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chelseatm's review
3.0
I really feel like the author lost her way with this book. It's almost like she wanted to tell too many stories at once. Was it supposed to be a coming-of-age book, a horror, or a mystery? It ended up being an awkward mis-mash. The ending was odd and left me feeling unsatisfied as a reader. I mean, the big reveal at the end was finished so quickly, I questioned whether it had been the point. I'm still questioning it to be honest.
The writing, however, was well done and evenly paced. It made the reading experience enjoyable.
Overall, I would not recommend this book. It didn't add anything to my life even if it didn't take anything away.
The writing, however, was well done and evenly paced. It made the reading experience enjoyable.
Overall, I would not recommend this book. It didn't add anything to my life even if it didn't take anything away.
cursedhellokitty07's review
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
It was really hard to get into. The fact that it was not supernatural was disappointing.
eusteph's review
3.0
This book had its ups and downs in my opinion. I think the whole idea behind the story is very interesting but it wasn't exactly executed the way I imagined. I loved the fact that Lauren was able to communicate with the missing girls, but I think there was a lot of pointless information exchanged between the 'ghosts' and her. I expected to be slightly creeped out by their appearances but find myself rolling my eyes at many of the dialogues. The plot twist, not sure if it can really be called that since it was a bit predictable, made the story speed up for me which is good because it was rather slow throughout the first two thirds of the book, but then after that it quickly fell into the same 'boringness' (not sure that's the word I'm looking for). Anyway, I tend to be rather skeptical of YA 'thrillers' so I'm not sure my opinion should be trusted hahaha
megancrusante's review against another edition
3.0
I could become a fan of this author. I liked this much better than Imaginary Girls. The way the lines are blurred between what is real and what isn't is quite beautiful. The book is haunting and pretty and surprised me in a lot of ways.
toodoorcc's review against another edition
5.0
This was amazing!! I love the author's writing style and she portrayed the characters excellently. I'm excited to read her other novel Imaginary Girls
bookishnicole's review
4.0
I went into this book expecting something totally different. I had seen it shelved as a paranormal book on Goodreads, and that was what I was expecting. So imagine my shock when I found out while reading it that this was a contemporary book. Through this entire book. I thought that what Lauren was seeing were ghosts, the ghosts of girls who had gone missing for one reason or another at the age of 17, the age that she is during the book. This was my first book by Nova Ren Suma even though I do have another book by her on my shelves waiting to be read.
I found the book to be wonderfully fast paced and engaging. I had the misfortune of starting the book in the midst of one of my worst reading hangovers yet, (apparently 2 books a day was pushing my brain a little too hard) and still I was turning those pages super quick dying to know what was going to happen next. Lauren was an unreliable narrator if I ever saw one, but I was dying to puzzle out what she was thinking as she met each of these lost girls. I liked how she shows us each of their stories through a snippet, like how Fiona protected Lauren when she ran away or how Abby showed Lauren the fight she had with Luke.
I felt bad for all the people in her life that she pushed away including the sweet Jamie who, after finding out what was going on with her, really tried to be understanding and supportive of her instead of treating her like she was a fragile Tea Cup bound to break like her mother did. Even though we didn’t see too much of them together, I found that he was a very real character, the way that he didn’t seem to let her go even as she pushed him away. I wish that he had realized that there was something wrong sooner even though she did a good job of masking it…Sort of.
I usually really can’t stand unreliable narrators, although at first you don’t really know that she isn’t an unreliable narrator, you just know that she has started to hear voices and to see missing girls, and you know that it’s a contemporary rather than a paranormal story, so you know that something isn’t right with Lauren. I loved how little details about it were woven into the story leading the reader to make their own conclusions about what Lauren was going through. I felt bad for her as she struggled with the Abby’s case, although I did find it very unusual that she went and inserted herself into the lives of Abby’s family and I felt badly for them that she did that.
In the end, it was a very interesting book, one that I really enjoyed. I’m looking forward to the next book that Nova Ren Suma comes out with.
I found the book to be wonderfully fast paced and engaging. I had the misfortune of starting the book in the midst of one of my worst reading hangovers yet, (apparently 2 books a day was pushing my brain a little too hard) and still I was turning those pages super quick dying to know what was going to happen next. Lauren was an unreliable narrator if I ever saw one, but I was dying to puzzle out what she was thinking as she met each of these lost girls. I liked how she shows us each of their stories through a snippet, like how Fiona protected Lauren when she ran away or how Abby showed Lauren the fight she had with Luke.
I felt bad for all the people in her life that she pushed away including the sweet Jamie who, after finding out what was going on with her, really tried to be understanding and supportive of her instead of treating her like she was a fragile Tea Cup bound to break like her mother did. Even though we didn’t see too much of them together, I found that he was a very real character, the way that he didn’t seem to let her go even as she pushed him away. I wish that he had realized that there was something wrong sooner even though she did a good job of masking it…Sort of.
I usually really can’t stand unreliable narrators, although at first you don’t really know that she isn’t an unreliable narrator, you just know that she has started to hear voices and to see missing girls, and you know that it’s a contemporary rather than a paranormal story, so you know that something isn’t right with Lauren. I loved how little details about it were woven into the story leading the reader to make their own conclusions about what Lauren was going through. I felt bad for her as she struggled with the Abby’s case, although I did find it very unusual that she went and inserted herself into the lives of Abby’s family and I felt badly for them that she did that.
In the end, it was a very interesting book, one that I really enjoyed. I’m looking forward to the next book that Nova Ren Suma comes out with.
carstensena's review
3.0
Not my cup of tea. Too much repetition in the writing, and found it rather forgettable. Some great scenes, though, and I appreciated where it went in the end.
mallegar's review
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.25