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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
This was fun. Charlie was a mite bit slow sometimes, and her two worlds took a while to come together, but all in all a great idea well executed. I was a little deflated by the ending. I was hoping for a physical struggle between our heroine and the baddie, with lives at stake. I can see that a public accusation was more in keeping with the social hierarchy theme, but to me that was a waste of a great noir set-up. I feel bad criticizing though, because what an accomplishment for a debut novel! So many layers and twists, but nothing too squeaky clean.
This novel is about a teenage girl at a boarding school that tries to get into a secret group on campus. While passing tests to get in, she uncovers the truth about her mother's disappearance and the death of a family friend. She struggles to do what is right and in the end she drops a bomb that affects everyone involved.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
American rich teens... some thriller vibes. Didn't love it, didn't hate it.
Okay, I am VERY confused as to how I feel about this book- mostly because I was confused a lot of the time while I was listening. For once I feel like the audiobook was a bad call, because I could NOT for the life of me keep track of who was who, and I either missed important details or I immediately forgot them by the next day. I also found the person narrating the mother to be very hard to listen to; she mumble-whispered everything and even if i slowed down the playback (from x2 to x1.5) I still had to focus so hard to understand what she was saying, and it was annoying and distracting to have to keep changing speeds.
Story-wise it was okay. Like I said, I was a bit confused with the characters, but I found it to be a bit on the forgettable side overall. If you're interested, I would recommend picking up the physical book over the audio.
Story-wise it was okay. Like I said, I was a bit confused with the characters, but I found it to be a bit on the forgettable side overall. If you're interested, I would recommend picking up the physical book over the audio.
An easy mystery with mediocre writing and editing. Neither of the parallel stories was fully developed nor had enough suspense to carry the book.
The main character was unlikable. She was arrogant, selfish and manipulative but not developed enough where I despised her; she didn't have enough behind her for me to care that much. The prep school was full of stereotypes and felt lazy.
The ways the villain was caught and the evidence found were ridiculously unbelievable. Despite their arrogance the villain was smarter than the actions the author assign to them.
The main character was unlikable. She was arrogant, selfish and manipulative but not developed enough where I despised her; she didn't have enough behind her for me to care that much. The prep school was full of stereotypes and felt lazy.
The ways the villain was caught and the evidence found were ridiculously unbelievable. Despite their arrogance the villain was smarter than the actions the author assign to them.
“Secrets bound us to one another…”
This YA book is told from three different viewpoints, layering a twisted tale that you will figure out pretty early on, but still devour until the end. I loved how each viewpoint was craftily written in a different tone. The author did a great job a weaving together a story with many different characters and plots and having it all tie together seamlessly. Four shining stars.
This YA book is told from three different viewpoints, layering a twisted tale that you will figure out pretty early on, but still devour until the end. I loved how each viewpoint was craftily written in a different tone. The author did a great job a weaving together a story with many different characters and plots and having it all tie together seamlessly. Four shining stars.
Very enjoyable, however I feel like I either missed some elements or they were missing:
(beware the spoilers)
- what was Margot doing near the lake when she kills Grace? Was she waiting on purpose? did she just happen to be here?
- when Charlie's father turns back (after the fight) instead of driving away.... what are the consequences?
- Why does he suddenly have the affair with Grace? It felt so... unexpected and out of character with what we had learned of him.
Also... I was so irritated with the romance between Charlie and what's-his-name, and the number of "coincidences" (oh, he is the son of..., oh the same thing with the game happened with her mother.... ), so MANY coincidences all the time.
(beware the spoilers)
- what was Margot doing near the lake when she kills Grace? Was she waiting on purpose? did she just happen to be here?
- when Charlie's father turns back (after the fight) instead of driving away.... what are the consequences?
- Why does he suddenly have the affair with Grace? It felt so... unexpected and out of character with what we had learned of him.
Also... I was so irritated with the romance between Charlie and what's-his-name, and the number of "coincidences" (oh, he is the son of..., oh the same thing with the game happened with her mother.... ), so MANY coincidences all the time.
Interesting premise but didn't really come to fruition like I hoped it would. Did a decent job of hiding the true murderer until pretty far in the book which is definitely a plus.