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3.49 AVERAGE
3.49 AVERAGE
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Mass/school shootings
Moderate: Animal death, Gore
Minor: Child abuse
Given the recent mass shooting in the news, it was sometimes difficult and emotional to read this, but perhaps that is why this story pulled me in so deeply. It is a fast-paced page turner from beginning to end, and I could barely tear myself away. I also appreciated how well the author described and integrated the mother-child connection into the conflict, allowing you to understand the gravity of the decisions she had to make. Great read.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
"'The rules are different today,' she says. 'There are emergency rules now. The rules are that we hide and do not let the man with the gun find us.'”
🎠
This novel punched me right in the guts. The entire story spans only three hours, but once you get a couple dozen pages in, the intensity ratchets up and never comes back down. While this book is under 300 pages, it took me a little longer than normal to finish, because I literally had to step away to get my heart rate back to normal! There were choices Joan made that I questioned, but then I thought about what it might be like in that situation, without the luxury of some thorough thinking time in a comfy armchair like where I found myself...and I was on to the next page and not thinking anymore. The imagery and writing style are lovely, and the clarity with which the author captures motherhood, especially the bond between mother and child, is electrifying. I highlighted so many passages, and there were so many more that I completely identified with. “She has perfected the art of being able to listen with half of herself while the other half spins and whirls.” (Anyone relate to that besides me? I do this ALL.THE.TIME.) Don’t miss this one, ya’ll.
4.5🌟
------------------------
"She inhales slow and long. The tremors have stopped. She is still and solid and ready, a thing carved and polished for a purpose."
-------------------------
"She has perfected the art of being able to listen with half of herself while the other half spins and whirls."
-------------------------
"Such a system of checks and balances – parenting—of projections and guesswork and cost-benefit ratios."
--------------------------
"It is all horrible, and plenty of times seeing the mug shot of some dead-eyed monster and remembering a skinny little boy with ashy elbows made her want to quit teaching altogether, because the worst part is that it is hardly ever shocking. They are set on their paths before she ever meets them. When they come to her angry and sullen, full of swear words, violent, their parents are usually angry and sullen and full of swear words, violent. When they come to her desperate, empty, their parents are desperate and empty. She sees which direction they are headed, usually, and there is nothing she can do about it. Sometimes she has tried, and it is a little like huffing and puffing at a brick house."
🎠
This novel punched me right in the guts. The entire story spans only three hours, but once you get a couple dozen pages in, the intensity ratchets up and never comes back down. While this book is under 300 pages, it took me a little longer than normal to finish, because I literally had to step away to get my heart rate back to normal! There were choices Joan made that I questioned, but then I thought about what it might be like in that situation, without the luxury of some thorough thinking time in a comfy armchair like where I found myself...and I was on to the next page and not thinking anymore. The imagery and writing style are lovely, and the clarity with which the author captures motherhood, especially the bond between mother and child, is electrifying. I highlighted so many passages, and there were so many more that I completely identified with. “She has perfected the art of being able to listen with half of herself while the other half spins and whirls.” (Anyone relate to that besides me? I do this ALL.THE.TIME.) Don’t miss this one, ya’ll.
4.5🌟
------------------------
"She inhales slow and long. The tremors have stopped. She is still and solid and ready, a thing carved and polished for a purpose."
-------------------------
"She has perfected the art of being able to listen with half of herself while the other half spins and whirls."
-------------------------
"Such a system of checks and balances – parenting—of projections and guesswork and cost-benefit ratios."
--------------------------
"It is all horrible, and plenty of times seeing the mug shot of some dead-eyed monster and remembering a skinny little boy with ashy elbows made her want to quit teaching altogether, because the worst part is that it is hardly ever shocking. They are set on their paths before she ever meets them. When they come to her angry and sullen, full of swear words, violent, their parents are usually angry and sullen and full of swear words, violent. When they come to her desperate, empty, their parents are desperate and empty. She sees which direction they are headed, usually, and there is nothing she can do about it. Sometimes she has tried, and it is a little like huffing and puffing at a brick house."
Pros: This was a page turner! The structure of the action of the story being set in real time helped set the tone and feel the stress of the main character.
Cons: I didn't love all the switches in POV throughout the book. I also got annoyed with the issue of the cellphone lighting up and making noise . . . the main character could have just turned it off.
Cons: I didn't love all the switches in POV throughout the book. I also got annoyed with the issue of the cellphone lighting up and making noise . . . the main character could have just turned it off.
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a book that I would not have read without the help of a bookish friend, she encouraged me to read it despite the premise (I have a difficult time with things like kidnapping or children being in harm's way). This was so much more than a book about a mass shooting in a zoo. This is a story about motherhood, about being content in life, and the part other's may play in our life as well as the decisions we ultimately make.
Content Warnings
Minor: Gun violence
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Oh my goodness! This book was so good - and so stressful and nerve wracking. Joan is about to leave the zoo with her four-year-old son, Lincoln, when they are thrust into facing an active shooter situation. An extremely tense few hours unfolds over the course of the book. Phillips viscerally conveys a mother’s wide ranging thoughts during a crisis like this, while building the suspense of hiding in a zoo at night and stumbling upon other victims also trying to hide. There are so many complicated choices and paths explored, both literally and figuratively, by Joan as well as other characters including the shooters themselves. It’s really devastating and sickening to read this and think about how this all too often is reality especially here in the U.S. All of the trigger warnings for this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Murder
Moderate: Animal cruelty
A thriller, yes, but built from beautiful writing and observation, and brilliantly paced.
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Very suspenseful. There were some intense moments and I was not sure how it would end. I kept asking myself what would I do in that situation as I am also a mother. A good story of a mother's love and need for survival. I think the ending was a bit abrupt though.