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3.5 AVERAGE
3.5 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
One of the saddest books I have ever read. Especially because these stories are more common than they seem. At times, it was hard to get through. I have seen criticism over the non linear way of writing and other aspects, but these didn’t bother me. I definitely recommend it if you liked “Room” or “Sharp Objects”, just know this is more of a character study of the aftermath and not much of a thriller per se? But its dark subject matter is at home with the thriller genre. The reviews I’ve seen on this book seem to be decisive, but I personally am glad I read it. I wish that these stories were told more so that there is less stigma and room for conversation and healing for the real survivors.
Lex Gracie, also known as Girl A, returns to London after several years away to serve as the executor of her mother's estate. The catch here is that her mother died in prison, serving a sentence for the role she played in the horrific child abuse Lex and her six other siblings endured. You see, Lex is a survivor of the infamous House of Horrors. Her father, a religious zealot, enslaved his children within his home, chaining them to their beds, starving and abusing them all the while.
Many have linked the inspiration for this story to the Turpin family. As was the case with the Turpins, one of the incarcerated children escaped, leading authorities back to the home to rescue the remaining children. In the text, that child is Lex.
As the executor of her mother's estate, Lex inherits their childhood home and a large sum of money, hoping to turn the House of Horrors into a community center. However, in order to do so, she needs all of her siblings to consent, which is essentially the entire plot of the book.
Sounds good in theory. But in execution? It was not an enjoyable read. The author sporadically and inconsistently alternates between past and present. This, in addition to her vague writing style, made it difficult to piece together everything that'd happened to the Grace children. I also expected her to vacillate between each of the different Grace children's perspectives, given the chapter titles (Girl A, Boy A, Girl B, etc.). That's not what happened.
So, for me, this one felt like it had a lot of potential. While the situation depicted is a grisly one, the style prevented me from becoming attached to any of the characters or becoming as invested in the story as I could have otherwise.
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2021 BOTM Selections:
February 2021: Girl A
January 2021: The Dating Plan
Many have linked the inspiration for this story to the Turpin family. As was the case with the Turpins, one of the incarcerated children escaped, leading authorities back to the home to rescue the remaining children. In the text, that child is Lex.
As the executor of her mother's estate, Lex inherits their childhood home and a large sum of money, hoping to turn the House of Horrors into a community center. However, in order to do so, she needs all of her siblings to consent, which is essentially the entire plot of the book.
Sounds good in theory. But in execution? It was not an enjoyable read. The author sporadically and inconsistently alternates between past and present. This, in addition to her vague writing style, made it difficult to piece together everything that'd happened to the Grace children. I also expected her to vacillate between each of the different Grace children's perspectives, given the chapter titles (Girl A, Boy A, Girl B, etc.). That's not what happened.
So, for me, this one felt like it had a lot of potential. While the situation depicted is a grisly one, the style prevented me from becoming attached to any of the characters or becoming as invested in the story as I could have otherwise.
---
2021 BOTM Selections:
February 2021: Girl A
January 2021: The Dating Plan
This book is definitely either you love it or hate it. I disliked it for many reasons, the chapters are so long, it jumps from their childhood to present and I got confused many times where I was at. There seems to be no structure and so the story fell flat. Parts of the book were sad and disturbing but it could have been so good if it wasn’t so jumpy. In the end I had no care for this book.
Overall I really enjoyed the story. I realize that I’m probably the unpopular opinion, but the writing style felt choppy at times. It kept me from completely immersing in the story. Otherwise I liked the book, I felt like the plot was solid and was very interested to learn about each character.
DNF @ 18%
I'm in a huge reading slump and that's ok. Life happens. This book wasn't helping. It's time to just be done.
This is NOT a thriller btw, just about facing the MC's traumatic past. The past POV may have thriller aspects, but it is in no way thrilling.
I'm in a huge reading slump and that's ok. Life happens. This book wasn't helping. It's time to just be done.
This is NOT a thriller btw, just about facing the MC's traumatic past. The past POV may have thriller aspects, but it is in no way thrilling.