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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Was fun to read. Kinda hard to love a short story as much as a full book in general since there's less time to flesh out the characters and plot
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
dark
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This had been an incredible read! Short and fun! I kept thinking i knew where this was going but turned out I didn't know! Then it was over!
I adored miles he was sooo funny!! Truly a perfect match for our con woman main character
I'm so happy i picked up this book as im trying to get into her other books
I adored miles he was sooo funny!! Truly a perfect match for our con woman main character
I'm so happy i picked up this book as im trying to get into her other books
I guess I enjoyed this story, such as it was, but if I ever recommend it to someone, it will only be because I'm confused and want to talk to someone about it. The first part is fine. The narrator is a minorly bad person but likeable enough. Her con-artist back story was meh for me; I read it in the hopes it would build to a great story but I didn't love it for its own sake. Things take a turn into Gothic horror with the introduction of Susan Burke and her haunted house, and I got excited. I enjoyed this half of the book, but in the way you enjoy the first long climb on a rollercoaster. I liked it because it should have been leading up to something great. Instead, there's a kind of messy, contrived attempt to have the best of three very different endings, all of which would have been too sudden. I've seen some reviews that said the ending felt like the author couldn't decide; I would argue that the author couldn't commit. I don't mind an ending that leaves readers with questions, but this was like waiting in line, boarding the rollercoaster, climbing up that first rise, and suddenly a voice comes on the intercom saying, "Up next, there's a steep drop, or a loop-de-loop, or a corkscrew...whichever you find most exciting. Thank you, have a good day." And now the ride is over before any of that actually happened. I didn't feel like I wasted my time reading it, but I'll probably forget it soon. It's just whatever.
I definitely think it should be twice as long. Then the author could've gotten to the exciting parts and either picked a single ending or justified the ambiguity. Either way, this wasn't a great intro to Gillian Flynn. I'm currently wondering how Gone Girl could've taken the world by storm if this is how she writes.
I definitely think it should be twice as long. Then the author could've gotten to the exciting parts and either picked a single ending or justified the ambiguity. Either way, this wasn't a great intro to Gillian Flynn. I'm currently wondering how Gone Girl could've taken the world by storm if this is how she writes.
The Grown-up was a weird and wacky read but I enjoyed it. I felt the ending could have been a bit stronger but I think the twist was pretty well.
3/5 stars
3/5 stars
I'm sort of ashamed to count this as a book for my reading challenge, but hey, I don't make the rules about what qualifies for a book! So I'll take it.
That being said, it's a fun little story, but definitely didn't feel worthy enough to stand on its own. Would have been much better in a collection of stories. I like that it was written for George R. R. Martin though, that's cute.
That being said, it's a fun little story, but definitely didn't feel worthy enough to stand on its own. Would have been much better in a collection of stories. I like that it was written for George R. R. Martin though, that's cute.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a short story from Gillian Flynn, author of "Gone Girl" and it originally appeared as "What do you do?" in George R. Martin's "Rogues" anthology. I listened to the audio version, and was riveted. Flynn references the gothic writer Ann Radcliffe, which was very fitting as her tale is styled as a classic ghost story. The narrator is a young woman, "struggling to survive by perpetrating various levels of mostly harmless fraud", which includes posing as a psychic. When she visits the Victorian home of Susan, one of her clients, she's drawn into Susan's world of terror and grief. Susan claims to fear her stepson's "disturbing manner and grisly imagination," but soon Flynn introduces very interesting plot twists that leave the reader wondering who in this story is truly the evil one.
- Sara Z
I just finished "The Grownup" by Gillian Flynn. She wrote the best seller "Gone Girl". This book was written after that novel. This is really a novella of sixty-two pages, BUT it is eerier than "Gone Girl." Who is the grownup here? Is it the step-son Miles, or the step-mom, Susan, or the unnamed narrator who pretends to be a psychic?? Truth in lending laws suggest that I advise you not to read this late at night, while alone, just before bedtime. This is pure Stephen King in fright. Have fun. -Bob K.
- Sara Z
I just finished "The Grownup" by Gillian Flynn. She wrote the best seller "Gone Girl". This book was written after that novel. This is really a novella of sixty-two pages, BUT it is eerier than "Gone Girl." Who is the grownup here? Is it the step-son Miles, or the step-mom, Susan, or the unnamed narrator who pretends to be a psychic?? Truth in lending laws suggest that I advise you not to read this late at night, while alone, just before bedtime. This is pure Stephen King in fright. Have fun. -Bob K.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated