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billblume's review against another edition
4.0
Easily one of the weirdest books I’ve ever read. This book cannot be easily discussed or reviewed without spoiling it.
The book comes out the gate with a gothic setting: the Vaccaro School in the icy wastes at the southern tip of South America. The POV starts with Mavi, a girl posing as an English teacher at the school in 1978.
Then chapter two switches to the other POV of Angel, a teenager from 2020 who observes the same events from 1978 at the school in the fashion of a ghost inhabiting this remote house.
There are some crazy plot twists to this book. When you think you’ve figured out what’s really going on, Faring then yanks the rug out from under you. No, the story is something completely different than it seems. This happens multiple times.
My only major gripe is that I feel as if it’s not believable for Angel not to have given up more information to the reader earlier in the book. That would have given away the biggest twist of all, but again, Angel’s emotional reactions also seem strange given what’s really happening. The wording for Angel’s chapters are very carefully crafted, though. I went back and skimmed the first couple chapters from Angel’s POV to see how well Faring handled this.
A minor complaint I have is Mavi’s voice. She reads much older than her age. It’s not simply an issue regarding Mavi’s voice but the way she thinks of the girls at the school. I feel as if this is not as big a deal though, because of the major twist later in the book.
Faring has created a bizarre story here. She subverts the reader’s expectations throughout the story. Some readers might not like how jarring these shifts in tone are, but I think Faring makes it work.
The book comes out the gate with a gothic setting: the Vaccaro School in the icy wastes at the southern tip of South America. The POV starts with Mavi, a girl posing as an English teacher at the school in 1978.
Then chapter two switches to the other POV of Angel, a teenager from 2020 who observes the same events from 1978 at the school in the fashion of a ghost inhabiting this remote house.
There are some crazy plot twists to this book. When you think you’ve figured out what’s really going on, Faring then yanks the rug out from under you. No, the story is something completely different than it seems. This happens multiple times.
My only major gripe is that I feel as if it’s not believable for Angel not to have given up more information to the reader earlier in the book. That would have given away the biggest twist of all, but again, Angel’s emotional reactions also seem strange given what’s really happening. The wording for Angel’s chapters are very carefully crafted, though. I went back and skimmed the first couple chapters from Angel’s POV to see how well Faring handled this.
A minor complaint I have is Mavi’s voice. She reads much older than her age. It’s not simply an issue regarding Mavi’s voice but the way she thinks of the girls at the school. I feel as if this is not as big a deal though, because of the major twist later in the book.
Faring has created a bizarre story here. She subverts the reader’s expectations throughout the story. Some readers might not like how jarring these shifts in tone are, but I think Faring makes it work.
kevinjwangler's review against another edition
2.0
At 70%, I considered DNF'ing... but I skimmed my way onward, and then it really took a turn. All in all, I appreciate that it was something unlike anything I'd read before, but it just didn't work for me.
merethebookgal's review against another edition
1.0
I was led to believe that this was a YA psychological thriller with some horror elements thrown in, but it was in fact a painfully slow, confusing novel. I finished my library ebook hours before it was due; it should not take me 21 days to get through a thriller. There were a few vaguely creepy passages, but nothing was all that scary, and this is coming from someone who has a low threshold for scary things. The “twist” didn’t make sense at all, and felt completely out of place. That type of twist wasn’t earned and cheapened the rest of the book. I would have thrown the book, but didn’t want to hurt my kindle, so I refrained, lol. (This next thought is kinda spoilery but not actually the twist) I feel like the twist was just like an updated version of “it was all a dream.”
Anyway, I only finished it because it’s a book club book, but if I’d had my way, I would have DNF’d this pretty early on. It’s too bad, really, because the premise sounded cool.
Anyway, I only finished it because it’s a book club book, but if I’d had my way, I would have DNF’d this pretty early on. It’s too bad, really, because the premise sounded cool.
sausome's review against another edition
1.0
It's truly amazing how little sense this book made and how poorly so many disparate plot elements tried to be stitched together. I think this book failed because it couldn't decide what kind of book it wanted to be.
Separately: Argentinian disappeareds and guerrillas fighting against a corrupt government; a historically mysterious and troubled all girls school isolated in Patagonia; a ghost world with Others, a cloud, need to possess the living to stay connected to the living world rather than being sucked into a dark in between place, with a gross know-it-all Beetlejuice-type slobby mentor; THE LAST THING which I can't even allude to because of spoilers but also because zero elements of this thing appear before it randomly happened (ZERO SENSE). All of these things had potential as separate books, but instead they all got smushed together to make a terrible book with the BEST COVER.
I actually nearly gave up on this book 25% in, but kept getting drawn in by the cover ("why would they put such an awesome cover on a bad book?" I reasoned to myself), and the alluded to 'surprise ending' in the reviews made me curious. But really a waste of time. Also I'm kind of angry this book was such an utter waste of my time, tbh. I've got so many other books to read.
Separately: Argentinian disappeareds and guerrillas fighting against a corrupt government; a historically mysterious and troubled all girls school isolated in Patagonia; a ghost world with Others, a cloud, need to possess the living to stay connected to the living world rather than being sucked into a dark in between place, with a gross know-it-all Beetlejuice-type slobby mentor; THE LAST THING which I can't even allude to because of spoilers but also because zero elements of this thing appear before it randomly happened (ZERO SENSE). All of these things had potential as separate books, but instead they all got smushed together to make a terrible book with the BEST COVER.
