Reviews

Bewilderness by Karen Tucker

Only show reviews with written explanations

catparton_ok's review against another edition

4.0

I didn’t want to give in, but I was weak. I thought I could handle just a few more pages, thought there was no way I would read more than another chapter. I should have known better...Bewilderness had me addicted, and I was up all night until I finished. Karen Tucker weaves an intoxicating tale of Irene & Luce, bored coworkers in what could be Anytown, USA, bonding together into a fast friendship of drugs, adventure, addiction, and codependency. Bewilderness isn’t for the faint of heart but is the eye-opener that many readers may need; while it is not marketed as a YA novel, it is capable of hooking a wide audience & will appeal to a broad range of readers.

jessicas's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

shawofspades's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

Despite some obvious differences, the dynamic between the two main characters reminds me of Sal and Dean from On The Road or Nick Carrawy and Jay Gatsby from The Great Gatsby -- with one party befriending and then becoming obsessed with another who is larger-than-life. For Irene, the obsession is with her co-worker, Luce, and it seems subtly fueled by wanting something more than friendship. At the very least, there is a strong possessiveness and toxic codependency that results in jealousy or fear whenever Luce's attention is directed elsewhere. I liked how the obsession paralleled the addiction to drugs. The tone of the novel was great, and Karen manages an undercurrent of humor which can be difficult with this subject matter, but it is a great payoff when it works (as it does here). Overall, there is empathy for the struggle, so her humor is not punching down.

The scams they ran and the adventures they had were a joy to read. The only pauses I had (and this is very likely my own naivety) were how easily and quickly they could spot someone to sell them drugs. Whether it was a cashier, an old friend, or just typecasting someone pumping gas. Perhaps, if I read again, these instances were more spaced out and realistic, but on my first read-through, and perhaps because of the nonlinear structure, they felt very close together and a little magical/serendipitous at times. I also couldn't help but read the characters as a little older than they are.

Overall, a great read that I ripped through in one night!

Standout line: "Some people look extra sad when they don't know they're being watched."

sierraok's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

zips777's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

onceandfuturereads's review against another edition

Go to review page

sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I am pretty sure listening to this book made me dumber. There is hardly any plot, which would be fine since it's a novel about an important topic, except that for a character-driven story, there was hardly any characterization at all. I could not picture the characters or relate to them or feel for them (and it wasn't because of the subject matter, it was because it was poorly written). The writing style made me think of those "Dear Diary" historical fiction books, which is well and good (I used to love those!) but maybe this should have been marketed as YA. In other words, it was a very surface-level novel. It seemed like the author thought of a clever title and then just wrote a book for no reason (the title has nothing to do with the story). There were no shining examples of figurative language, symbolism, character analysis -- no food for thought. To top it all off,

the cop ends up being the good guy!

I'm giving two stars because I was compelled to keep reading, but overall I was very disappointed.

Content Warnings