. Too many girls had their stories end that way, their anger so great it seems impossible death would defeat it. And in fact, in many ways, death didn’t defeat these girls’ fury. Not in 1950, not in 2014, and not in the 19th century, when Mary Hand died. I liked the twist at the end, that the ghost wasn’t doing any of the killing, but if you saw her coming for you, her face masked the real killer’s. The addition of the Holocaust was unexpected but done very well, as was the handling of the police force. Initially I thought the book would be copaganda, since Fiona’s partner Jamie was part of the police department, but it became very realistic very fast by exposing the corruption of many small town (and even big city) law enforcement agencies. Beyond that, though, it truly is a sad read. It’s always incredible to think about how one decision begins a cascade of others that may result in tragedy. If Sonia hadn’t gone to her great-aunt and great-uncle’s house, if she hadn’t left early, if she hadn’t changed her ticket at the travel agency…if Helen had told more people about Tim, if Deb hadn’t gone in his car, if someone had spoken up, or done something; if powerful people weren’t granted special immunity, if terrible people weren’t allowed to go into hiding. A series of events, entirely preventable, somewhat coincidental, that hurt so many and shaped so many lives. Because of its thought-provoking nature and despite its sadness, I think the book is worth reading, and probably in the future I’ll go back and reread it to catch the little things I know that I missed.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Murder, and Suicide attempt
Minor: War, Sexual assault, and Domestic abuse
ajay913's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, and Antisemitism
Minor: War and Addiction
rae_em's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder and Violence
Minor: War, Rape, and Child death
mariaologist's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Xenophobia, and Religious bigotry
minimicropup's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Articulate. Enduring. Reserved.
🇺🇸🏫 Set in Vermont, USA. Mainly at the site of an all-girls boarding school (the kind where teen girls are sent when they aren’t wanted by their families or have no caregivers)
POVs: Third person. We follow the experiences and perspectives of four girls at an all-girl’s boarding school in the 1950s. We also see the past in the context of what is occurring in 2014, where our contemporary MC is a journalist wanting to dig deeper into the history of the site of the abandoned boarding school where their sister was found murdered.
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🐺Growls, Howls, and Tail Wags🐕
😢👍 This felt like a hyper-realistic story, almost a fictionalized re-telling of a true story. We get lots of small suspenseful and mysterious subplots that ultimately connect but not in a way that felt fictional if that makes sense?
😃 The writing is atmospheric, sensory, and observational. With the third person focused omniscient narration style we are able to understand what various MCs think and what shapes their views and motivations without baiting, omission, or over-explaining.
🫶 There are a lot of characters and that can be difficult for audio-only. I didn't have an issue keeping track because the writing style introduces us to them by weaving their traits into the story naturally, so I didn't feel like I had to take notes just to remember who was who. The layout of the boarding school and surrounding sites both in the 1950s and after it was abandoned was similarly woven in the story so I had no trouble imagining everything and situating the characters. Plus with this style of writing, you probably won't feel bogged down in details if you aren't an imaginations reader.
🫶 Reveals are paired with the creation of new mysteries in both timelines. We know who was killed early on for both times, so the suspense and mystery is how did it happen and who did it? Fiona is a journalist and her boyfriend is a police officer, and when she gains access to evidence, it feels like we are learning and investigating alongside her. Reading the past timelines adds context to what we just learned through Fiona's investigation.
🤔 I generally don't vibe with historical fiction (hard for me to connect to story sometimes) and I dislike war themes (too terrifying). Although both were present in this story, it was done in a way that didn't feel like a gratuitous heartstring-tug terror element. It felt like an important part of the story and was included in a respectful way that helps the reader understand how it affected lives beyond the obvious horrors.
😳 Near the end I started losing interest as past and present collided and the characters discussed their views while planning where to go from here. It wasn't drawn out necessarily, and we get answers and even some justice at the conclusion. I think I was just ready to move on to my next read, while happy with this one. I may be too used to ambiguous or abrupt endings to appreciate the more well-rounded ones.
🫤 I was annoyed by Fiona and her boyfriend in this first half or so of the story. While they were making googly-eyes at each other I wanted to get on with the 1950s timeline and what happened to the girls. I am not a huge fictional romance fan though, so it may be a me thing.
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🎙️ Narration was good except that all the male voices sounded croaky and kind of reminded me of old timey chain-smoking villains.
Mood Reading Match Up:
- Historical fiction coming-of-age friendship-by-proximity
- Puzzles and clues via investigative journalism of true crime type missing and murdered girls
- Touches of dark academia from abandoned boarding school paranormal horrors
- Can-they-make-it-work, lovers-to, touch of forbidden romance
- Interwoven themes of found family, teen friendship, convention and rebellion, morality, justice, courage, and tragedy
Content Heads-Up: Loss of a sibling. Parental rejection. Loss of family. War (recalled/memories; Nazi concentration camp, war crimes, prejudice and persecution). PTSD. Suicide attempt. Murder. Attempted murder. Sexual content (consenting). Corruption, abuse of power (law enforcement, institutional). Child abuse. Loss of a child.
Format: Library Audio via Libby
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Abandonment, Child abuse, and Death
Minor: Suicide attempt, Child death, Mental illness, Sexual content, and War
dalek_caan's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I found the plot of this book to be really well executed. I did not expect that it would have quite so many layers as it did, I really enjoyed this author's method of storytelling.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Murder, Sexual assault, Police brutality, Confinement, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Antisemitism, Gun violence, Child abuse, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, and Mental illness
Minor: War and Violence
hmstumfoll's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book started out slow for me but once the story went on it was a good read. A mystery with a misguided group of previous boarding school girls looking for justice for their murdered friend.
Content Warnings
Moderate: War, Genocide, Child death, Suicide attempt, and Rape
aliteracja's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Murder, Grief, Death, Child death, and War
Minor: Antisemitism and Suicide attempt