Reviews

Perfectly Preventable Deaths by Deirdre Sullivan

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leahopkins's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I have never read a book with such an interesting and distinct writing style. At first, I thought I wouldn't like it, but I've come to appreciate the rawness and lushness of it, even though there were still some parts where it was hard to understand what was going on due to the writing style.
The plot was interesting and really gripped me, especially towards the end. The final showdown was just so dark and gruesome and powerful, which added at least half a star to the score for me. I also enjoyed the characters, even though about half of them weren't really that likable (Mamó is basically just female Dumbledore, never giving anyone information and only helping when it serves herself). I loved Maddy however, she was highly relatable for an introvert like me haha.

annettebooksofhopeanddreams's review against another edition

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4.0

Sometimes you open a book and you know from the start that it's a book that people either hate or love. This is such a book. It's too unique, too different, it stands out, it's like not much else I've ever read. It either works for you and grabs you in some way, or it's just a hard to understand story with a lot of violence, darkness and gore.

This book totally worked for me, although I always hope that a book manages to trigger some more emotion. The writing style is unique, although I already got to know it a little in the fairytale retellings I've read a few weeks ago. It's in a way very raw and pure, and yet it also has something flowery and old fashioned. It's hard to describe, but it clearly comes from within.

That also means that the descriptions aren't always detailed. The focus of the writing is on the emotion, on the current trail of thoughts, on what's going on at the time and not on what has been or what the characters already know. Therefore as a reader there are a lot of moments where gaps aren't fully explained or filled. I personally don't mind that, because I like being challenged a little and having to use my own imagination, but I can imagine that for some people this book is quite confusing.

Especially because the characters are mostly true teenagers. They are flawed, deeply flawed. They're egocentric and not always nice. In a world where especially YA heroines always have to be those perfect saints who can't make any mistakes or who can't be real teenagers, that was very refreshing. It doesn't always make it easy to form a connection with the characters, but for me I could identify with them exactly because they were flawed and therefore realistic. They mess up, they make mistakes and therefore it's not an impossible standard to live up to.

The true star of the story however was the atmosphere. I felt chills rolling down my spine, excitement rushing through my veins and the more we discovered, the more I was sucked into this story. Especially the ending made me stop breathing.

Reading this book was a unique experience that I wouldn't have wanted to miss.

sanne_vds's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

heatherslevin's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

mikeiswhere's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I enjoyed this immensely. It walked a great line between focus on the broader, mysterious plot, and the smaller personal dramas, and I was enthralled by both. It was more horrifying than I thought it would be, but not to a fault.

coffeeandbooked's review against another edition

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4.0

At first, I wasn't too sure about this book and originally gave it 3.5 stars but after thinking on this I have upped its rating to 4 stars. I did like the fairy tale stories I read by Deirdre Sullivan, Tangleweed and Brine this month, but something at the beginning of this book was making it difficult for me. Sullivan does use a lot of extremely short sentences which made the story a little disjointed for me. Once the plot picked up, this did not bother me at all and I flew through the rest of the book.

This story does push a few YA boundaries and is extremely dark, but it is done very well and sensitively.

Sullivan captured the aspect of living with anxiety extremely well, especially when you are living with relatives who do not understand why you do the things you do.

This book has LGBTQ+ representation as one of the main character's struggles with learning who she really is.

I would recommend Deirdre Sullivan and will definitely pick up her next book.