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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
This was engaging and compelling. It fits perfectly into the “boarding school, elite group, awful initiation, what does it mean to fit in and/or be true to yourself” sub genre of literature.
Here are the books it reminded me of: special topics in calamity and physics, prep, stags, secret history.
The characters are not entirely likable, the end is a little tidy, but it is a great quick read.
I wonder why there are so many boarding school books. It’s not a “coming of age” story but more a Bildungsroman, where the moral growth of the character is at the apex of novel. The novel hinges on Charlie’s moral choices, who she decides to be, and that question is universal and often dealt with by adolescents and adults alike. On top of that it’s all wrapped in a well told mystery.
Here are the books it reminded me of: special topics in calamity and physics, prep, stags, secret history.
The characters are not entirely likable, the end is a little tidy, but it is a great quick read.
I wonder why there are so many boarding school books. It’s not a “coming of age” story but more a Bildungsroman, where the moral growth of the character is at the apex of novel. The novel hinges on Charlie’s moral choices, who she decides to be, and that question is universal and often dealt with by adolescents and adults alike. On top of that it’s all wrapped in a well told mystery.
Overall: 3.5/5 stars
Writing: 3.5/5 stars
Characters: 3.5/5 stars
Plot: 3.5/5 stars
Originality: 3/5 stars
Pacing: 4/5 stars
Cover: 4.5/5 stars
Ending: 3/5 stars
Enjoyment: 3.5/5 stars
Writing: 3.5/5 stars
Characters: 3.5/5 stars
Plot: 3.5/5 stars
Originality: 3/5 stars
Pacing: 4/5 stars
Cover: 4.5/5 stars
Ending: 3/5 stars
Enjoyment: 3.5/5 stars
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
I really enjoyed All These Beautiful Strangers! I was immediately hooked by the prologue, and looked forward to finding out what the mystery was.
Part of this book is set at a boarding school, and part of it is set at a family lakehouse. I loved both settings. They were tense, intriguing, and it was very easy to get lost in the story. There's also a secret society, which is such a fun aspect of the story. All These Beautiful Strangers has a lot of mysterious flashbacks, and I liked figuring out the mystery as the story went on (I did not solve it before the final reveal, so that's good).
This book may sound like it has a YA storyline, but it's told with an adult voice. I really loved it, and I'm so glad that I was able to receive a review copy. If you're a fan of Gossip Girl or Pretty Little Liars, but want something a little different, pick this one up!
Part of this book is set at a boarding school, and part of it is set at a family lakehouse. I loved both settings. They were tense, intriguing, and it was very easy to get lost in the story. There's also a secret society, which is such a fun aspect of the story. All These Beautiful Strangers has a lot of mysterious flashbacks, and I liked figuring out the mystery as the story went on (I did not solve it before the final reveal, so that's good).
This book may sound like it has a YA storyline, but it's told with an adult voice. I really loved it, and I'm so glad that I was able to receive a review copy. If you're a fan of Gossip Girl or Pretty Little Liars, but want something a little different, pick this one up!
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A really decent YA thriller. A typical one, but not in the bad way (or maybe i've just read too much bad ones that this seems good)
writing is okay. Tbh nothing notable, it was fine. The dialogue (esp. between teens). It was so horribly obvious that this was written around the 2018 era of ooohhhh im such a savage... PUUUUKKKEEEE! There are three perspectives in this book; Charlie, and her parents. I liked the parents' chapters in general, they felt like the perfect length and gave just the right amount of info. The present timeline with Charlie was a little bit slow on the action but idm because I read it pretty quickly even though it's 500 pages long. I think it could've been 440 pages because towards the end there some points kept being repeated which dulled the experience by just a little, but it was okay.
The characters are your typical rich boarding school stereotypes. They're all a bit cringe. The mc is a bitch and I kinda liked that. Her "growth" centers around the fact that she is not her own person (tbh no one is when they're 17), because everyone will always see her as the one with the scandalous parents (her mom being dead and her father owning some huge company, aww poor you). Although, this is more told to the reader as opposed to being shown. The other characters were hard to differentiate. Not much to say, forgettable, idc for them. But I do wish that I got to see Charlie's full character development. While it does show her realizing what she needs to be a better person and acting on it (once), it doesn't show the after because Charlie just tells you. Kind of lame but it's YA so you should know better.
