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saiyagill's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
saracat's review
5.0
This story very artfully and with amazing beauty addresses grief and trauma. While the choice of language and imagery evokes powerful emotions and understanding of the emotions, there isn't graphic descriptions.
There are two characters whose prospective we get to hear from and the choice in the marked styling difference really made a contrast between the two, but also, each felt fully appropriate for their narrator at the story they were experiencing or telling.
The only slightly negative comment I have to say is that some of the pacing felt fast or the progression of some things felt sped through. But, the strength of the authors leading readers through the emotional journeys and traumas of the characters makes it a book well worth reading for those prepared for such a power story.
There are two characters whose prospective we get to hear from and the choice in the marked styling difference really made a contrast between the two, but also, each felt fully appropriate for their narrator at the story they were experiencing or telling.
The only slightly negative comment I have to say is that some of the pacing felt fast or the progression of some things felt sped through. But, the strength of the authors leading readers through the emotional journeys and traumas of the characters makes it a book well worth reading for those prepared for such a power story.
hitbooksnotgirlz's review
1.0
When I find my thoughts drifting to other things while I’m trying to read a book, and I have to read a page over and over again to get it into my brain, I know it’s not for me. It doesn’t necessarily mean that the story is bad, just that it doesn’t interest me. I don’t find it captivating in the way I should. The psychological thriller aspect of it is why I chose to buy it, but it’s not my style. Isobel’s chapters are also written in prose (but not Beth’s), which has never been something I’ve enjoyed. So yeah, 1 star. I probably wouldn’t have finished it if I hadn’t bought it.
ljesica's review
3.0
This is a quick book - it only took me a day to read. But it was still a full story. It is told in alternating views. Beth, who was 15 when she was killed in a traffic accident has not moved on b/c her dad's grief was so intense that she couldn't leave him. He can still see and talk to her. He is a detective and she is helping him with a case. She's hoping that the distraction of the case will give him something else to live for. And she's also grappling with moving on and letting him go if/when he is able to let her go. The other voice in this story is Catching, a girl who may have been a witness to the house fire that killed an as yet identified man. Between the two, they work to solve the fire (and the 3 subsequent murders) and also to find a way to move on from tragedy.
nina_reads_books's review against another edition
5.0
This is a very unusual YA book but I loved it. I powered through it in a couple of sittings over one day.
Beth Teller is a sixteen year old Indigenous girl who has died in a car accident. Her dad is stricken with grief so Beth has stayed around as a ghost to help him. He is able to see her and speak with her which I thought worked really well as a storytelling device. As a detective he has been sent to investigate a fire which has burnt down a home for wayward children in a small country town. There is a burnt out body and two missing staff.
Together Beth and her dad have to solve the mystery that soon also includes a missing girl case from 20 years ago plus more bodies. They meet a teenage girl called Isobel Catching at the hospital and she has her own story to tell. What is her connection to the fire? What other secrets about this small town does she know?
The story is told in alternating voices – from Beth’s POV and then Isobel’s. Isobel’s chapters are told in verse and her story is strange and dream-like. She describes illusions and strange creatures and it is clear that something terrible has happened to Isobel.
Though this story is about a mystery that needs solving it is also about family, death and the lasting effects of grief. The treatment of Indigenous people in Australia including the forcible removal of children from their families and the indifference faced when Indigenous people go missing were also themes. The authors are an Indigenous sister and brother and the authors note at the end is really interesting as they discuss how Indigenous story telling influenced the way they wrote their story.
Because this is YA there is a fairly light treatment of the themes and some of the more difficult issues raised near the end are not dwelt on which I think makes this a very readable and not too distressing story.
I really enjoyed this book.
Beth Teller is a sixteen year old Indigenous girl who has died in a car accident. Her dad is stricken with grief so Beth has stayed around as a ghost to help him. He is able to see her and speak with her which I thought worked really well as a storytelling device. As a detective he has been sent to investigate a fire which has burnt down a home for wayward children in a small country town. There is a burnt out body and two missing staff.
Together Beth and her dad have to solve the mystery that soon also includes a missing girl case from 20 years ago plus more bodies. They meet a teenage girl called Isobel Catching at the hospital and she has her own story to tell. What is her connection to the fire? What other secrets about this small town does she know?
The story is told in alternating voices – from Beth’s POV and then Isobel’s. Isobel’s chapters are told in verse and her story is strange and dream-like. She describes illusions and strange creatures and it is clear that something terrible has happened to Isobel.
Though this story is about a mystery that needs solving it is also about family, death and the lasting effects of grief. The treatment of Indigenous people in Australia including the forcible removal of children from their families and the indifference faced when Indigenous people go missing were also themes. The authors are an Indigenous sister and brother and the authors note at the end is really interesting as they discuss how Indigenous story telling influenced the way they wrote their story.
Because this is YA there is a fairly light treatment of the themes and some of the more difficult issues raised near the end are not dwelt on which I think makes this a very readable and not too distressing story.
I really enjoyed this book.
purplepaste's review
4.0
Well, I picked this up as a quick upper to read after Nickel Boys. BAD IDEA. Do not do what I did.
theshygardener's review
5.0
This short book is technically YA but reads very much like adult fiction. It is a thriller that uncovers the intergenerational trauma of aboriginal characters with a strong focus on ways of healing and justice (namely the way that victims find justice when receiving no support from police). It is poetic and beautiful and one that I will certainly read again.