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ellmel's review against another edition
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
1.0
I considered DNFing this book multiple times. I only finished it because I listened to the audiobook for the second half of the book while cleaning my house. I liked the idea of the book, but it felt poorly executed. I liked the newspaper clippings throughout the book. Overall, it was boring. There were moments that were suspenseful but didn't make me feel nervous.
punkcalf's review against another edition
2.0
Did i read the same book as all these glowing reviewers did?
Did i read the same book as some of my favourite authors on the flap did?
Apparently!
This book is just— weird. It has a huge cast of characters when only a handful are relevant. It’s a piece on mob mentality and the dangers of it. It’s a very odd novel with some interesting grammar choices and with a cast of horrible people who genuinely don’t get a comeuppance for what they did.
Also I’m not entirely sure how i feel about painting the mentally ill and traumatised as a villain yet again.
Did i read the same book as some of my favourite authors on the flap did?
Apparently!
This book is just— weird. It has a huge cast of characters when only a handful are relevant. It’s a piece on mob mentality and the dangers of it. It’s a very odd novel with some interesting grammar choices and with a cast of horrible people who genuinely don’t get a comeuppance for what they did.
Also I’m not entirely sure how i feel about painting the mentally ill and traumatised as a villain yet again.
bourlana's review against another edition
4.0
Damaged people damage people... this was a great read.
mooncrab's review against another edition
4.0
I had fun reading this book, but I knew my overall feelings toward it would depend on the ending. I’m happy to say that the ending was good and that made the book good! It was not as shocking as I’d hoped but relieving and satisfying. The snippets of reporting from the future, and flashbacks to the story at hand was so enticing and kept me turning the pages. Certainly parts of the story can be criticized for absurdity but overall I liked this book and am glad I read it!
vandermeer's review against another edition
1.0
Ok, ich hab’s wirklich versucht, aber bei 60% reißt mir der Geduldsfaden. Ich mag niemanden und finde die Handlungen der Protagonisten kaum nachvollziehbar. Es ist okay geschrieben, könnte besser sein.
Was hinzukommt: Es ist eine Tragödie und von vornherein klar, was passiert, man liest auf das kommende Unglück hin.
Horror kann ich beim besten Willen nicht entdecken. Im subreddit „Raised by Narcissists“ findet man täglich gruseligere Eltern als in dieser Geschichte. Mit Shirley’s hoher Kunst hat dies hier absolut nichts zu tun.
Was hinzukommt: Es ist eine Tragödie und von vornherein klar, was passiert, man liest auf das kommende Unglück hin.
Horror kann ich beim besten Willen nicht entdecken. Im subreddit „Raised by Narcissists“ findet man täglich gruseligere Eltern als in dieser Geschichte. Mit Shirley’s hoher Kunst hat dies hier absolut nichts zu tun.
alexisrt's review against another edition
4.0
As a native Long Islander (Levittown and Huntington) I am a sucker for books and movies set there. Garden City native Sarah Langan has set this thriller in her hometown of Garden City, slightly fictionalized. (I did enjoy the shout-outs to real places I recognized, and fittingly, aside from the one Indian family, Maple Street remains resolutely white.)
Brooklynites Gertie and Arlo have moved to picture perfect Maple Street, full of families with children. They don't quite fit in to this upper middle class street, with their lack of college education and Arlo's healed track marks. But, while Gertie was once friends with block Queen Bee Rhea, they've had a falling out. A sinkhole opening in the street is the trigger for a spiral of tragedy.
As the title alludes to, this book shares some spirit with the famous Twilight Zone episode "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street." As in Rod Serling's vision, the monsters turn out to be no more than ourselves, whipping themselves into a frenzy of mob violence.
The book is structured over the course of a month, with flashbacks into the past, interspersed with excerpts from books and articles about the case. The writing is sharp--the characters are complex and well written, with the backstory unspooling at a nice pace.
The one thing that didn't work for me in this book was her setting it in 2027. It's done in part to have a reason for excessively hot temperatures and to work in a climate change storyline, but it just didn't seem to meld with the rest of the book. It also made a lot of the details about tech and pop culture feel dicey; they felt more like 2020, and things have changed enough since 2013.
Brooklynites Gertie and Arlo have moved to picture perfect Maple Street, full of families with children. They don't quite fit in to this upper middle class street, with their lack of college education and Arlo's healed track marks. But, while Gertie was once friends with block Queen Bee Rhea, they've had a falling out. A sinkhole opening in the street is the trigger for a spiral of tragedy.
As the title alludes to, this book shares some spirit with the famous Twilight Zone episode "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street." As in Rod Serling's vision, the monsters turn out to be no more than ourselves, whipping themselves into a frenzy of mob violence.
The book is structured over the course of a month, with flashbacks into the past, interspersed with excerpts from books and articles about the case. The writing is sharp--the characters are complex and well written, with the backstory unspooling at a nice pace.
The one thing that didn't work for me in this book was her setting it in 2027. It's done in part to have a reason for excessively hot temperatures and to work in a climate change storyline, but it just didn't seem to meld with the rest of the book. It also made a lot of the details about tech and pop culture feel dicey; they felt more like 2020, and things have changed enough since 2013.
msalexisshea's review against another edition
4.0
Super fun book, easy to read with very short chapters and “article clippings” throughout.
bookishkaiti's review against another edition
really not feeling the plot like I thought i would. hard to keep my interest
eilis's review against another edition
3.0
-probably my of fav of this sort of quasi-thriller that i’ve read so far
-i liked that it wasn’t all about the twists and a big reveal; like it’s def not trying to trick the reader
-i liked that it wasn’t all about the twists and a big reveal; like it’s def not trying to trick the reader