Reviews

Black Chalk by Christopher J. Yates

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book_spiral's review against another edition

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dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

pizzaplantsandpages's review

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3.0

I was surprised by how much I liked this book, given how many less-than-great reviews it got. There were a few unanswered questions, but I really liked it overall. 3.5⭐️

i really, really wanted to like this book. the premise sounded wonderful—six college students playing a game full of suspense and mystery. the writing, however, fell so short. all the characters were charismatic, rich, and white with little to no personality. jolyon was the most insufferable character i’ve ever come across. whenever the book was in his point of view i wanted to skip it. i’m a fan of books that have a sinister twist to friendship, but this didn’t work for me.

johnnymollman's review

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dark emotional reflective tense

3.5

sophie_w's review against another edition

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medium-paced

2.0

lth98's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

jen_nicole's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.75

lindieface's review

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dark mysterious sad 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

3.75

I found this book on a list of recommendations for if you love The Secret History. Well, The Secret History is one of my favorite books, and I don’t think this has much commonality, besides being a group of university students and a death involved. Nothing yet has come near The Secret History in terms of evocative writing or character development, but I enjoyed Black Chalk regardless.