I actually nearly gave up on this book 25% in, but kept getting drawn in by the cover ("why would they put such an awesome cover on a bad book?" I reasoned to myself), and the alluded to 'surprise ending' in the reviews made me curious. But really a waste of time. Also I'm kind of angry this book was such an utter waste of my time, tbh. I've got so many other books to read.
pillywiggin's review against another edition
3.0
I really enjoyed this book until I got to the part where it switched from a ghost story to something else. I won't say what, because I don't want to spoil it. The twist was creative and unusual. I personally just would have preferred that it remain a traditional ghost story. I liked the Argentine setting and background. I also liked the characters and most of the plot, and if you are not strongly attached to traditional ghost stories, I think you will like this book very much.
merryboberry's review against another edition
2.0
Thank you, Netgalley and Imprint Publishing, for an advanced copy of The Tenth Girl by Sara Faring.
Fleeing an upheaval in her homeland in Buenos Aires, Mavi seeks refuge as a teacher at the Vaccaro School for Girls on a remote island off the coast of South America. Here, Mavi hopes to reinvent herself and hide from a past that destroyed her mother as well as her hope for a prosperous future. However, Mavi soon learns this new world is not one without obstacles. The school is almost completely isolated from the rest of the world, surrounded by ice, heavy mist, and freezing temperatures that make leaving impossible for most of her stay. The land is also part of a local legend that promises certain destruction unless a sacrifice is made, something Mavi and her fellow teachers try to overlook but soon feel the weight of when the students become sick and begin acting strangely. Education quickly becomes a minor concern as the school is turned upside down and Mavi realizes her safe place is not so safe after all.
Faring does a fantastic job of creating a truly haunting environment in which common elements and characters feel dark and dangerous. It’s easy to immediately get drawn into the picture she is painting, rapidly flipping pages to solve the many mysteries of the Vaccaro School; however, this momentum does not last. The plot begins to draaaaaaggggg as the story goes on and on with little-to-no new developments. I found myself seriously considering giving up, no longer dazzled or curious by the characters or events. I powered through, though, finally turning over the final card after reading 85% of the book, the big reveal, which simply fell flat for me. A confusing dud in which the whole plot was turned on its head, to be exact. The reader frustration was real and I was so done with Mavi, the mystery, the whole book.
Although I would not recommend The Tenth Girl to my friends, I would consider reading another novel by this author. She possesses a writing voice with great potential that I think could definitely create something magical.
Fleeing an upheaval in her homeland in Buenos Aires, Mavi seeks refuge as a teacher at the Vaccaro School for Girls on a remote island off the coast of South America. Here, Mavi hopes to reinvent herself and hide from a past that destroyed her mother as well as her hope for a prosperous future. However, Mavi soon learns this new world is not one without obstacles. The school is almost completely isolated from the rest of the world, surrounded by ice, heavy mist, and freezing temperatures that make leaving impossible for most of her stay. The land is also part of a local legend that promises certain destruction unless a sacrifice is made, something Mavi and her fellow teachers try to overlook but soon feel the weight of when the students become sick and begin acting strangely. Education quickly becomes a minor concern as the school is turned upside down and Mavi realizes her safe place is not so safe after all.
Faring does a fantastic job of creating a truly haunting environment in which common elements and characters feel dark and dangerous. It’s easy to immediately get drawn into the picture she is painting, rapidly flipping pages to solve the many mysteries of the Vaccaro School; however, this momentum does not last. The plot begins to draaaaaaggggg as the story goes on and on with little-to-no new developments. I found myself seriously considering giving up, no longer dazzled or curious by the characters or events. I powered through, though, finally turning over the final card after reading 85% of the book, the big reveal, which simply fell flat for me. A confusing dud in which the whole plot was turned on its head, to be exact. The reader frustration was real and I was so done with Mavi, the mystery, the whole book.
Although I would not recommend The Tenth Girl to my friends, I would consider reading another novel by this author. She possesses a writing voice with great potential that I think could definitely create something magical.
becky_m8's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
jennifermreads's review against another edition
1.0
Received advance reader’s copy from publisher through Baker & Taylor book supplier.
I stopped reading this twice. Finally, after reading the review of a book blogger I admire, I hunkered down and told myself I was going to finish this book because she really liked it. I finished, using many Post-Its along the way as I tried to pick up clues and figure out where this story was going.
I sat on writing this review for two weeks. I wasn’t sure how I felt about the story and I was even more unsure how I was going to rate it. But, in the end, the yank of a twist near the end was just too much. It not only turned the story on its head, it pulled it from one genre (horror) to another (sci-fi). I just couldn’t stomach being led down one road and having the pavement ripped out from under me. If this had stayed solidly in the horror genre and surprised me there? The rating would have been higher.
I stopped reading this twice. Finally, after reading the review of a book blogger I admire, I hunkered down and told myself I was going to finish this book because she really liked it. I finished, using many Post-Its along the way as I tried to pick up clues and figure out where this story was going.
I sat on writing this review for two weeks. I wasn’t sure how I felt about the story and I was even more unsure how I was going to rate it. But, in the end, the yank of a twist near the end was just too much. It not only turned the story on its head, it pulled it from one genre (horror) to another (sci-fi). I just couldn’t stomach being led down one road and having the pavement ripped out from under me. If this had stayed solidly in the horror genre and surprised me there? The rating would have been higher.
elsepopelse's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
2.0