Reviews

I enjoyed this despite not liking the main character. I think the book description was very misleading, which probably led to my disliking her as much as I did, because let’s be honest, we can almost always sympathize with a victim. In this case I just didn’t.

A young, very pregnant girl is kidnapped and held hostage, seemingly through her confinement so her baby can be sold and then she will be discarded. Kind of like a ready-made, disposable incubator. Gross. The back flap of the book makes it seem as if her captors are in more danger than she is because she is evil/criminal/whatever. I thought this was going to be an adult version of The Ransom of Red Chief. Not so.

This girl is smart. Wicked smart, I’ll give you that, but in no way wicked or evil. Not only is she really that smart, but she is also able to turn off emotions at whim which is very, very useful in this situation. Her captor is a punctual asshole. Sorry for the French, but there’s no other way to say it. He brings her meals on the dot, offers extra water and bathroom use, again, always on the dot, but also antagonizes her mercilessly.

The title of the book comes from her numbering her list of assets. Assets such as water, a pencil sharpener and a box spring. I listed those specifically because who else but a genius could figure out how to put those things together to attempt escape? This girl does!

The story is told as a “looking back” recollection, and while I liked the format, the differing POVs and the foreshadowing, I didn’t like any of the characters so couldn’t really lose myself in the story as I would have liked. Gillian Flynn somehow always manages to overcome this particular problem, so maybe this author will too with future books. I am certainly game to try another.

thegeekyblogger's review

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3.0

Listened for Review (Penguin/Random House Audio)
Overall Rating: 3.50
Story Rating: 3.50
Character Rating: 3.50

Audio Rating: 4.00 (not part of the overall rating)

Read It/Rate It Review: Other than a rather anti-climatic ending, I really enjoyed Method 15/33 by Shannon Kirk. I felt that the end just didn't hold up to the fantastic storytelling up to that point. I am such an ender that it really did kind of disappoint me. That being said, this book told a fantastic twisty tale!

Audio Thoughts:

Narrated By Greg Watanabe, Allyson Ryan / Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins

Greg and Allyson did a fantastic job with the narration. I liked the rawness they brought to the characters. It worked really well.

Part of my Read It, Rate It, File It, DONE! Review