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rajs's review against another edition
3.0
Um, this book was OK. It's not her best book, but at least it's not her worst.
tabibuch's review against another edition
4.0
I'm kind of disappointed by the end of it all because I'm used to Gillian Flynn's amazing plot twists, but at the same time I couldn't put it down till the end!
sushcore's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
magnolia4039's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
This book was definitely not as good as ‘Sharp Objects’ but I do tend to favour literary fiction. Libby went on this whole self-actualization mystery solving adventure and it sure was a depressing reality she found. I didn’t feel that there was anything exactly exceptional about this book, just a Satanic Panic read that’s pretty accurate for the fear mongering problem it was in the 1980’s. The gore in this book was worse than ‘Sharp Objects’ that’s for sure. The cow scene was particularly unnerving because it ended on a cliffhanger and then you didn’t find out if Ben actually did all that until a few chapters on. I didn’t find the relationships in this novel were as impactful as ‘Sharp Objects’ And that was a disappointment to me. I’ll try ‘Gone Girl’ And see if it lives up to the hype.
vadslittlecrow's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
𝔰𝔶𝔫𝔬𝔭𝔰𝔦𝔰 ☆—
Libby Day, who testified against her brother for their family's murder at age seven, starts questioning his guilt 24 years later when a group convinces her to dig into the past, uncovering hidden and dark secrets along the way.
𝔭𝔩𝔬𝔱 ☆—
Majorly character driven, written in multiple POVs. I definitely loved this more than “Sharp Objects”, which made me put off this book for a while. However, I was glad I gave her another chance with this one because I really liked it. It may be due to my fondness for cultish elements, but it also has a more interesting plot. The pace for me is medium? Some parts can feel a little draggy and slow, but I have learned that maybe that is just the way Miss Flynn writes. She likes to take time to build up her story which can be a hit or miss moment because sometimes it’s “draggy” that it leaves you on edge and just yearn for more which is a good thing. FOR EXAMPLE, THE FEW CHAPTERS LEADING TO THE REVEAL GOT ME GRIPPING MY HAIR OUT. ONE. BY. ONE. I can’t with chapter cliffhangers they stress me out (I love them). Whereas if it’s “boring-draggy”, it can be a little unpleasant because the pace slows down at that point and you just want it to end. There are some parts in this book that I find unnecessary, like the club. I know it was the reason this whole book is even started, but it could’ve been done in many other ways because we didn’t even get to dive into the club which would make the story more interesting, but at some points while reading this book, I forget about the club until they mention it once in a while, so that’s just my complaint. Talking about complaints, I have another one. I didn’t like the twist. I just wish it was someone important that we did NOT expect to do it. That person is almost like a nobody or like the explanation was only brief, so that twist was a bit of a turn off. Anyway, this book is also surprisingly emotional, especially the name list part and the last few chapters. Family bonding or found family is my weakness, and maybe this is also the reason I really like this book.
𝔠𝔥𝔞𝔯𝔞𝔠𝔱𝔢𝔯 ☆—
The characters in this book are very unreliable, even the MC, which is very cool to me. I do find some of them lack in depth and development though. They are also kind of 2 dimensional and lifeless. We get to go back in time and see what happened on that night from different POVs, but I wish there were also backgrounds in terms of the characters’ personalities and emotions instead of just their behaviours and their reactions during that night. To add on to that, I also wanted some more of Lyle's character, which in this book seemed like he’s just like a puppy following and driving Libby, our mc, around. We got like one specific event in his life that made him interested in Libby’s case, and that was about it, which to me, makes his character pointless?
𝔴𝔯𝔦𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔤 ☆—
One thing I knew, found out, and sure about Gillian Flynn is that she really likes b**bies. It’s apparent in the writing like the amount of times we talk about breasts is questionable to me. There were more in Sharp Objects. That book made me uncomfortable because we were talking about minor’s breasts, describing and “admiring” them, MILLIONS of times… Anyway, in this book, some moments didn’t even make sense like there was this one scene where Libby was hugging someone and the author wrote this (kinda), “her bone poking in my breast”, like huh. Anyway, there was a lot of talking about breasts, even with minor characters which makes me uncomfortable sometimes when she describes it sensually (?). So, this is to say I don’t really like Gillian Flynn’s writing. It’s not that I hate it, I just don’t prefer it. She knows how to hook the readers to want to know the story, I admit that, but sometimes it makes me uncomfortable. Not by the scenes, but by the way she writes because sometimes I be thinking “Is this okay…?”, so to me her writing is okay.
𝔰𝔲𝔪𝔪𝔞𝔯𝔶/𝔠𝔬𝔫𝔠𝔩𝔲𝔰𝔦𝔬𝔫 ☆—
I loved this book regardless. Just wish it didn’t take that turn, and more development and suspense to make it a more fun and thrilling book.
Libby Day, who testified against her brother for their family's murder at age seven, starts questioning his guilt 24 years later when a group convinces her to dig into the past, uncovering hidden and dark secrets along the way.
