Reviews

You Can Trust Me by Gina Blaxill

rachelkat's review

emotional tense medium-paced

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

1.5

asigler03's review against another edition

2.0

WARNING: I really tried to make this brief but I have so many thoughts about this book.

I read "Love You to Death" by Blaxill last month, so I was optimistic going into this. However, I just didn't click with this book as much.

First, there are the obvious issues. First, the characters are a little bland. I found it pretty hard to care about Alana and the stalking incidents because she didn't feel like a real person. Also, she makes so many stupid decisions and holds guilt about all of the wrong things. There are things she should feel guilty about that get brushed off. Also, I think this tried to tackle too many themes.

Now, my real complaint about this book which, unfortunately, is a MAJOR spoiler.

Spoiler

I'll start with Xander. I did end up liking his character. However, making him so innocent almost seemed to spoil the theme of the book. Also, some of the comments he makes when Alana still views him as the enemy rub me the wrong way, and there isn't enough character development for me to truly get over that. Even more so than Xander, though, are my issues with the twist, and the reveal of the killers. Both choices were good in theory. Henry was clearly bad, and I'm glad a redemption arc wasn't attempted, and the twist of Marley also being involved showcased an important theme about some girls being complicit in the harassment of other girls because of close ties with the perpetrators. However, the choice to make them both Supervillains™. Their history, including the murder of their parents, is absolutely ridiculous. Unfortunately, the people behind assault aren't normally villains twirling their mustache; they're often friends and people you thought you could trust. Making the choice to add their backstory for shock value cheapened the overall theme, at least for me.

Overall, this book was okay, but don't go into it expecting a masterpiece. It's an easy-to-read thriller that kept my attention, but the themes are jumbled. This is fun, but it isn't a deep dive into themes of assault and the reality of being a girl, like the premise seemed to suggest.

queenie_literary2022's review

medium-paced

4.0

germi's review

tense

4.75

alex2009's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.5

daisyeliza's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

kindle_and_crossstitch's review

4.0

*thank you to the Motherload Book Club and Scholastic for my copy*

I really enjoyed this. It’s been a while since I’ve read a YA book but so pleased I read this. Packed with teen angst, mystery and thrills aplenty.

After her parents separated, Alana moves home and school and only knows her childhood family friend, Esme. When Esme goes missing at a New Year’s Eve party and is found nearly dead, Alana begins to question who could be behind the attack on her friend and if she was the intended target.

There are some tricky subjects covered throughout the book; date rape, harassment and murder to name a few, but all done sensitively.

I’ve got a pretty strong record in guessing who has committed the crime in a thriller novel & did work this out l but it wasn’t straightforward, with a lot of suspects and my guess was mainly due to some fairly strong hints from the author at times.

Recommend for any YA crime fans!

20evab09's review

4.0

I started reading this book and assumed it would completely focus on the whole rape side of things. I couldn't be so wrong! The murders are written so well and I loved reading this book! A lot of the plot twists were very unexpected but they helped the storyline in so many ways. I didn't expect the ending AT ALL and was happily surprised at everything!

amelia_forest3's review

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.75

jadetxx's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5