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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
#BooklistQueenReadingChallenge2022 - With a Blue Cover
4,5⭐ Chi mi conosce almeno un po' sa che nel genere mystery thriller YA la Thomas è la mia autrice di fiducia.
Ha un dono: riesce a costruire il mistero facendo leva e carburante l'introspezione dei personaggi. Cosa veramente non da poco se messa a confronto con altri lavori nel genere.
Recensire un thriller non è mai facile perché avrei mille cose da raccontare e 900 di queste sarebbero spoiler.
Posso però dirvi che nonostante il ritmo lineare non potrete mettere giù il libro e ve lo dice una che se l'è finito in 3 ore
Ha un dono: riesce a costruire il mistero facendo leva e carburante l'introspezione dei personaggi. Cosa veramente non da poco se messa a confronto con altri lavori nel genere.
Recensire un thriller non è mai facile perché avrei mille cose da raccontare e 900 di queste sarebbero spoiler.
Posso però dirvi che nonostante il ritmo lineare non potrete mettere giù il libro e ve lo dice una che se l'è finito in 3 ore
mysterious
medium-paced
I really like The Cheerleaders, but this is definitely not for me at all.
TL;DR Review: A slow start that picks up into a suspenseful and shocking mystery thriller. A perfect balance between characters, setting, and mystery. The less you go in knowing, the better.
Content Warnings: Abuse (Emotional & Physical), Domestic Abuse, Child Abuse, Violence, Alcoholism, Drugs, Incest, PTSD, Depression, Memory Loss, Suicide (Mentioned), Mild Sexual Content.
“Whatever memories I have of Saturday don’t belong to me. They belong to some other girl, wandering a trail, bloodied and confused.”
Full Review - Contains Spoilers:
First off: Go in knowing as little as possible. Seriously, if you’ve read this far and think you’ll want to read this book, stop reading!
Are you gone? Only ones left finished the book? Fantastic!
This was my first time reading any of Thomas’s works and boy was it a thrill. The twists and turns? That ending? Holy smokes! When I first started reading, I honestly thought I wasn’t going to enjoy myself - I’m not super into relationship drama in my reading. It can bog down a book and I went right into this one for a mystery and nothing more. So when all we knew was the jealous, but quiet, resentment Claire felt for her best friends being a couple… I wasn’t thrilled.
It felt like a slow start, but by the end, I realized how absolutely necessary it was to tell this story. I pushed past it and within a few chapters I was on a fast paced and dangerous ride, thrilled and loving every second.
The way the story is told has you questioning everything and it becomes clear there is no one that can be trusted. There’s a motive for everything and even Claire cannot be sure she is innocent. It’s these thoughts that really drive the raw emotions of Claire’s journey. In turn, it’s also what makes you care so deeply for her and everyone involved - everyone is a suspect, but everyone is also a victim.
In the end, knowing that there was just the plot of some kids, thinking themselves trapped in a forbidden romance due to the classism and racism of Kat’s politically powerful grandmother… it makes the twist hit like a brick to the head. It shows something of family secrets and the hidden shame people hide for the sake of image. It could be forgiving - it could let Kat be right about her grandmother’s prejudices.
Instead it snaps even that away from her. It sends her down the dark path of learning that nothing was what it seemed and that she abandoned her life for a boy she really did not know. Jesse is willing to have Kat no matter what and he was willing to hide their familial relation to have what he wanted. It’s just another way that Kat’s life is out of her control. Another way that her grandmother’s need to protect her image harmed the family.
It’s honestly a fascinating story about what the privileged will hide from even those closest to them. Being truthful might save them heartache, but at the cost of their perfectly crafted image.
This is the book that sent me down the Kara Thomas rabbit hole - I absolutely could not get enough.
Content Warnings: Abuse (Emotional & Physical), Domestic Abuse, Child Abuse, Violence, Alcoholism, Drugs, Incest, PTSD, Depression, Memory Loss, Suicide (Mentioned), Mild Sexual Content.
