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dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’ll admit, while I was definitely enjoying reading this, I was thinking that it was a little bit predictable since I clearly thought Lola and Mary are the same, so I was very pleasantly surprised when the twist turned out that Lola had been the Mary before and this girl was not the one Drew was searching for. Some of the writing felt a bit juvenile, but I can give that a pass since the characters are all around 17 years old. Some of the stuff was a bit unrealistic too (like how much pain a 17 year old girl or even a grown man can withstand, the incompetence of the cops, the ease with which these high schoolers solved this mystery… ), but I still enjoyed reading the book overall and appreciated the twist.
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Great twist
This would be a great movie
This would be a great movie
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
It’s so unsettling to be called by a name that you feel in your bones and every fibre of your being is not yours. That’s the feeling that That’s Not My Name gave me. There’s a dual POV: Mary, who wakes up with amnesia in a ditch not knowing how she ended up there but is rescued by an officer and identified by her dad with many pieces of evidence that confirm her identity; and Drew, whose girlfriend, Lola, who bears Mary’s same physical features, goes missing. He’s the prime suspect, even though he wants to find her more than anyone else in his town. There’s so much hype around this book, and I wasn’t aware until recently that it was YA, so I was a bit sceptical at first, but I’m happy I gave it a try. I found Drew to be such a caring and selfless character, trying to find his girlfriend despite keeping a secret about the night she disappeared that keeps him awake at night with guilt. However, I did find that his chapters dragged, partly because Mary’s chapters could not be more unsettling for me. I like that feeling when reading dark thrillers. Even though she’s suffering from memory loss, she’s very attuned to her body and identity, which might be what helps her survive. The ending was sad as I didn’t predict the twist that there were multiple “Marys".
emotional
mysterious
tense
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
medium-paced