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Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder
Minor: Car accident
Graphic: Gore, Blood, Gaslighting
Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Kidnapping, Car accident, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Mental illness, Violence, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury
I did not enjoy this. I finished it, because I wanted to know what happened, and the ending did catch me by surprise, so there's that. The plot was cohesive and made sense.
However, Lally's writing reminds me a lot of my own writing back when I was still wanting to be a fiction author - and this is not a compliment by any means. There is a reason I stopped writing fiction, and thank God none of it was published. The writing was just so poor, and I know it's a young adult novel - but I've read middle grade that is written incredibly beautifully, so that's really not a good excuse to me.
I also hated the characters, just about all of them. Drew's gay parents and mixed raced family just felt like tokens, like Lally was crossing things off a checklist.
All that being said, again, the plot was just fine and it was an easy read (too easy) but I definitely was let down by the high ratings this novel is getting. Also, too many grammatical errors for my taste.
Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Physical abuse, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder
This book was a total WTF experience (in the best way). I thought I was ready for the twists, but I absolutely was not. From about 80% to the end, I was either crying or muttering “WTF” over and over again. It got way more emotional than I expected for a “creepy little book”—and I mean that as a compliment.
If you’re in a reading slump, this is a perfect pick. It’s gripping, intense, and doesn’t waste a single page. One of the wildest and most unexpectedly emotional thrillers I’ve read in a while.
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Vomit, Car accident
Minor: Stalking, Death of parent
Graphic: Violence, Kidnapping, Murder
Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Gore, Physical abuse, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Car accident
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Kidnapping, Car accident, Murder, Gaslighting
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Blood, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Grief, Car accident, Murder