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mariaadamaszek's review against another edition
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I wish the ending were different but other than that it was decent. I'd recommend it to others.
ptstewart's review against another edition
5.0
For Your Own Good is wild.
It is worth acknowledging first that the writing leans heavily on telling rather than showing, and the characters sometimes feel like caricatures. The overwriting is not so insignificant to not be noticeable.
But hear me out: the story here is nuts. Teddy Crutcher, our primary POV, is an unreliable narrator and a psycho to boot. He’s villainous and sinister, and his motivation is rooted in ego, narcissism, and—sign me the fuck up—an unwavering and wholly misguided conception of right and wrong, good and bad, and the bounds of moral behavior in the face of human betterment. What we’re looking at is a lawful evil character who wholeheartedly believes himself to be lawful good. Say less.
This naturally brings us to the crux of why For Your Own Good fundamentally works. Teddy’s perception of himself, the world, and those around him is deeply flawed. This differentiates himself from no other character; we are treated to POVs for characters who reasonably misinterpret scenes they observed from afar that we, as the readers, experienced first hand hand. They misconstrue information. They allow personal biases to inform (though not cement) their beliefs. In short, they follow motivations we can reasonably understand while also knowing they are unfounded, which creates interest as we know they approach disaster. Then, pulsing beneath all of this is the fact that every character is just a smidge unhinged. Teddy makes fake online profiles to spy on his students, Zach stalks his teachers after school, Sonja is furious that attention is taken away from her at her 10 year celebration party because a woman drops dead, and Fallon sends threatening emails to one guy for years. Because everyone here is a little insane, the more sinister and devious actions of every character are more and more believable; we are reading about a world in which characters will take things two or three, but rarely four, steps too far (excluding the truly immense amount of murder and its many different methods); as readers, we are then left uncomfortable, eyes narrowed, but not disbelieving.
Everyone thinks the wrong person is to blame, but everyone has their own suspect. There are so many perspectives that we are lulled into a false sense of security: Surely we know everything that’s going on! Until someone drops the other shoe, another person is killed with a different MO, and everyone is pointing fingers in opposite directions.
Finally, and I cannot stress this enough, the drinking milk thing as a reward is absolutely fucking disgusting, and Teddy should be jailed for that alone.
It is worth acknowledging first that the writing leans heavily on telling rather than showing, and the characters sometimes feel like caricatures. The overwriting is not so insignificant to not be noticeable.
But hear me out: the story here is nuts. Teddy Crutcher, our primary POV, is an unreliable narrator and a psycho to boot. He’s villainous and sinister, and his motivation is rooted in ego, narcissism, and—sign me the fuck up—an unwavering and wholly misguided conception of right and wrong, good and bad, and the bounds of moral behavior in the face of human betterment. What we’re looking at is a lawful evil character who wholeheartedly believes himself to be lawful good. Say less.
This naturally brings us to the crux of why For Your Own Good fundamentally works. Teddy’s perception of himself, the world, and those around him is deeply flawed. This differentiates himself from no other character; we are treated to POVs for characters who reasonably misinterpret scenes they observed from afar that we, as the readers, experienced first hand hand. They misconstrue information. They allow personal biases to inform (though not cement) their beliefs. In short, they follow motivations we can reasonably understand while also knowing they are unfounded, which creates interest as we know they approach disaster. Then, pulsing beneath all of this is the fact that every character is just a smidge unhinged. Teddy makes fake online profiles to spy on his students, Zach stalks his teachers after school, Sonja is furious that attention is taken away from her at her 10 year celebration party because a woman drops dead, and Fallon sends threatening emails to one guy for years. Because everyone here is a little insane, the more sinister and devious actions of every character are more and more believable; we are reading about a world in which characters will take things two or three, but rarely four, steps too far (excluding the truly immense amount of murder and its many different methods); as readers, we are then left uncomfortable, eyes narrowed, but not disbelieving.
Everyone thinks the wrong person is to blame, but everyone has their own suspect. There are so many perspectives that we are lulled into a false sense of security: Surely we know everything that’s going on! Until someone drops the other shoe, another person is killed with a different MO, and everyone is pointing fingers in opposite directions.
Finally, and I cannot stress this enough, the drinking milk thing as a reward is absolutely fucking disgusting, and Teddy should be jailed for that alone.
jami_reads's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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
4.0
danielle1211's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ashction's review against another edition
5.0
Yes, 1000x YES. There was nothing about this book I didn't like and no clue left unconnected from the mystery. And the narrators! The character foils! THE SUSPENSE!
caddiemortes's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
michaela_carrizales's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
4.25
thriller_buffet's review against another edition
4.0
Again Samantha Downing blows my mind with her plots.
I loved the book so much. Not as much as My lovely wife and definitely more than He Started it.
I just love the dark humour imbedded between the lines.
How every character has his/her hidden agenda. No one is perfect indeed.
I couldn’t stop hearing the audiobook not because the story was so interesting but because David Pittu adds tons to the eccentricity of the characters.
I wished the ending took a different turn but nonetheless it was incredibly executed!
Can’t wait for more SD books narrated by DP!!
I loved the book so much. Not as much as My lovely wife and definitely more than He Started it.
I just love the dark humour imbedded between the lines.
How every character has his/her hidden agenda. No one is perfect indeed.
I couldn’t stop hearing the audiobook not because the story was so interesting but because David Pittu adds tons to the eccentricity of the characters.
I wished the ending took a different turn but nonetheless it was incredibly executed!
Can’t wait for more SD books narrated by DP!!
blank_blank's review against another edition
3.5
some parts felt super slow but man that ending WAS soooo good i loved how it left off
i also liked how the characters where all super interesting- even if they seemed flat, which may contradict itself, butttttt i was always wondering what a character would do next or how they would respond to a situation, not because the characters themselves where unpredictable or anything, but because the situation was so insane, the characters themselves felt kind of boring and (besides Frank) never did anything outside of what the reader learns to expect from them (i guess that means not enough character development?). only character who i 200% back is Frank. i loved him so much i capitalized his name in this review.
i also liked how the characters where all super interesting- even if they seemed flat, which may contradict itself, butttttt i was always wondering what a character would do next or how they would respond to a situation, not because the characters themselves where unpredictable or anything, but because the situation was so insane, the characters themselves felt kind of boring and (besides Frank) never did anything outside of what the reader learns to expect from them (i guess that means not enough character development?). only character who i 200% back is Frank. i loved him so much i capitalized his name in this review.