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kencil's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse
radler's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Death, Grief, Murder, Violence, Blood, and Drug use
stefhyena's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Finished. I'm going to assume it was a well-intentioned book in that it sort of discusses problematic families and men's violence including DV. I had trouble believing in any of the characters because they all seemed to be suffering from empathy deficiency. There was a twist at the end which from a purely formulaic perspective was just right but it didn't really work for me in other ways.
My least favourite thing was Alice and the fact that even though there were two protagonists she was constantly subtly pushed as the main-main and Iris as her support. Which makes no sense. But nothing about Alice makes sense. She's a poor little rich girl who has never been loved, supported or approved of and we are supposed to feel sorry for her. But she's also had a kind best friend and a sweet doormat of a boyfriend and a nanny who loves her like an aunt or something and some random hot dude and...and...and....everyone. Like how can she be "no interpersonal skills because such an abandoned loner" and "my best friend Brooke how will I ever..." at the same time? But also noone seemed to care about Brooke's death much including the grandma who treated the "mysetery" as a bit of girlish fun for our heroines.
Alice and Iris constantly did illegal or dangerous things and they were STUPID things. Iris in particular given her family situation would surely stay clear of violent men? Real life survivors usually do. They were cheered on in this by a range of adults- some of the adults were ridiculously stupid and incompetent and others were just irresponsible and unethical. Every conversation had to have unnecessary drama in it and Iris' friends were quite 2 dimensional and irritating (Alice's initial friends were the same but the book used that better). WTF is Cole???? (TBH Zora says it on p 390 but then Iris still....oh gah). Everyone is hetero and race doesn't exist. Also every cliche about American schools that you ever hated from TV is in here. I hope that's not an accurate reflection of teaching in the US!
The Agatha Christie quotes were sort of a nice touch. I also wondered if the guidance counsellors name was a tribute to Christie's nom-de-plume.
I think the idea was good but it was poorly executed. I see from the reviews that I am in a minority and most people liked this book.
My least favourite thing was Alice and the fact that even though there were two protagonists she was constantly subtly pushed as the main-main and Iris as her support. Which makes no sense. But nothing about Alice makes sense. She's a poor little rich girl who has never been loved, supported or approved of and we are supposed to feel sorry for her. But she's also had a kind best friend and a sweet doormat of a boyfriend and a nanny who loves her like an aunt or something and some random hot dude and...and...and....everyone. Like how can she be "no interpersonal skills because such an abandoned loner" and "my best friend Brooke how will I ever..." at the same time? But also noone seemed to care about Brooke's death much including the grandma who treated the "mysetery" as a bit of girlish fun for our heroines.
Alice and Iris constantly did illegal or dangerous things and they were STUPID things. Iris in particular given her family situation would surely stay clear of violent men? Real life survivors usually do. They were cheered on in this by a range of adults- some of the adults were ridiculously stupid and incompetent and others were just irresponsible and unethical. Every conversation had to have unnecessary drama in it and Iris' friends were quite 2 dimensional and irritating (Alice's initial friends were the same but the book used that better). WTF is Cole???? (TBH Zora says it on p 390 but then Iris still....oh gah). Everyone is hetero and race doesn't exist. Also every cliche about American schools that you ever hated from TV is in here. I hope that's not an accurate reflection of teaching in the US!
The Agatha Christie quotes were sort of a nice touch. I also wondered if the guidance counsellors name was a tribute to Christie's nom-de-plume.
I think the idea was good but it was poorly executed. I see from the reviews that I am in a minority and most people liked this book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Violence, and Drug use
Minor: Abandonment and Classism
wickedreads's review against another edition
3.5
It was fun but not super remarkable. I will be reading the second one when it comes out! Definitely gives the Veronica Mars vibes we were promised except they are truly terrible teen detectives š
CWings: domestic abuse, death of a friend, drugging, attempted drugging, murder, violence, cheating, misuse of authority by adults
CWings: domestic abuse, death of a friend, drugging, attempted drugging, murder, violence, cheating, misuse of authority by adults
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse
Moderate: Murder, Violence, and Bullying
mollyolloxenfree25's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Death of parent, Child death, and Domestic abuse
libscote's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
4.0
Alice Ogilvy disappeared for a few days last summer, and her town of Castle Cove hasn't treated her the same way since. One night, a former friend of Alice's disappears, and it takes a little while for the police to believe something is up because of Alice's prior disappearance. But she knows something is wrong, and she and her new friend/tutor Iris are going to figure this thing out.
I liked the friendship between Iris and Alice, as we see prickly Iris start to let her guard down and notice some things about Alice that Alice would probably prefer to keep hidden. I thought I had gotten spoiled for the book by reading some other reviews, but it turned out I had interpreted things incorrectly, so that was fun. I fell for red herrings! This book reminded me a bit of Dead End Girls, but I think I liked this one more.
I liked the friendship between Iris and Alice, as we see prickly Iris start to let her guard down and notice some things about Alice that Alice would probably prefer to keep hidden. I thought I had gotten spoiled for the book by reading some other reviews, but it turned out I had interpreted things incorrectly, so that was fun. I fell for red herrings! This book reminded me a bit of Dead End Girls, but I think I liked this one more.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse
steffi_lag's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Death, and Murder
Minor: Death of parent
nastyabbj's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Classism, Death, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, and Violence
mezthly's review against another edition
challenging
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse
jillkaarlela's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This was a super fun ya murder mystery detective story! I liked the dual pov from these two completely different characters and their unlikely friendship over solving a murder together. I also liked how it was a small town and each girl was from a completely different group/social class, showing small town dynamics between the rich and poor. Additionally, all of the side characters were so loveable and unique, and I would be interested to see more of the side characters (like Spike, Zora, and Neil) in future books. I also loved how focused it was on Agatha Christie, which added a lot of fun moments for those of us mystery lovers! I think that the murder mystery part was well organized and well thought out. I could predict a few things, but overall there were quite a few shocking twists and turns! I think Iām still partial to the Truly Devious series and anything by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, but I thought this one was great as well! The ending made it seem like this would be continued as a series, and I would definitely like to read more books if they are released. Overall, I enjoyed this book, and would definitely recommend it!
Age rating: 14+ (violence, language, no sexual content)
TW: domestic and child abuse!!
Age rating: 14+ (violence, language, no sexual content)
TW: domestic and child abuse!!
Content Warnings
Minor: Child abuse, Cursing, Violence, and Domestic abuse