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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
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:
Yes
Couldn’t put this book down ! The plot reminds me of dead poets society ! The ending really threw me for a loop !
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i’m not sure if this was the book’s original intention, but this reads really interestingly as a critique of dark academia books/that obsession as a whole. the characters were a little irritating, but i still flew through this book. i enjoyed reading it, and i really did enjoy the choir parts!!
i’m so sorry if you’re gonna write a boarding school novel you need to try extra hard to make it not read like a harry potter fanfic
"You may not understand, yet, that what I have done I have done for you. But I promise you, one day you will. I want to live in a world, Laura, where things matter. That is the only way I know how to love you."
I've seen some reviews for This World Cannot Give that have remarked that this book is very similar thematically to Tara Isabella Burton's debut novel, and that's really a very valid criticism. But personally, I love the way this author analyzes complicated relationships between women, and I'd be okay if she never stops. I'm a fan of some authors who sometimes write very similar types of books (Mariana Zapata comes to mind) and while I do enjoy a novel that's new and different, I also like the comfort of the familiar as well and knowing what I'm going to get when I open a book. So basically, this worked for me, but I get that it may not work for others.
If you didn't enjoy Social Creature, you're probably not going to like this book. It's more of the same kind of thing; sociopathic women engaging in codependent relationships, and it all ends tragically. I loved Social Creature (though it has more of a Talented Mr. Ripley type of plot), but I think The World Cannot Give is a better version of that novel, so I kind of prefer it now. This is a more complex take on her previous work.
I love sinister and charismatic characters like Virginia who steal almost every scene they're in. I want a prequel about her life before she came to the boarding school and befriended Laura. I want to know her perspective on everything that ended up happening near the end. I want to see the beginnings of her romance with Isobel. I'm just so fascinated by her, and my one complaint is that there wasn't enough page time given to the final moments between her and Laura.
Honestly, the whole choir aspect of the novel sounded like it wasn't going to be very interesting to me (I'm not a big fan of novels about cults) but it ended up sucking me in. I think if Virginia continued on the path she was on, she would have grown up to be one of those predatory people who uses religion as a front to hide her darker impulses.
Laura as a main character was very relatable and almost as fascinating as Virginia. (Though my one complaint is that I wish she had realized her feelings for Virginia sooner and something would have come of it. This author always writes characters who are extremely repressed and that kind of prevents them from realizing their true feelings until the end of the novel. I'm a romance reader so this is always a bummer to me, no matter how much I love these books) I was kind of irritated by Isobel, to be honest. She was a necessary character, but I didn't think she was particularly nice or good like Laura would have us believe. I always felt she treated her pretty badly and was almost always so rude.
Overall, if you like women-centric thrillers, I'd definitely recommend this novel. It's atmospheric and haunting and dark and I loved it so much.
TW: Physical abuse, emotional manipulation, non-graphic murder, thoughts of self-harm
I've seen some reviews for This World Cannot Give that have remarked that this book is very similar thematically to Tara Isabella Burton's debut novel, and that's really a very valid criticism. But personally, I love the way this author analyzes complicated relationships between women, and I'd be okay if she never stops. I'm a fan of some authors who sometimes write very similar types of books (Mariana Zapata comes to mind) and while I do enjoy a novel that's new and different, I also like the comfort of the familiar as well and knowing what I'm going to get when I open a book. So basically, this worked for me, but I get that it may not work for others.
If you didn't enjoy Social Creature, you're probably not going to like this book. It's more of the same kind of thing; sociopathic women engaging in codependent relationships, and it all ends tragically. I loved Social Creature (though it has more of a Talented Mr. Ripley type of plot), but I think The World Cannot Give is a better version of that novel, so I kind of prefer it now. This is a more complex take on her previous work.
I love sinister and charismatic characters like Virginia who steal almost every scene they're in. I want a prequel about her life before she came to the boarding school and befriended Laura. I want to know her perspective on everything that ended up happening near the end. I want to see the beginnings of her romance with Isobel. I'm just so fascinated by her, and my one complaint is that there wasn't enough page time given to the final moments between her and Laura.
Honestly, the whole choir aspect of the novel sounded like it wasn't going to be very interesting to me (I'm not a big fan of novels about cults) but it ended up sucking me in. I think if Virginia continued on the path she was on, she would have grown up to be one of those predatory people who uses religion as a front to hide her darker impulses.
Laura as a main character was very relatable and almost as fascinating as Virginia. (Though my one complaint is that I wish she had realized her feelings for Virginia sooner and something would have come of it. This author always writes characters who are extremely repressed and that kind of prevents them from realizing their true feelings until the end of the novel. I'm a romance reader so this is always a bummer to me, no matter how much I love these books) I was kind of irritated by Isobel, to be honest. She was a necessary character, but I didn't think she was particularly nice or good like Laura would have us believe. I always felt she treated her pretty badly and was almost always so rude.
Overall, if you like women-centric thrillers, I'd definitely recommend this novel. It's atmospheric and haunting and dark and I loved it so much.
TW: Physical abuse, emotional manipulation, non-graphic murder, thoughts of self-harm
that one homoerotic friendship that really fucks you up good 🙂
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide, Murder, Fire/Fire injury
i was excited about this one, but it didn’t quite deliver for me! why do the lesbians always have to die? is this 1960?