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pollyhall's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Child abuse, Classism, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Car accident, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Vomit, Alcoholism, Bullying, and Cancer
nicoleherz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Family secrets, muddled memory mystery, how far would you go to escape?
Practically read it in one sitting, a really gripping story. I liked the writing and how the author gave the characters a lot of depth and unseen facets to their personalities and relationships.
Some twists were a little predictable but some of them were a total surprise!! Loved that
Graphic: Grief, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Murder, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Blood, Drug use, Incest, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, Car accident, Violence, Cursing, Gun violence, Confinement, and Death of parent
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Cancer, Rape, Classism, Vomit, and Medical content
odrib's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Toxic friendship, and Blood
Moderate: Confinement, Incest, Kidnapping, Medical content, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Gun violence, Terminal illness, Alcohol, and Cancer
betweentheshelves's review
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Alcoholism, Incest, and Violence
Minor: Cancer, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual content
avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Alcohol, Death, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Drug use, and Gun violence
Moderate: Death of parent, Alcoholism, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Blood, and Car accident
Minor: Cancer, Incest, Infidelity, Sexual violence, Sexual content, and Vomit
sallenreads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Murder, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Cancer, Car accident, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Vomit
addisonsbookshelf's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Kidnapping
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, and Cancer
thesaltiestlibrarian's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
So, here's a fun little story. I read Kara Thomas' THE CHEERLEADERS back when it came out, and I wasn't taken with it at all. Hence my hesitation to really dig into this despite the great blurb. But man, am I glad I gave her another chance, because THAT WEEKEND was fantastic.
Claire and her best friends Kat and Jesse go to stay at Kat's family's lake house in upstate New York instead of going to prom. They arrive Friday, planning to spend Saturday hiking up the mountain, but something goes horribly wrong. Claire comes to in the forest, her hands covered in blood, and with no memory of what happened. Now Kat and Jesse are missing, and the only person who could give the authorities information has amnesia. How long before any clues turn up, or worse, the bodies?
I'm trying my darndest to find a critique that doesn't sound nitpicky, but that's all I can summon. Nitpicks. And any reader or writer can tell you that that's pretty impressive. The one thing I can bring to mind immediately treads deep into spoiler territory, so I'll let you figure out what this means, dear reader: some of the characterization lacked depth. I really liked Claire and her parents, though.
The pacing is probably the thing I appreciated most about this book. Point A to Point B takes some heavy backroads, a few U-turns, and when the Big Reveal comes about, you feel satisfied, but expectant. Clearly not everything has unraveled, and then that unexpected...thing...comes out and makes your eyebrows hit the roof. Usually I'm spot-on with forecasting the Twist, and with this one, I was right. But there was more that I didn't anticipate and could have had I been watching closely. Made me sit back and say, "Kara Thomas, you clever bastard."
I blew through this once I got over my hang-ups, and I'm really glad that I did. This book is definitely worth the investment.
Content Warning:
Domestic abuse, blood, kidnapping, alcohol abuse, incest
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Cursing
Moderate: Infidelity, Kidnapping, Alcoholism, Drug use, Violence, and Car accident
Minor: Cancer and Incest