The plot sounds like it was slightly inspired by Pretty Little Liars, but not the same. Its messy and messy is fun (in y/a). There is a romance subplot but tbh it's nothing you should care about, or at least I didn't. I liked the juggle between the parent plot and Charlie's mission to be a part of her school's "vigilante" group. However, I did feel like at times that the parent plot overshadowed Charlie's, but it's whatever since it all comes together anyway. The big reveal at the end only becomes obvious once you've learned about a certain character,Margot . Also that Leo thing... gross
writing is okay. Tbh nothing notable, it was fine. The dialogue (esp. between teens). It was so horribly obvious that this was written around the 2018 era of ooohhhh im such a savage... PUUUUKKKEEEE! There are three perspectives in this book; Charlie, and her parents. I liked the parents' chapters in general, they felt like the perfect length and gave just the right amount of info. The present timeline with Charlie was a little bit slow on the action but idm because I read it pretty quickly even though it's 500 pages long. I think it could've been 440 pages because towards the end there some points kept being repeated which dulled the experience by just a little, but it was okay.
The characters are your typical rich boarding school stereotypes. They're all a bit cringe. The mc is a bitch and I kinda liked that. Her "growth" centers around the fact that she is not her own person (tbh no one is when they're 17), because everyone will always see her as the one with the scandalous parents (her mom being dead and her father owning some huge company, aww poor you). Although, this is more told to the reader as opposed to being shown. The other characters were hard to differentiate. Not much to say, forgettable, idc for them. But I do wish that I got to see Charlie's full character development. While it does show her realizing what she needs to be a better person and acting on it (once), it doesn't show the after because Charlie just tells you. Kind of lame but it's YA so you should know better.
The plot sounds like it was slightly inspired by Pretty Little Liars, but not the same. Its messy and messy is fun (in y/a). There is a romance subplot but tbh it's nothing you should care about, or at least I didn't. I liked the juggle between the parent plot and Charlie's mission to be a part of her school's "vigilante" group. However, I did feel like at times that the parent plot overshadowed Charlie's, but it's whatever since it all comes together anyway. The big reveal at the end only becomes obvious once you've learned about a certain character,
This was awful. I DNF @ 35% but skimmed very quick and read the end. I listened on audio until the DNF. First off, this is so boring and way too long. The chapters are sooo long. It feels like this book is three stories shoved into one. There’s the secret society, the mother’s disappearance and the mother and father’s relationship with their POV. It was too much. I don’t see why there needed to be the mom and dad POV, it ended up being repetitive when Charlie found everything out anyways.
This didn’t feel like a YA, the characters swear and try to seem cool, but would never actually talk like that in real life. None of the characters are likeable, they all do weird and awful things, especially the relationship between the mom and dad and how that came to be. Charlie’s relationship with Leo, her cousin, is so weird, the had kissed, they cuddle, it’s so odd. Leo is horrible to everyone, especially women. Charlie makes jokes about suicide and shacks up with an older guy who’s a childhood friend. It’s all just odd. There equally was both too much and not enough of any one thing. This is not a thriller, it’s more a mystery? Anyways, so boring and waste of time.
This didn’t feel like a YA, the characters swear and try to seem cool, but would never actually talk like that in real life. None of the characters are likeable, they all do weird and awful things, especially the relationship between the mom and dad and how that came to be. Charlie’s relationship with Leo, her cousin, is so weird, the had kissed, they cuddle, it’s so odd. Leo is horrible to everyone, especially women. Charlie makes jokes about suicide and shacks up with an older guy who’s a childhood friend. It’s all just odd. There equally was both too much and not enough of any one thing. This is not a thriller, it’s more a mystery? Anyways, so boring and waste of time.
Another book about an entitled rich girl (Charlie) not realising that her family is really quite crap and the secret society she wants to be part of in her super expense and super elitist boarding school is just full of bullies and control freaks.
I didn’t care about any of the characters or the mystery. I listened to the audiobook and upped the speed to x2.5 just to get through it because I don’t DNF books. Thank goodness for libraries and I didn’t pay actual money for this.
Quote where Stevie is 100% accurate: "They're horrible," Stevie said. "The A's. It's a bunch of egotistical, self-entitled rich kids running around acting like gods. It's a bunch of stupid pissing contests."