𝔭𝔩𝔬𝔱 ☆—
Majorly character driven, written in multiple POVs. I definitely loved this more than “Sharp Objects”, which made me put off this book for a while. However, I was glad I gave her another chance with this one because I really liked it. It may be due to my fondness for cultish elements, but it also has a more interesting plot. The pace for me is medium? Some parts can feel a little draggy and slow, but I have learned that maybe that is just the way Miss Flynn writes. She likes to take time to build up her story which can be a hit or miss moment because sometimes it’s “draggy” that it leaves you on edge and just yearn for more which is a good thing. FOR EXAMPLE, THE FEW CHAPTERS LEADING TO THE REVEAL GOT ME GRIPPING MY HAIR OUT. ONE. BY. ONE. I can’t with chapter cliffhangers they stress me out (I love them). Whereas if it’s “boring-draggy”, it can be a little unpleasant because the pace slows down at that point and you just want it to end. There are some parts in this book that I find unnecessary, like the club. I know it was the reason this whole book is even started, but it could’ve been done in many other ways because we didn’t even get to dive into the club which would make the story more interesting, but at some points while reading this book, I forget about the club until they mention it once in a while, so that’s just my complaint. Talking about complaints, I have another one. I didn’t like the twist. I just wish it was someone important that we did NOT expect to do it. That person is almost like a nobody or like the explanation was only brief, so that twist was a bit of a turn off. Anyway, this book is also surprisingly emotional, especially the name list part and the last few chapters. Family bonding or found family is my weakness, and maybe this is also the reason I really like this book.
𝔠𝔥𝔞𝔯𝔞𝔠𝔱𝔢𝔯 ☆—
The characters in this book are very unreliable, even the MC, which is very cool to me. I do find some of them lack in depth and development though. They are also kind of 2 dimensional and lifeless. We get to go back in time and see what happened on that night from different POVs, but I wish there were also backgrounds in terms of the characters’ personalities and emotions instead of just their behaviours and their reactions during that night. To add on to that, I also wanted some more of Lyle's character, which in this book seemed like he’s just like a puppy following and driving Libby, our mc, around. We got like one specific event in his life that made him interested in Libby’s case, and that was about it, which to me, makes his character pointless?
𝔴𝔯𝔦𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔤 ☆—
One thing I knew, found out, and sure about Gillian Flynn is that she really likes b**bies. It’s apparent in the writing like the amount of times we talk about breasts is questionable to me. There were more in Sharp Objects. That book made me uncomfortable because we were talking about minor’s breasts, describing and “admiring” them, MILLIONS of times… Anyway, in this book, some moments didn’t even make sense like there was this one scene where Libby was hugging someone and the author wrote this (kinda), “her bone poking in my breast”, like huh. Anyway, there was a lot of talking about breasts, even with minor characters which makes me uncomfortable sometimes when she describes it sensually (?). So, this is to say I don’t really like Gillian Flynn’s writing. It’s not that I hate it, I just don’t prefer it. She knows how to hook the readers to want to know the story, I admit that, but sometimes it makes me uncomfortable. Not by the scenes, but by the way she writes because sometimes I be thinking “Is this okay…?”, so to me her writing is okay.
𝔰𝔲𝔪𝔪𝔞𝔯𝔶/𝔠𝔬𝔫𝔠𝔩𝔲𝔰𝔦𝔬𝔫 ☆—
I loved this book regardless. Just wish it didn’t take that turn, and more development and suspense to make it a more fun and thrilling book.
maggiedoodlez's review against another edition
4.0
Well, that was disturbing. Good mystery but perhaps more than I bargained for. I did solve it in the layers it was presented in which was fun.
emmabeckman's review against another edition
1.0
For once, I don't really want to give a rant review for a book I really disliked. Usually, I don't really need to LIKE characters, per se, but I guess I do need to have some level of sympathy for them and their situation, or at LEAST an interest in what they're going to do.
Yes, I hated every character, but I think you're supposed to, so I'm not mad about that. But I couldn't sympathize with anyone's rationale. I understood why they chose to do things, but no one ever gained anything from those decisions and never learned why they should have made other decisions and I just don't care about people being idiots for 350 pages and never growing as people.
Also nothing happened in this book. And yet it still managed to be super gross and not a great time to read. There were way too many clues about what really happened throughout the book, like REALLY obvious ones. So.... soz about that.
Ugh I'm not sure if that review made sense. But really. I DON'T have to LIKE a character, but I have to be INTERESTED in what they're doing and I really wasn't.
ALSO. The most interesting part to read was the "past" sections and they were still not really that great.
Edited to add: this review sums up most of my complaints about the book (contains spoilers).
Yes, I hated every character, but I think you're supposed to, so I'm not mad about that. But I couldn't sympathize with anyone's rationale. I understood why they chose to do things, but no one ever gained anything from those decisions and never learned why they should have made other decisions and I just don't care about people being idiots for 350 pages and never growing as people.
Also nothing happened in this book. And yet it still managed to be super gross and not a great time to read. There were way too many clues about what really happened throughout the book, like REALLY obvious ones. So.... soz about that.
Ugh I'm not sure if that review made sense. But really. I DON'T have to LIKE a character, but I have to be INTERESTED in what they're doing and I really wasn't.
ALSO. The most interesting part to read was the "past" sections and they were still not really that great.
Edited to add: this review sums up most of my complaints about the book (contains spoilers).
adinadwd's review against another edition
2.0
Flop ending which didn't make sense to me in regards to the character.
br1sr3alm's review against another edition
4.0
Color me a fan of Flynn. Discovering that this will be a movie in the fall of 2014 w/ Nicholas Hoult and Charlize Theron, I had to seek it out since I enjoyed Gone Girl. While Gone Girl drove me a bit batty with the characters I just wanted to punch, this story kept driving me to the end, knowing it's a less complex plot than Girl but no less intriguing in its plot turns as it's more of a whodunit years later than a character study. I look forward to reading Sharp Objects.
danimran53's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75