Scan barcode
ellipalmer's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I feel... complicated about this one. I didn't find the writing to be that good. Lots of pretty unoriginal and overblown metaphors. It felt like Willingham was really trying to make certain things seem profound, which actually made passages feel fake or drew me out of the narrative because I was rolling my eyes.
That being said... I read the whole book in one day. I didn't like it per say, but I did really want to know what happened. The basic plot is very engaging even if I found the execution wanting. I guessed the big twist by like 50 pages in, but I wanted to know if I was right.
The way Chloe's additiction is handled made me wonder if Willingham had any experience with drugs. The way the effects of the pills are described felt really shallow and unimaginative. I wanted to start a tally of how many times we're told Chloe swallows a pill dry, as though the fact that she takes pills without water is some sort of proof of how unhealthy her pill use is. Her substance abuse issues, as well as the fate of her mom, are plot points that never get tied up. It felt a little gross that her addiction struggles are basically used as a plot point, but never addressed.
Also, this is unrelated to the plot, but Chloe and her fiancé choose a plantation (but it's not called a plantation it's called a farm) in Louisiana as their wedding location and there's a whole passage about how the land has been owned by that family for generations and they had a sugarcane farm and where these great producers of sugarcane. Completely erasing the fact that what is actually being described here is a plantation where enslaved black people would have been forced to farm sugarcane for that family. It's a small passage and not related to the overall plot but I couldn't believe that not a single person involved in the publishing of this book thought that maybe in the year 2021 that maybe a little more historical awareness might be a good idea.
That being said... I read the whole book in one day. I didn't like it per say, but I did really want to know what happened. The basic plot is very engaging even if I found the execution wanting. I guessed the big twist by like 50 pages in, but I wanted to know if I was right.
Also, this is unrelated to the plot, but Chloe and her fiancé choose a plantation (but it's not called a plantation it's called a farm) in Louisiana as their wedding location and there's a whole passage about how the land has been owned by that family for generations and they had a sugarcane farm and where these great producers of sugarcane. Completely erasing the fact that what is actually being described here is a plantation where enslaved black people would have been forced to farm sugarcane for that family. It's a small passage and not related to the overall plot but I couldn't believe that not a single person involved in the publishing of this book thought that maybe in the year 2021 that maybe a little more historical awareness might be a good idea.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, and Mental illness
Moderate: Gaslighting, Grief, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Miscarriage, Racism, Stalking, and Suicide attempt
More...