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tresenpartychef's review
5.0
This was quite ambitious and I don't think it succeeded in every point of it.
The twist was not extraordinary - maybe for some even predictable.
This novel is not perfect.
But I still loved it.
And sometimes that's just how it is. Sometimes a story just feels perfect, even when it objectively isn't.
The twist was not extraordinary - maybe for some even predictable.
This novel is not perfect.
But I still loved it.
And sometimes that's just how it is. Sometimes a story just feels perfect, even when it objectively isn't.
vae's review
5.0
Wow. I mean, wow. Breathtaking and relentless, so tightly plotted, so many twists that I don't think I'd even quite caught up by the end. Wonderful stuff.
kba76's review
4.0
Touted as the new Curious Incident this is a very different book, and I think if you go into it expecting a lovable main character trying to make sense of the world around him you may be disappointed.
Peter is a mathematical genius. He uses maths to manage his extreme anxiety, and is convinced that maths has the answer to everything. Being that bit older than Haddon’s protagonist, he’s also got a slightly different take on the world.
From the moment we first meet Pete crouched in his kitchen having eaten a salt cellar in an attempt to stem his overwhelming anxiety, it’s clear that this is going to be an unsettling read. I truly wasn’t expecting it to be as dark as it was.
It was fascinating to get under the skin of Pete, but the actual story was more focused on the thriller element and it had to be this way in order for the plot to work.
When Pete’s mother is stabbed as she goes to receive an award for her work, his sister is missing and he quickly learns that no one around him was who they claimed to be. We’re plunged into a nightmare world of spies, scientific manipulation and some gruesome deaths.
I don’t want to reveal too much more. Suffice to say, nothing was quite as it seemed and every time I thought we were getting somewhere there was another detail given that turned things on their head. This would have been 5 stars, but for the sense of everything feeling rather rushed by the end and being left rather uncertain about a few key details. Still one I’d heartily recommend.
Peter is a mathematical genius. He uses maths to manage his extreme anxiety, and is convinced that maths has the answer to everything. Being that bit older than Haddon’s protagonist, he’s also got a slightly different take on the world.
From the moment we first meet Pete crouched in his kitchen having eaten a salt cellar in an attempt to stem his overwhelming anxiety, it’s clear that this is going to be an unsettling read. I truly wasn’t expecting it to be as dark as it was.
It was fascinating to get under the skin of Pete, but the actual story was more focused on the thriller element and it had to be this way in order for the plot to work.
When Pete’s mother is stabbed as she goes to receive an award for her work, his sister is missing and he quickly learns that no one around him was who they claimed to be. We’re plunged into a nightmare world of spies, scientific manipulation and some gruesome deaths.
I don’t want to reveal too much more. Suffice to say, nothing was quite as it seemed and every time I thought we were getting somewhere there was another detail given that turned things on their head. This would have been 5 stars, but for the sense of everything feeling rather rushed by the end and being left rather uncertain about a few key details. Still one I’d heartily recommend.
rosiemc's review
5.0
This start off as a simple book about a boy with anxiety and paranoia and a brave sister who stands up for him.
But then it spirals. There are secret agencies. Spies. Neurochemistry. Murder.
And by the end of this book you have no idea what to believe or think. A complete mind f*ck.
But then it spirals. There are secret agencies. Spies. Neurochemistry. Murder.
And by the end of this book you have no idea what to believe or think. A complete mind f*ck.
estefaniad's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
dakegra's review
5.0
Every now and then you come across a book which just grabs you from the very first page and refuses to let you go. White Rabbit, Red Wolf is one of those books.
It’s astonishingly good. I’ve been a huge fan of Tom Pollock’s Skyscraper Throne trilogy (and if you haven’t read that, go and do so with all haste) and so the news that he had a new book out was met with great excitement and regular trips to the bookshop to see if it was in yet.
The first page hits you like an unexpected thunderstorm on a cloudless day. It’s dark and brutal and introduces Peter Blankman in a scene you’re not going to forget in a hurry. Peter is one of the most original, honest characters I’ve read for a long time, and Pollock’s presentation of a young man’s mental health issues holds nothing back.
What follows is an adventure into the mind, maths and murder, with a side order of spies, violence and some genuinely funny moments. Unreliable narrators are ten a penny these days, but here you’ll be questioning everything. Just when you think you’ve got it figured out, we’re off down another rabbit hole, wolves snapping at our feet.
It’s hard to say more without giving anything away, but suffice it to say that this is a startlingly original book, and I urge you to read it.
It’s astonishingly good. I’ve been a huge fan of Tom Pollock’s Skyscraper Throne trilogy (and if you haven’t read that, go and do so with all haste) and so the news that he had a new book out was met with great excitement and regular trips to the bookshop to see if it was in yet.
The first page hits you like an unexpected thunderstorm on a cloudless day. It’s dark and brutal and introduces Peter Blankman in a scene you’re not going to forget in a hurry. Peter is one of the most original, honest characters I’ve read for a long time, and Pollock’s presentation of a young man’s mental health issues holds nothing back.
What follows is an adventure into the mind, maths and murder, with a side order of spies, violence and some genuinely funny moments. Unreliable narrators are ten a penny these days, but here you’ll be questioning everything. Just when you think you’ve got it figured out, we’re off down another rabbit hole, wolves snapping at our feet.
It’s hard to say more without giving anything away, but suffice it to say that this is a startlingly original book, and I urge you to read it.
felfiramoon's review
DNF
I have a very hit and miss time with thrillers and I had high hopes for this but I just could not get on with it at all. I didn't like the story or the characters and so I struggled to actually read it. This is not to say it is a bad book or badly written because it is not, it is just not for me. I think it just doesn't fall inot the kind of books i enjoy but I'm glad I tried it so I know. (Thinking about it the only YA Thrillers I have enjoyed in the past are dystopian thrillers that aren't too overly complicated. It might just be the way my mind works??)
Thank you to Walker who sent me a proof of this earlier on in the year.
I have a very hit and miss time with thrillers and I had high hopes for this but I just could not get on with it at all. I didn't like the story or the characters and so I struggled to actually read it. This is not to say it is a bad book or badly written because it is not, it is just not for me. I think it just doesn't fall inot the kind of books i enjoy but I'm glad I tried it so I know. (Thinking about it the only YA Thrillers I have enjoyed in the past are dystopian thrillers that aren't too overly complicated. It might just be the way my mind works??)
Thank you to Walker who sent me a proof of this earlier on in the year.