“Whatever memories I have of Saturday don’t belong to me. They belong to some other girl, wandering a trail, bloodied and confused.”
Full Review - Contains Spoilers:
First off: Go in knowing as little as possible. Seriously, if you’ve read this far and think you’ll want to read this book, stop reading!
Are you gone? Only ones left finished the book? Fantastic!
This was my first time reading any of Thomas’s works and boy was it a thrill. The twists and turns? That ending? Holy smokes! When I first started reading, I honestly thought I wasn’t going to enjoy myself - I’m not super into relationship drama in my reading. It can bog down a book and I went right into this one for a mystery and nothing more. So when all we knew was the jealous, but quiet, resentment Claire felt for her best friends being a couple… I wasn’t thrilled.
It felt like a slow start, but by the end, I realized how absolutely necessary it was to tell this story. I pushed past it and within a few chapters I was on a fast paced and dangerous ride, thrilled and loving every second.
The way the story is told has you questioning everything and it becomes clear there is no one that can be trusted. There’s a motive for everything and even Claire cannot be sure she is innocent. It’s these thoughts that really drive the raw emotions of Claire’s journey. In turn, it’s also what makes you care so deeply for her and everyone involved - everyone is a suspect, but everyone is also a victim.
In the end, knowing that there was just the plot of some kids, thinking themselves trapped in a forbidden romance due to the classism and racism of Kat’s politically powerful grandmother… it makes the twist hit like a brick to the head. It shows something of family secrets and the hidden shame people hide for the sake of image. It could be forgiving - it could let Kat be right about her grandmother’s prejudices.
Instead it snaps even that away from her. It sends her down the dark path of learning that nothing was what it seemed and that she abandoned her life for a boy she really did not know. Jesse is willing to have Kat no matter what and he was willing to hide their familial relation to have what he wanted. It’s just another way that Kat’s life is out of her control. Another way that her grandmother’s need to protect her image harmed the family.
It’s honestly a fascinating story about what the privileged will hide from even those closest to them. Being truthful might save them heartache, but at the cost of their perfectly crafted image.
This is the book that sent me down the Kara Thomas rabbit hole - I absolutely could not get enough.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
3.75 stars rounded to 4 because that was surprisingly good!! So usually I don't even bother with YA thriller novels they tend to be angsty and predictable so I prefer adult thriller. However this one was a pleasant surprise it was really good. The plot was intriguing and wasn't over saturated with typical YA tropes. While there was a romance element it did not overpower the main plot and it didn't bother me at all. There were a few plot twists and revelations in this book some I could see coming buy one surprised me towards the end and was wonderfully timed! The writing style was fine easy to read. Great quick little thriller
I liked this book a lot. Here’s why:
1) there were a couple of places where I thought it was going to end but it kept going. Love that.
2) I kept trying to figure out this story and its twists about gave me whiplash, which I also loved.
3) the very end had me saying wtf!?! With my mouth hanging open. Liked that too!
1) there were a couple of places where I thought it was going to end but it kept going. Love that.
2) I kept trying to figure out this story and its twists about gave me whiplash, which I also loved.
3) the very end had me saying wtf!?! With my mouth hanging open. Liked that too!
This book simply put:
-made me angry
-confused the heck out of me
-had all that build up for a very mid plot twist at the end
-had such a good premise but was a huge letdown when it came to structure and execution of the book
This book was simply mid. I read the cheerleaders and absolutely loved it, but this book was definitely a few steps down from that sadly :(
-made me angry
-confused the heck out of me
-had all that build up for a very mid plot twist at the end
-had such a good premise but was a huge letdown when it came to structure and execution of the book
This book was simply mid. I read the cheerleaders and absolutely loved it, but this book was definitely a few steps down from that sadly :(
This was an underwhelming book. The first 2/3 dragged on and on and on. And then it sort of just wrapped up but not well.