Reviews with content warning for Medical content - The It Girl

I am not someone who typically enjoys mysteries and thrillers, but I’m trying to get out of my comfort zone more often. I picked up The It Girl by Ruth Ware for a transatlantic flight, thinking it would pass the time.

Although I’ve seen some people complain about the slow pace of this book, I appreciate the fact that this book takes its time to develop its characters and their backstories. The depth of its characters saves the book from being irredeemably unoriginal (a wealthy and sexy popular college student at Oxford is murdered! I haven’t heard that one before /s). The protagonist, Hannah, is not exactly the most dynamic main character on the planet, but Ware writes her trauma in a believable and sympathetic way. I especially like that Ware gives Hannah a good reason for revisiting the murder several years later—there’s nothing I hate more than main characters who play detective for the fun of it.

In short, I found myself enjoying the story for the first 80% or so. It is more grounded in reality than other thrillers I’ve read and is decently well-written. However, I know from experience that thrillers rarely impress me with their endings. Usually, thriller and mystery endings ruin the stories for me; why do thriller and mystery authors feel so desperate to add so many twists and turns to their story at the expense of narrative cohesion? Unfortunately, The It Girl is no exception. The ending and its twists are stupid, unbelievable, and ridiculous. I can think of a handful of alternative endings that would have made more sense than this one.

The Run-Down:

You will probably like The It Girl if . . .

· You like thrillers that take time to build up their characters

· You don’t mind “slow-paced” thrillers

· You like dark academia settings and vibes

You might not like The It Girl if . . .

· You want a book that will keep you on the edge of your seat the whole time

· You don’t like bland protaganists

· You dislike the twisty/turny nature of thriller endings

Content Warnings

theotheleo's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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danajoy's review against another edition

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dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.25

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madelinequinne's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

SPOILERS

Really enjoyed this, kind of reminded me of if we were villains.

I would have NEVER guessed Hugh was April’s killer until those last few chapters, i was so sure it was going to be Will the whole time up until then, and I love a plot twist so automatically loved this book

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meeklovestoread's review

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.5

This is the first novel by Ruth Ware and I hate to say that I'm pretty disappointed. It doesn't;t help that I read a book with this similar trope just a few days prior. I've been reading a lot of thrillers lately so the tropes have definitely been getting repetitive. This book was INCREDIBLY slow. She doesn't even agree to talk to the reporter until about 150-200 pages. I don't know how to describe my experience with this book. I didn't hate it (cuz if I did I wouldn't have finished it), but I didn't particularly like it either. I feel like it dragged when it didn't need to (especially the first 60-70 pages). The last 60 pages were very anxiety-inducing so I'll give her that.

I don't think I'll classify this as a thriller because there wasn't anything "thrilling" anything about it. No bread crumbs to leave you guessing. It really just centered on Hannah's guilt that she could've potentially put an innocent man away. Speaking of him, I know she wrote him as this creepy guy to establish why Hannah felt the way that she felt about him, but even as I was reading his scenes I couldn't help but feel creeped out with her. He was a very odd bloke and his actions towards her were unsettling. Although his actions were creepy, I did see a comment that stated that John Neville's behavior was consistent with someone on the spectrum. I don't want to stigmatize so this is just a theory, but as I was reading about him and his mannerism I couldn't help but think the same thing. I don't think he meant much harm to Hannah. He may just not have understood her discomfort ( just a theory). Also, that teacher is also disgusting. I know good and well he was sleeping with his students.

As for the portion of who did it, I honestly would've preferred if this specific character that they were pointing out for most of the book was the killer.

Although predictable I wish it would've been Will that was the killer. They were alluding to it for a good portion of the second half of the book and I honestly think it would've made more sense. It being Hugh wasn't predictable, but his reasoning did add much impact in my opinion. It just felt like a twist that can out of nowhere. And what was the point of her finding out about that window shortcut if it was;t going to be an important element later? I feel like that was a waste of a potential plot point.

Also, can we just talk about how Hannah barely prioritized her child's health this entire book.

The fact that her baby survived all that stress feels extremely unrealistic even by book standards. I was honestly expecting her to lose it in the end and have Will be the killer.

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yvo_about_books's review against another edition

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2.25

Finished reading: July 2nd 2023

“Don’t let yourself get caught up in what-ifs. That way madness lies.”

WARNING: it's unpopular opinion time again!!

I somehow tend to have a love-hate relationship with Ruth Ware's books. Some of her titles are on my list of favorites, while others fail to hit the mark completely instead... I tend to love her gothic thrillers most, so part of me was a bit hesitant to pick up The It Girl because I wasn't sure how I would react to it. Most people seemed to enjoy the story and I did like the sound of the blurb, so I still had hopes that I would enjoy it... But in the end it just wasn't ment to be. I think part of the issue was that the pace is considerably slow, and it took a LONG time for anything substantial to happen. Add the fact that I didn't like any of the characters, which is always an issue in a character-driven story, and I struggled considerably to find the motivation to keep reading. Sure, we have the mystery around April's death, but I honestly couldn't care less who did it and I personally thought she had it coming. Hannah was very frustrating as a character, both the past and present chapters. The It Girl is mostly a story of toxic friendships, characters not standing up for themselves, infidelity and a not exactly credible hunt for the truth in the present. By the time things got a little more tense near the end, I had already long given up on the story... And I didn't find the reveals exactly worth the wait either. In short, The It Girl was overlong, way too slow and had a disappointing cast of unlikeable and frustrating characters. This is probably one of my least favorite Ruth Ware stories to date... I do hope she will return to the gothic thrillers at some point, because otherwise I might just have to leave her books be in the future.

Content Warnings

katymat18's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

This one felt eerily similar to In My Dreams I Hold a Knife plot-wise, and while I gave that one 5 stars there was something missing in The It Girl for me. I pretty much love everything Ruth Ware writes, but this book just felt super slow to me and the motive felt a bit weak. The ending is really where this story struck gold - I had my suspicions and was super thrilled to be proven right! However the amount of times Ware and our narrator made me question so many characters got a little irritating. In the end another solid who-done-it mystery by Ware, I did enjoy it despite some misgivings.

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