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3.41 AVERAGE
3.41 AVERAGE
This book did not live up to the hype and should not be compared to Gillian Flynn.
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'm still reading this book, about 50% finished. I decided to read it because I need something mind numbingly easy to read right now during a long hospital stay with my son. The reviews were mixed, but again I decided to dive in given it's pretty easy reading.
The reviews describing Ani as unlikeable, annoying, shallow are getting to me now, however. Because it occurs to me this is exactly why girls like Ani don't speak up. People who don't like the book because they don't like Ani miss the entire point of the story .
It's unlikable, insecure, broken little girls like Ani that are this book is for. And the scathing reviews are evidence that everything they believe people will think about them is true.
Not liking a book because the writing or story is inferior, is one thing. But not liking it because you don't like the hero, well I hope that trend goes away. Insight into unlikable people is exactly why I enjoy reading. It helps me be a bit braver in real life to see past my own assumptions, and friend the person the unlikeable personality has been crafted to protect.
All done. I thought it was an insightful look into how the women we love to hate are born. The hard shell put on to protect a crushed spirit, that ends up deflecting genuine relationships that would heal the broken spirit. I encourage anyone tempted to dislike Ani, to look a little deeper. With a kind person or two at her time if crisis, how may Ani have been completely different?
The reviews describing Ani as unlikeable, annoying, shallow are getting to me now, however. Because it occurs to me this is exactly why girls like Ani don't speak up. People who don't like the book because they don't like Ani miss the entire point of the story .
It's unlikable, insecure, broken little girls like Ani that are this book is for. And the scathing reviews are evidence that everything they believe people will think about them is true.
Not liking a book because the writing or story is inferior, is one thing. But not liking it because you don't like the hero, well I hope that trend goes away. Insight into unlikable people is exactly why I enjoy reading. It helps me be a bit braver in real life to see past my own assumptions, and friend the person the unlikeable personality has been crafted to protect.
All done. I thought it was an insightful look into how the women we love to hate are born. The hard shell put on to protect a crushed spirit, that ends up deflecting genuine relationships that would heal the broken spirit. I encourage anyone tempted to dislike Ani, to look a little deeper. With a kind person or two at her time if crisis, how may Ani have been completely different?
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was on my read list because it was on a books-to-movies list. While I didn't love the book and was not expecting the darker tone of the book or the main twist, I am curious now to see how they'd make a movie of it. Ani isn't all that likeable, ever, and I wanted more at the end of the book when she finally seemed to becoming more so.
dark
tense
medium-paced
I picked this book because I loved Gone Girl & the cover (and several entertainment magazines) highly recommend this book of you loved GG.
What a crock.
This book was so hard to read and understand. The first problem....the main characters name! TifAni FaNelli. This name is annoying to look at, much less read. Secondly, she is a nasty person, a nasty mean girl, ugliness oozes out of her. There is no comparison to Amy's Gone Girl in my opinion. "Ani" takes the cake on being a pure you know what. Thirdly, the back and forth from past to present had no rhythm or rhyme.
Without spoilers, Ani FaNelli lived through a disturbing trauma, which one would think made her the way she is....but no. She was nasty before her trauma. The beginning was ssslllloooowwww, like why do I care about this mean person? Literally at page 200, it grabbed my attention mostly because I didn't see IT coming. The last few chapters drug on, then the story just ended .....badly. Abruptly.
Thumbs down!
lived through a haunting disturbing trauma
What a crock.
This book was so hard to read and understand. The first problem....the main characters name! TifAni FaNelli. This name is annoying to look at, much less read. Secondly, she is a nasty person, a nasty mean girl, ugliness oozes out of her. There is no comparison to Amy's Gone Girl in my opinion. "Ani" takes the cake on being a pure you know what. Thirdly, the back and forth from past to present had no rhythm or rhyme.
Without spoilers, Ani FaNelli lived through a disturbing trauma, which one would think made her the way she is....but no. She was nasty before her trauma. The beginning was ssslllloooowwww, like why do I care about this mean person? Literally at page 200, it grabbed my attention mostly because I didn't see IT coming. The last few chapters drug on, then the story just ended .....badly. Abruptly.
Thumbs down!
lived through a haunting disturbing trauma
"Unexpected twists and turns" is hugely overstating this book. "For fans of Gone Girl" is an embarrassment to Gillian Flynn. While this book was an okay read, I started it with high expectations and was severely disappointed. The 'secret past' is blatantly obvious for anyone living in the 21st century. The "big reveals" of Ani's past were poorly executed. And even though Ani was meant to be a bit of an antihero (at least that's how she came across to me) there was not a single character I had an emotional attachment to.
This is interesting psychological suspense. It starts out with a character that seems incredibly shallow and manipulative, but then you learn her back story & you understand why she developed this armor.
She’s presented as the quintessential sophisticated single female New Yorker - pretty, well-dressed, extremely skinny, bitchy, and knowledgeable. And she’s hooked the perfect rich, good-looking guy. Later on, we learn that he’s not exactly enlightened, but this doesn’t matter so much to Ani, because all she needs is her trophy husband.
In the novel, Ani is asked to appear in a documentary about a pivotal event in her life, something terrible that happened when she was fourteen and a new student at a prestigious school. At the same time, she runs into one of the pivotal figures from that time, her old teacher, Mr. Larson. All this brings back the old trauma and cuts through her barriers.
The novel alternates backstory with current developments, and the backstory is basically about the viciousness of high school social climbing. This novel is another addition to the “children are cruel” body of literature. It’s “Lord of the Flies” with slightly older children and a much posher environment.
She’s presented as the quintessential sophisticated single female New Yorker - pretty, well-dressed, extremely skinny, bitchy, and knowledgeable. And she’s hooked the perfect rich, good-looking guy. Later on, we learn that he’s not exactly enlightened, but this doesn’t matter so much to Ani, because all she needs is her trophy husband.
In the novel, Ani is asked to appear in a documentary about a pivotal event in her life, something terrible that happened when she was fourteen and a new student at a prestigious school. At the same time, she runs into one of the pivotal figures from that time, her old teacher, Mr. Larson. All this brings back the old trauma and cuts through her barriers.
The novel alternates backstory with current developments, and the backstory is basically about the viciousness of high school social climbing. This novel is another addition to the “children are cruel” body of literature. It’s “Lord of the Flies” with slightly older children and a much posher environment.