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paulineerika's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.5
I love that Melissa Albert is not afraid to be dark. Her characters and her stories are not necessarily light and happy and even if the ending isn't bad, it doesn't mean it's a happily ever after.
The Bad Ones is billed as a story about semi-toxic friendships and the thin line between reality and make-believe in children's games. It mostly lives up to that billing. This book was hard for me to put down, even in the slower parts. And while the ending is happy-ish, you still get the sense there's unfinished business or trauma that's not being dealt with. It's all still very much in the air.
Nora and Becca are best friends, but the friendship doesn't seem particularly equal or even healthy at first. But as the story goes on, we learn more about what Becca has experienced and given her (implicit) already-somewhat fragile mental state, her susceptibilityto the goddess games and the "goddess" herself is not surprising.
What is surprising?The fact that it wasn't Becca at all. Or maybe I'm just slow.
I wasn't entirely clear on what happened to Becca's body while the goddess was possessing Nora or how Becca came back with such scarred lungs, etc. I would have liked to read more about her and what she went through in her own POV, versus Nora's.
The Bad Ones is billed as a story about semi-toxic friendships and the thin line between reality and make-believe in children's games. It mostly lives up to that billing. This book was hard for me to put down, even in the slower parts. And while the ending is happy-ish, you still get the sense there's unfinished business or trauma that's not being dealt with. It's all still very much in the air.
Nora and Becca are best friends, but the friendship doesn't seem particularly equal or even healthy at first. But as the story goes on, we learn more about what Becca has experienced and given her (implicit) already-somewhat fragile mental state, her susceptibility
What is surprising?
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pedophilia and Sexual harassment
Minor: Bullying, Misogyny, and Sexual violence
avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
When 3 students and a teacher go missing one night, one of their best friends, Nora, and the mysterious boy James, get pulled into an old town myth, the Goddess Game.
Well, I found the book partly predictable. I figured out what was up with the connection to the old game, or who was now in the story was connected to it pretty easily.
There were some good parts, like the interesting twist as to why these particular people disappeared, and what exactly was going on with Becca being a bit harder to guess.
I didn't like the "evil Goddess" thing. It's an anti-Pagan trope that rubs me the wrong way, even though I do not identify as Pagan.
Overall, the book wasn't terrible, it was just a bit too anti-Pagan and predictable for me. Though at least it wasn't preachy it was more overall anti-religion.
Narrator Rating: 4 stars
The narrator was excellent but not spectacular. Her voice can also be a bit annoying at certain points; it just depends on her tone.
Elemental Levels: Heartfelt-3/5 Mystery-3/5 Predictability-3.5/5 Suspense-1/5 Tear- 2.5/5 Thrill-1/5
Well, I found the book partly predictable. I figured out what was up with the connection to the old game, or who was now in the story was connected to it pretty easily.
There were some good parts, like the interesting twist as to why these particular people disappeared, and what exactly was going on with Becca being a bit harder to guess.
I didn't like the "evil Goddess" thing. It's an anti-Pagan trope that rubs me the wrong way, even though I do not identify as Pagan.
Overall, the book wasn't terrible, it was just a bit too anti-Pagan and predictable for me. Though at least it wasn't preachy it was more overall anti-religion.
Narrator Rating: 4 stars
The narrator was excellent but not spectacular. Her voice can also be a bit annoying at certain points; it just depends on her tone.
Elemental Levels: Heartfelt-3/5 Mystery-3/5 Predictability-3.5/5 Suspense-1/5 Tear- 2.5/5 Thrill-1/5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Grief, Lesbophobia, and Alcohol
Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Child death, Infidelity, Self harm, Sexual violence, and Mass/school shootings
goodwitchs's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings: death, murder, death of a parent, toxic friendship, blood, drowning, violence, brief descriptions of sexual violence, grooming
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC!
Love and devotion, while similar, are not exactly the same. Their definitions run alongside one another, sometimes overlapping, their edges bleeding together. In that dark, blurry space where they meet lives Melissa Albert’s The Bad Ones.
Over the course of a single winter night, four people within the same city vanish into thin air. One of the missing is Nora’s best friend, a talented photographer named Becca. Becca and Nora haven’t spoken in three months, until the night that Becca texts Nora “I love you” out of nowhere.
By the time Nora arrives at Becca’s house to talk, her friend is nowhere to be found.
This is a story that starts out creepy and gets a whole lot creepier. The sense of dread was wonderful; it was impossible to look away. The more I learned about the missing people and the city’s dark past, the more questions I had. All I wanted was to stay up all night and finish the book in one sitting.
I enjoyed the characters a lot more than I usually do with YA books. As a narrator, Nora was a character I could empathize with, and who I couldn’t help but root for. She was believable and likable, which is not always the case with teenage protagonists. The glimpses of Becca were even more interesting to me; I would love to read a version from her point of view. And all the side characters — James, Ruth, Sloane, Cat — stood out in their own ways.
The magical aspect is deliciously done. This is not sparkly, Disney-fairy magic. This is dark and primeval and quite possibly not of this earth. It is magic with a taste, a texture. It is feral little girl magic, amplified a thousand times over.
If any of this sounds up your alley, make sure to check out The Bad Ones. You won’t regret it.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC!
Love and devotion, while similar, are not exactly the same. Their definitions run alongside one another, sometimes overlapping, their edges bleeding together. In that dark, blurry space where they meet lives Melissa Albert’s The Bad Ones.
Over the course of a single winter night, four people within the same city vanish into thin air. One of the missing is Nora’s best friend, a talented photographer named Becca. Becca and Nora haven’t spoken in three months, until the night that Becca texts Nora “I love you” out of nowhere.
By the time Nora arrives at Becca’s house to talk, her friend is nowhere to be found.
This is a story that starts out creepy and gets a whole lot creepier. The sense of dread was wonderful; it was impossible to look away. The more I learned about the missing people and the city’s dark past, the more questions I had. All I wanted was to stay up all night and finish the book in one sitting.
I enjoyed the characters a lot more than I usually do with YA books. As a narrator, Nora was a character I could empathize with, and who I couldn’t help but root for. She was believable and likable, which is not always the case with teenage protagonists. The glimpses of Becca were even more interesting to me; I would love to read a version from her point of view. And all the side characters — James, Ruth, Sloane, Cat — stood out in their own ways.
The magical aspect is deliciously done. This is not sparkly, Disney-fairy magic. This is dark and primeval and quite possibly not of this earth. It is magic with a taste, a texture. It is feral little girl magic, amplified a thousand times over.
If any of this sounds up your alley, make sure to check out The Bad Ones. You won’t regret it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Homophobia, Sexual violence, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol
Minor: Infidelity, Self harm, Mass/school shootings, and Car accident