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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
This follows Bodie, as she returns to her old school to teach and finds herself thrown back into the mystery surrounding the events of her roommates murder.
It took me a while to get through this because I found the first chunk of the book really slow paced so just didn't really care what was happening. Once the plot picked up it was more enjoyable but didn't really do much for me. I thought it was a bit preachy at times too - there was a lot of discussion of true crime as a genre and the me too movement which seemed out of place because it didn't fit into the plot at all.
I liked the last portion of the book a lot more. I thought way it ended was really unsatisfying but made a lot of sense. The commentary the book was trying to make came through really well here I thought.
It took me a while to get through this because I found the first chunk of the book really slow paced so just didn't really care what was happening. Once the plot picked up it was more enjoyable but didn't really do much for me. I thought it was a bit preachy at times too - there was a lot of discussion of true crime as a genre and the me too movement which seemed out of place because it didn't fit into the plot at all.
I liked the last portion of the book a lot more. I thought way it ended was really unsatisfying but made a lot of sense. The commentary the book was trying to make came through really well here I thought.
DNF. quit @ 40% just trying to get myself to 50. Like watching paint dry. And the audio was worse. Snore.
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Murder, Abandonment, Sexual harassment
Moderate: Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence
interesting plot, but boringly written and far too lengthy...
ooooh man this was infuriating and excellent. it has a little bit of all the things i love (unlikeable women! campus setting! mystery!) and was a really enjoyable listen.
I have complicated feelings on this one, so I may revisit my rating after I sit with them for a bit.
Our MC is completely unlikable, which isn't always a bad thing, but I'm still trying to decide how I feel about it and whether it was intentional. She is so judgemental, whiney, impulsive, destructive, and self-important. But I do think it's interesting how that makes her such an unreliable narrator-- we can see that she's so fixated on her own theories and vendettas that it's blinding her, we just don't know what it's blinding her to.
Another issue I have is that we jumped around time periods so inconsistently and with little indication that was happening. I primarily read this by audio so maybe there's more nuance in the way the text is written, but there were several times where I had to rewind and try to figure out where the story was.
Finally, there's an element of repetition throughout the novel that I don't quite know how to describe. It's referring to the detached way we talk about so many crimes against women, but I don't think it really reaches any meaningful level of commentary; rather, the repetition started to grate on my nerves more than it served any real effect.
Overall, this book is a not-quite-ready version of My Dark Vanessa crossed with a murder mystery. I'd still hesitantly recommend, but I think expectations should be managed.
Our MC is completely unlikable, which isn't always a bad thing, but I'm still trying to decide how I feel about it and whether it was intentional. She is so judgemental, whiney, impulsive, destructive, and self-important. But I do think it's interesting how that makes her such an unreliable narrator-- we can see that she's so fixated on her own theories and vendettas that it's blinding her, we just don't know what it's blinding her to.
Another issue I have is that we jumped around time periods so inconsistently and with little indication that was happening. I primarily read this by audio so maybe there's more nuance in the way the text is written, but there were several times where I had to rewind and try to figure out where the story was.
Finally, there's an element of repetition throughout the novel that I don't quite know how to describe. It's referring to the detached way we talk about so many crimes against women, but I don't think it really reaches any meaningful level of commentary; rather, the repetition started to grate on my nerves more than it served any real effect.
Overall, this book is a not-quite-ready version of My Dark Vanessa crossed with a murder mystery. I'd still hesitantly recommend, but I think expectations should be managed.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I'm conflicted. A lot of it made me think and had a good plot, but then a lot was just droning on about nothing. I found myself rereading several pages to understand what the author was trying to give us. There are parts where the POV is narrator talking TO someone else... but then the same narrator is talking AS someone else. It's as confusing as it sounds lol.
Also, a lot of filler information that could have been redacted. The book was 435 pages and could have been 300 in my opinion. And there was not really a finite ending to the story. A lot of questions left unanswered, and yes that is ironic due to the title of the book.
But ultimately it wasn't BAD so I give it 3.5 stars.
Also, a lot of filler information that could have been redacted. The book was 435 pages and could have been 300 in my opinion. And there was not really a finite ending to the story. A lot of questions left unanswered, and yes that is ironic due to the title of the book.
But ultimately it wasn't BAD so I give it 3.5 stars.
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes