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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
I had a difficult time getting through this. While it wasn't uninteresting, I felt that the pacing could have been quicker. At times, it definitely seemed to drag on. However, it came together towards the end. It's not my favorite Riley Sager novel, but it's still a decent read!
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-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
3 ⭐️
- Ethan Marsh + Billy Barringer — BFFs; 10 year olds sleeping in the tent, July 1994.
- I love the spooky writing of the first chapter. I also love the double timeline; especially because I grew up in the 90s and also slept in a tent in both my back and front yard — never feared anything happening. It had a really good nostalgic feel to the writing.
- Jumps to 2024; Ethan is back in his parent’s house and still traumatized by the missing Billy, 30 years later.
- Finding the baseball in the yard… 👻
- Things that surprised me or I was intrigued by in the novel:
- Page 120 — Billy didn’t scream; I never thought of that until that page.
- Page 134 — Claudia asking Ethan why he doesn’t want to have kids? She’s giving dumb bitch energy. Like girl, the dude is traumatized. It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure it out.
- I generally don’t like that he keeps leaving voicemails for Claudia. It’s just sad.
- Page 193: “Life is hard. There’s no point denying it. The world is often brutal and cruel, and it only seems to get harder as time marches forward. The pressures and dangers kids face today are so much worse than when I was that age. I can’t imagine how parents like Russ and Ashley handle the anxiety. I don’t have the emotional bandwidth for it. Something Claudia never understood.”
- Page 207: “Death is merely an illusion.”
- Ezra Hawthorne — what’s his story?
- Page 297: Claudia died. 😱🤯
- Page 299: “Grief is weird that way. It can make you think things you shouldn’t be thinking. Or believe things that, deep down, you know are impossible. And I suspect you desperately want to think Billy is back because it means — that Claudia can come back too.”
- Page 302: “But you’re braver than me. You always have been. So if having a baby will make you happy, then I think we should do it. Let’s have a baby.” 🤦🏻♀️
- I understand the grief and the texting but I don’t know if I like that one response.
- Page 310: “‘Why can’t you be normal? Why do you have to be such a weirdo? Why do you always have to be such a freak? If you like ghosts so much, why don’t you just die and become one?” 😳
- Holy 💩.
- 10 year old Ethan has some rage.
- RUSS SLASHED THE TENT. 🤯
- I see it.
- Andy Barringer.
- Ashley — drunk driving.
- Page 361: “There were no villains in this story. Nor were there heroes. Just a neighbourhood of flawed people, some more than others.”
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Kind of boring but the end was nice
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
dark
mysterious
tense
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
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
dark
emotional
tense
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
So good. Great twists and turns. Keeps you on the edge of your seat
3.5 rounded up. Not as captivating as other Sager books, but good story nonetheless. I like how you never know of his books will be supernatural or reality. And this book had some twists and turns I didn't expect.