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mcirish02's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The ending made me furious. The rest was decent. That's all I've got to say about that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Mental illness, and Murder
jennamuggs's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Stevie was a relatable character to me. I know what it's like to be on anxiety and depression medication at the same time. (it's a doozy) The supporting characters were likable, however, there are a lot of characters. Between the flashbacks to the 1930s and the present, it was a lot to keep up with. At times I would stop and be like, "Who's this bitch again?" and have to backtrack a bit. At times I did feel like the author captured the emotions of the teenage characters. However, the characters also feel more like 20-somethings at times. Maybe that's because these students aren't average. Most students are obviously gifted with talent and/or wealthy. Maybe that's the point, idk.
One last thing I loved: the way the boarding school, Ellington, is described makes me long to go to a place like that. It gives dark academic vibes, decaying opulence, and a socially awkward teen ambiance.
Overall, I really liked this book. Enough to start reading the sequel immediately after.
One last thing I loved: the way the boarding school, Ellington, is described makes me long to go to a place like that. It gives dark academic vibes, decaying opulence, and a socially awkward teen ambiance.
Overall, I really liked this book. Enough to start reading the sequel immediately after.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Murder, and Alcohol
theespressoedition's review against another edition
dark
informative
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Kidnapping, and Murder
thebookpaiges's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Kidnapping
jamespotterluv's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
YALL this was mad. im so ANNOEYDSAUI like bro. i cant even spoil it for yall bc by the end half the plot twists aint even solved. like cmon. im lowkey addicted to this series. i need to finish it bc what. so there's quite a few plot twists and there's one right at the end, y'all know which one i mean. i guessed most of the plot twists im not gonna lie, most were predictable buT I DID NOT SEE THAT COMING LIEK WHAT. crazy. the writing was sanist a few times. it felt like diverse characters were j included for it to be diverse. like, a sentence was made abt them, maybe about like their pronouns or smth and that was it. u got one sentence. if ur gonna represent someone do it right! like, the author misgendered her own character. bfr. i felt like the author kinda rushed the ending? i mean, great ending, don't get me wrong. this was a medium paced book up until chapter 26. after that i was like "more is happening in these last chapters than the 26 chapters before it" like sm was happening n it was hard to keep track of who did what.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Murder
Minor: Child death, Misogyny, Sexism, Transphobia, Grief, and Death of parent
popsicleplease's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Murder
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Gun violence
bzliz's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
This is an easy read for any YA mystery lovers and unlike many YA mysteries I’ve read no mysteries get solved! Clues are constantly missed by police but always found by our teenage detective Stevie. Crime scene investigation takes approximately an hour or two in this world and virtually no evidence is taken by police which is pretty convenient for Stevie. She also somehow avoids getting in actual real trouble for putting her fingerprints all over actual clues (which she doesn’t appear to hand over to investigators anyway) and for tampering with crime scenes.
The romance between Stevie and David came out of nowhere for me. I do enjoy the importance Stevie places on trying to maintain her friendship with Janelle and it would be an easy step to say Stevie is autistic-coded, though it is unclear if that was intentional.
The romance between Stevie and David came out of nowhere for me. I do enjoy the importance Stevie places on trying to maintain her friendship with Janelle and it would be an easy step to say Stevie is autistic-coded, though it is unclear if that was intentional.
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, and Alcohol
manonschuur's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Ik had best wel hoge verwachtingen van dit boek maar ik weet niet zo goed wat ik hiervan vinden moet. De eerste 200 ish paginas waren best wel boring en ik kwam niet echt lekker in het verhaal en dat laaste had ik tot op het einde nog steeds. Echter werd het op het einde wel wat spannender en leuker, maar vind alles nog steeds een beetje vaag en ik snap dr nie zo veel van. Er zijn nog meer delen en ik wil het eigenlijk wel doorlezen omdat ik weten wil hoe het verdergaat, maar ben niet echt thrilled. So 3/3.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping and Murder
whewtaewoon's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, and Murder
Moderate: Drug use
Minor: Sexism
widgetknits's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Kidnapping, and Murder