"I don't think it's exactly like that," I said.
"It is exactly like that," Stevie said. "I don't know why you can't see that."
Quote that really made me dislike Charlie: “I never felt ashamed when people brought up that I came from money I didn't earn, just as I never thought people who didn't come from money should be ashamed of the fact that they didn't have it. In my mind, you were dealt the cards you were dealt, but it was how you played them that mattered.” Was this a really poor Cruel Intentions moment? Whatever it was, it was cheap.
The running theme with Charlie is that she’s self-centred and this NEVER goes away. Quote: "You're a Calloway," Leo said. "We're all narcissists. It's, like, genetic." I laughed. "I guess," I said.” and my goodness she displays it. It frustrates me that she essentially comes out winning from the entire debacle.
One of my WTF moments. Charlie is making out with her cousin Leo for blackmail/revenge when she is being initiated into the secret society. So many red flags: “When Leo kissed me now, there was an urgency to it, a feeling that almost made me forget for a moment where we were. A feeling that almost-almost-silenced the quiet clicking of Ren's camera.”
Her “selfless” act at the end to put the secret society called, in my opinion very lamely, The A’s, did not redeem Charlie. At best it was closure over her moms death. That’s it.
One thing I’d be happy to get clarification on as it’s bugging me and frankly I don’t want to have to read the whole book again and performing a search on the ebook proved fruitless… Charlie (a junior) starts dating Dalton (a senior). Her dad and his mom (Margo) were engaged and he broke it off when he got together with her mom Grace (they’d actually eloped) and Grace was pregnant at the time with Charlie. In none of the flashbacks does it mention baby Dalton. I remember Margo is a career driven at the time so babies and especially babies from a previous relationship don’t fit her 10 year plan. It would also not have been something the Calloway’s would particularly embrace in their eldest sons life partner. Makes me suspicious. I totally expected and would have found the story more entertaining if Charlie and Dalton were siblings.
I didn’t care about any of the characters or the mystery. I listened to the audiobook and upped the speed to x2.5 just to get through it because I don’t DNF books. Thank goodness for libraries and I didn’t pay actual money for this.
Quote where Stevie is 100% accurate: "They're horrible," Stevie said. "The A's. It's a bunch of egotistical, self-entitled rich kids running around acting like gods. It's a bunch of stupid pissing contests."
"I don't think it's exactly like that," I said.
"It is exactly like that," Stevie said. "I don't know why you can't see that."
Quote that really made me dislike Charlie: “I never felt ashamed when people brought up that I came from money I didn't earn, just as I never thought people who didn't come from money should be ashamed of the fact that they didn't have it. In my mind, you were dealt the cards you were dealt, but it was how you played them that mattered.” Was this a really poor Cruel Intentions moment? Whatever it was, it was cheap.
The running theme with Charlie is that she’s self-centred and this NEVER goes away. Quote: "You're a Calloway," Leo said. "We're all narcissists. It's, like, genetic." I laughed. "I guess," I said.” and my goodness she displays it. It frustrates me that she essentially comes out winning from the entire debacle.
One of my WTF moments. Charlie is making out with her cousin Leo for blackmail/revenge when she is being initiated into the secret society. So many red flags: “When Leo kissed me now, there was an urgency to it, a feeling that almost made me forget for a moment where we were. A feeling that almost-almost-silenced the quiet clicking of Ren's camera.”
Her “selfless” act at the end to put the secret society called, in my opinion very lamely, The A’s, did not redeem Charlie. At best it was closure over her moms death. That’s it.
One thing I’d be happy to get clarification on as it’s bugging me and frankly I don’t want to have to read the whole book again and performing a search on the ebook proved fruitless… Charlie (a junior) starts dating Dalton (a senior). Her dad and his mom (Margo) were engaged and he broke it off when he got together with her mom Grace (they’d actually eloped) and Grace was pregnant at the time with Charlie. In none of the flashbacks does it mention baby Dalton. I remember Margo is a career driven at the time so babies and especially babies from a previous relationship don’t fit her 10 year plan. It would also not have been something the Calloway’s would particularly embrace in their eldest sons life partner. Makes me suspicious. I totally expected and would have found the story more entertaining if Charlie and Dalton were siblings.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes