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msoblong's review against another edition
3.0
**I received a copy of this book from Goodreads First Reads**
This whole book was really just blah, meh, etc. for me. It wasn't bad but it wasn't good either, just boring and predictable. It was kind of a mystery but kind of not? I would almost compare it to a Jodi Picoult novel, without the twists. I have no idea really what else to say about it, nothing stuck out for me when reading this.
This whole book was really just blah, meh, etc. for me. It wasn't bad but it wasn't good either, just boring and predictable. It was kind of a mystery but kind of not? I would almost compare it to a Jodi Picoult novel, without the twists. I have no idea really what else to say about it, nothing stuck out for me when reading this.
cjeanne99's review against another edition
1.0
Such great possibilities - but they don't pan out.
A lonely eighth grade girl finds a dead body during a walk in the woods - and doesn't tell anyone. She is taunted at school and her walks in the woods - and the dead body - give her a bit of power over her life. She lives in a household that is centered around her special needs brother - six years her senior. But we don't really learn that much more about him.
The girl is taunted by the popular kids in the eighth grade, including the boy she has a crush on - the boy who knows he has power over his friends behavior and clothing choices. The boy who pushes his classroom behavior to see how much his teachers will take. Yet, he's not sure he wants that power. And his reflection on A Separate Peace - "there was something about Finny that made him (Gene) ache, something that he desired and that desire terrified him, made him weak." was superb. We could watch this student grow and learn some more - but we don't.
Then we have the factory workers - who are an adult version of the middle schoolers. The popular guy who rallies his friends - and the older, overweight co-worker that they tease. It's truly eighth grade all over again.
Middle school teacher Susanna who's sister has disappeared, could she be the body in the woods? Susanna's marriage is falling apart - the detective assigned to help her is a high school crush she hasn't seen in ten years.
Wyatt, the overweight factory worker who is pranked by his co-workers into picking up the tab, runs in to Ronnie, the woman who later disappears. He then has a heart attack and his nurse is a woman he danced with on the night his buddies got him drunk.
The ending left me shaking my head and wondering what in the world just happened? Is the Thanksgiving story a flashback to the previous year? Because Susanna teachers the same curriculum every year? Or is it Thanksgiving from the current time? When Abby would be old enough to understand the upcoming holidays?
We never did get identification of the body in the woods.
A lonely eighth grade girl finds a dead body during a walk in the woods - and doesn't tell anyone. She is taunted at school and her walks in the woods - and the dead body - give her a bit of power over her life. She lives in a household that is centered around her special needs brother - six years her senior. But we don't really learn that much more about him.
The girl is taunted by the popular kids in the eighth grade, including the boy she has a crush on - the boy who knows he has power over his friends behavior and clothing choices. The boy who pushes his classroom behavior to see how much his teachers will take. Yet, he's not sure he wants that power. And his reflection on A Separate Peace - "there was something about Finny that made him (Gene) ache, something that he desired and that desire terrified him, made him weak." was superb. We could watch this student grow and learn some more - but we don't.
Then we have the factory workers - who are an adult version of the middle schoolers. The popular guy who rallies his friends - and the older, overweight co-worker that they tease. It's truly eighth grade all over again.
Middle school teacher Susanna who's sister has disappeared, could she be the body in the woods? Susanna's marriage is falling apart - the detective assigned to help her is a high school crush she hasn't seen in ten years.
Wyatt, the overweight factory worker who is pranked by his co-workers into picking up the tab, runs in to Ronnie, the woman who later disappears. He then has a heart attack and his nurse is a woman he danced with on the night his buddies got him drunk.
The ending left me shaking my head and wondering what in the world just happened? Is the Thanksgiving story a flashback to the previous year? Because Susanna teachers the same curriculum every year? Or is it Thanksgiving from the current time? When Abby would be old enough to understand the upcoming holidays?
We never did get identification of the body in the woods.
amos0924's review
4.0
In the same class as Gillian Flynn, Kate Atkinson and Laura Lippmann, this author is one to watch. A page turning thriller, mixed with a fine portrayal of a small town and living up to the realization you may never live the type of life you feel you deserve. Highly enjoyable read
justjess1025's review
5.0
I absolutely loved this book! The first one i have read by the author. Keeps you guessing till the end!
maureenmccombs's review
4.0
This book is an excellent example of beautiful character development. Goddard Jones reveals just enough about each character, chapter by chapter, to keep you wanting to know more. The story lines were brilliantly dovetailed and this book was a treat to unveil. Definitely recommend.
dustin_frueh7921's review
So rich in character. I loved the subtlety and complexity of Wyatt and Sarah, and of course, Susanna, the whole thing woven deftly together with a light hand. An immensely satisfying and skillful debut novel.”
