Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

The Quarry Girls by Jess Lourey

69 reviews

noraestelle's profile picture

noraestelle's review

4.5
dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Lately, I’ve been doing two things differently. I’ve been using a structured rating system to get my star count and I’ve been waiting a handful of days before rating/reviewing the book I’ve read. I feel like doing this helps me figure out if the book really impacted me/stuck with me. I’m able to get my thoughts in order. This book has passed the test. I’ve been thinking about it since I’ve finished it. I think it’s a wonderful look into what women had to go through in the past and how it sadly hasn’t changed much now. If someone ever doesn’t understand WHY women are so terrified daily, this is a perfect read for them. It’s like a coming of age story mixed with mystery with potentially very hard topics. The ending warmed my heart and I don’t know. I can’t put into enough words how special this book is! 

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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lgiery's profile picture

lgiery's review

3.0
dark emotional sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

A true crime inspired suspense story with elements of a coming of age story. The protagonist(s) are excellently written although there all some gaps in the writing. 

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dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

I believe this is my fourth Jess Lourey book and I can confidently say that she knows how to deliver and exciting mystery. One of my favorite subgenres is small town horror/thriller stories from a kids perspective that takes place in the not too distant past. That's very specific and Jess Lourey does a good job of it.

This book is about 16 year old Heather. She lives in a small town and wants to spend her summer playing drums in her band and spending time with her friends but things get crazy when a girl in town goes missing. Heather has to figure out who around her she can trust and unravel the mystery while trying to watch out for her younger sister, deal with her mom's unpredictable mental health, and struggle with the fact that her friends are growing up faster than her.

This wasn't a perfect story but I like with this authors other books, I found myself enjoying the process so much that I felt I needed to give it a pretty high rating.

Heather is a super likeable character. You can really feel the bond between her and her friends. A lot of Heathers feelings about her friends and growing up are super relatable.

The mystery unravels at a pace that makes you want to read this book in only a few sittings. 

There were some things I didn't like. I felt like the climax of the book could have been a bit more exciting - it almost felt a bit rushed. I also wanted to know a bit more about Healther's mom and the reasoning behind Heathers "accident". There was a lot of things that were hinted at, especially regarding the camps and such. But I felt like I didn't get all the answers. I also felt like the moms should have done more to protect their daughters if there was something sus going on in the town. I have questions.

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dark emotional tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Wow. One of the twistiest thrillers I have ever read. Had an impending sense of dread the entire time. Was sort of predictable but in a way that left me empty and sad because this happens in real life. We know how these stories go because we have seen them on the news. Brilliantly written.

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jadynnotsmith's profile picture

jadynnotsmith's review

2.0
dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

The quarry…. Girls. Yes girls. Stupid stupid cops. Dumb dumb men cops. Cops in the 70’s EVEN WORSE. Wait small town men cops in the 70’s?! WAAh i can’t take this anymore!! 

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kjett1883's review

5.0
dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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nurseann7161's profile picture

nurseann7161's review

3.0
challenging dark inspiring mysterious fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
challenging emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No

Expand filter menu Content Warnings