Scan barcode
abbys's review
2.0
I have to agree with the large majority of the reviewers, the cover is great but the characters and the story fall flat.
Foxfield did a lot of things differently in this book, perhaps it is unfair to compare it to It's Behind You since it was written and published later and Good Girls Die First was her debut but doing so certainly helps me see her growth in writing style, plot and characters.
The characters are all unlikable, but not in the interesting way that implores you to want to know about them or still makes you root for them in It's Behind You, rather than the way that they're unmemorable, shallow and reading their dialogue is almost torture. I found myself zoning out so many times and sometimes I wouldn't care enough to go back and reread it. They were all very 2D, and unlike in Its Behind You I didn't develop any sort of attachment to them. They were just basic.
The plot sounds interesting. You can get an idea in your head of what it could be like. And then you get sorely disappointed. I found the descriptions of the scenery much more interesting than anything else. Good Girls Die First is a lot tamer with it's thriller aspects and that would be okay if it made sure to make up for lacking in this area in other areas but it doesn't. It's a slow slog of painful dialogue and dynamics with the odd interesting scene of murder and tension sprinkled in in small doses.
It's one of the things that infuriates me most: a book that is written for YA audiences so doesn't bother to make things too complex or too creepy and uses the most basic of writing. Now, the writing in It's Behind You isn't revolutionary or lyrical but it is more detailed, tense and suspenseful. The writing in this book was just like the rest of the aspects: flat.
Sadly, the ending also felt weak, adding nothing to the story other than a couple more pages of writing.
The one part of this book I did find kind of cool were the ghosts and the physical manifestation of grief. If Foxfield had used this more throughout the book than it would have been a lot more interesting. Sad.
Overall, this serves as proof that not all books or for everyone and not all authors have solid debuts. Reading this taught me how far Foxfield has come in writing plots, locations, characters, dynamics, thrilling aspects, creepy aspects and suspenseful aspects in her later books. This was the beginning of an evolution and I think through this she was able to find that writing in first person suited her writing style and plots a lot better. And I think this was important so that she was able to improve on her later work so much so that they flowed smoother and kept me interested throughout as It's Behind You did. I missed that book so much whilst I read this.
Next up will be Tag, You're Dead.
Foxfield did a lot of things differently in this book, perhaps it is unfair to compare it to It's Behind You since it was written and published later and Good Girls Die First was her debut but doing so certainly helps me see her growth in writing style, plot and characters.
The characters are all unlikable, but not in the interesting way that implores you to want to know about them or still makes you root for them in It's Behind You, rather than the way that they're unmemorable, shallow and reading their dialogue is almost torture. I found myself zoning out so many times and sometimes I wouldn't care enough to go back and reread it. They were all very 2D, and unlike in Its Behind You I didn't develop any sort of attachment to them. They were just basic.
The plot sounds interesting. You can get an idea in your head of what it could be like. And then you get sorely disappointed. I found the descriptions of the scenery much more interesting than anything else. Good Girls Die First is a lot tamer with it's thriller aspects and that would be okay if it made sure to make up for lacking in this area in other areas but it doesn't. It's a slow slog of painful dialogue and dynamics with the odd interesting scene of murder and tension sprinkled in in small doses.
It's one of the things that infuriates me most: a book that is written for YA audiences so doesn't bother to make things too complex or too creepy and uses the most basic of writing. Now, the writing in It's Behind You isn't revolutionary or lyrical but it is more detailed, tense and suspenseful. The writing in this book was just like the rest of the aspects: flat.
Sadly, the ending also felt weak, adding nothing to the story other than a couple more pages of writing.
The one part of this book I did find kind of cool were the ghosts and the physical manifestation of grief. If Foxfield had used this more throughout the book than it would have been a lot more interesting. Sad.
Overall, this serves as proof that not all books or for everyone and not all authors have solid debuts. Reading this taught me how far Foxfield has come in writing plots, locations, characters, dynamics, thrilling aspects, creepy aspects and suspenseful aspects in her later books. This was the beginning of an evolution and I think through this she was able to find that writing in first person suited her writing style and plots a lot better. And I think this was important so that she was able to improve on her later work so much so that they flowed smoother and kept me interested throughout as It's Behind You did. I missed that book so much whilst I read this.
Next up will be Tag, You're Dead.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny
nina_pile's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Car accident, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Murder, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence
More...