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mishagalaxy's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Racism, Sexism, and Child death
chefboyavi's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This is one of those books I wish I could love. It has a strong premise but the writing style didn’t resonate with me. It’s overwritten in a way that makes me feel like the author doesn’t trust the reader to follow her where she wants you to go. I think if it were a bit more restrained, it would be a great book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Hate crime, Sexual assault, Addiction, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Suicide, and Violence
hollyk's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I feel incredibly torn on this book. I don't know what this book wanted to be, and I don't think it did either.
Jackal follows Liz Rocher, who is returning to her small hometown for her best friend's wedding. While there, her best friend's young daughter (who is mixed) goes missing. This sets Liz on a mission to find her best friend's daughter, but in the process Liz discovers a harrowing pattern--young Black girls going missing every summer for decades.
This book is beautifully written. Let me start with that. Jackal does not shy away from race, class, and gender, and I have many sections highlighted because of how beautiful and poignant they were.
That being said, the overarching plot is relatively simple, but the supernatural twist didn't really add anything to the story, and rather took away from it. There were chapters about the girls who went missing from Jack's perspective, which was highly confusing (as it uses the same POV as Liz).
This book addresses police indifference to POC missing persons cases, the small town covert racism (and overt as well) through the lens of Liz, who is a complicated person. She's hard to read for a good chunk of the book--and we're in her head, but as her story unfolds, her personality does as well.
I think this book set out to do too much--the combo of real-life horror and supernatural horror didn't blend well here as the rest of the book was more based in the real world.
Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me this e-arc in exchange for my honest review!:)
Jackal follows Liz Rocher, who is returning to her small hometown for her best friend's wedding. While there, her best friend's young daughter (who is mixed) goes missing. This sets Liz on a mission to find her best friend's daughter, but in the process Liz discovers a harrowing pattern--young Black girls going missing every summer for decades.
This book is beautifully written. Let me start with that. Jackal does not shy away from race, class, and gender, and I have many sections highlighted because of how beautiful and poignant they were.
That being said, the overarching plot is relatively simple, but the supernatural twist didn't really add anything to the story, and rather took away from it. There were chapters about the girls who went missing from Jack's perspective, which was highly confusing (as it uses the same POV as Liz).
This book addresses police indifference to POC missing persons cases, the small town covert racism (and overt as well) through the lens of Liz, who is a complicated person. She's hard to read for a good chunk of the book--and we're in her head, but as her story unfolds, her personality does as well.
I think this book set out to do too much--the combo of real-life horror and supernatural horror didn't blend well here as the rest of the book was more based in the real world.
Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me this e-arc in exchange for my honest review!:)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Classism, Hate crime, Murder, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Violence, Animal cruelty, and Grief
Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Vomit
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