-Kate Atkinson, author of [b:Case Histories|16243|Case Histories (Jackson Brodie, #1)|Kate Atkinson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1408570488s/16243.jpg|18001]
Holly Goddard Jones' debut novel, The Next Time You See Me, is the recipient of rave reviews, including the above blurb, and sounds like a truly incredible narrative of her characters secrets, and the havoc they play in their lives.
Having said, I can't help but remain skeptical of its literary merits, simply because of Atkinson's quote. I mean no disrespect, it's just that I had an awful experience with Atkinson's Case Histories, and her very positive blurb does nothing for me. I haven't, however, entirely given up on the author. I'm interested in some of her other work.
blchandler9000's review
2.0
13-year-old Emily finds a dead woman's body during one of her daydream-filled walks after school. Eventually, the stories surrounding that dead woman—the people who knew her, last saw her, miss her, and try to find her—fill the next 300-some pages.
I had high hopes for this book since I so enjoyed Jones' short story collection, but it ultimately disappointed me. The writing is competent. Every character has a struggle, and you root for most of them to find what they want. Scents are given a lot of attention, from the stench of the rotting corpse to litanies of perfume and cologne odors. But, while Jones' short fiction felt saturated, rich, and real, this did not. Characters acted in ways that seemed to be for the sake of pushing the plot, not naturally. I missed the deep, deep feelings and the sense of discovery (both in the characters and me, the reader) she so carefully crafted in her short work, keeping things internal, with singular points of view. Here, she plays in the minds of numerous characters, and it fell flat and apart for me. There was little place for my imagination. Ironically, one of her short stories dealt with a woman having to come to terms with finally being told the truth of an event she'd imagined for years. The truth was not what she'd thought, and she struggled with the fact that the one thing she'd been clinging to, a dreamed justice, was a lie. Knowing too much broke her heart. I kind of felt the same here.
I had high hopes for this book since I so enjoyed Jones' short story collection, but it ultimately disappointed me. The writing is competent. Every character has a struggle, and you root for most of them to find what they want. Scents are given a lot of attention, from the stench of the rotting corpse to litanies of perfume and cologne odors. But, while Jones' short fiction felt saturated, rich, and real, this did not. Characters acted in ways that seemed to be for the sake of pushing the plot, not naturally. I missed the deep, deep feelings and the sense of discovery (both in the characters and me, the reader) she so carefully crafted in her short work, keeping things internal, with singular points of view. Here, she plays in the minds of numerous characters, and it fell flat and apart for me. There was little place for my imagination. Ironically, one of her short stories dealt with a woman having to come to terms with finally being told the truth of an event she'd imagined for years. The truth was not what she'd thought, and she struggled with the fact that the one thing she'd been clinging to, a dreamed justice, was a lie. Knowing too much broke her heart. I kind of felt the same here.
craftyangie's review
4.0
I really liked this dark & twisted story. It's told from several points of view, similar to Jodi Picoult's style.
withfeathers's review
3.0
Not gonna lie, I picked this up because it had a Gillian Flynn quote on the cover and a blurb comparing it to Gone Girl. In that respect, I guess I got disappointed. Yes, it's a murder-mystery with somewhat complex female characters written by a woman but if that's your standard for comparison... this definitely isn't a proper thriller in the way Gone Girl is, it has none of the drama or flair and it's not really about exploring the dark sides of the female psyche either.
I still liked it overall, although the plot was a bit slow to pick up (I definitely enjoyed the last third most) and at times I felt like the author was exaggerating the multiple pov's thing a bit (there's over a dozen characters narrating at some point, I'd wager, it's a bit much). But the main characters - especially Emily, Susanna, Sarah and Tony and also the glimpses we got of Ronnie, the character who's disappearance this all centers around - were very well drawn, in human, complex and contradictory ways. The author doesn't gloss over the ugly, petty or mundane aspects of small town life and she's at her best when examining the ways all these people struggle with the boundaries and disappointments of small-town life. The ending is satisfying too.
I still liked it overall, although the plot was a bit slow to pick up (I definitely enjoyed the last third most) and at times I felt like the author was exaggerating the multiple pov's thing a bit (there's over a dozen characters narrating at some point, I'd wager, it's a bit much). But the main characters - especially Emily, Susanna, Sarah and Tony and also the glimpses we got of Ronnie, the character who's disappearance this all centers around - were very well drawn, in human, complex and contradictory ways. The author doesn't gloss over the ugly, petty or mundane aspects of small town life and she's at her best when examining the ways all these people struggle with the boundaries and disappointments of small-town life. The ending is satisfying too.
missantarctica's review
5.0
I loved the fact that this was set in the early 90s - no internet, no cell phones...it felt more like the childhood that I had and made the novel that much more realistic. I really did love this book. It's a mystery but so much more than that...it's such a human story.