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3.5 AVERAGE
3.5 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Suicide, Torture, Grief, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Addiction, Drug use, Infertility, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Death of parent
emotional
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
This was a gut punch and not really the book I thought I was going to read. I found it chaotic in its structure- I was never sure whether we were in present or past, and some characters I am still not sure I know who they are... The consequence-free story branch of Ethan infuriated me, but while i can understand the justification of trauma I have a hard time with his sisters' forgiveness. Raw and cruel, maybe unnecessarily? Not sure. 3 stars.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Listen, I wanted to DNF this but instead I pushed through and I am just so glad it's over. It was just. So boring. There was one twist that I didn't expect (maybe I should have?) that was interesting, but generally speaking I felt like I was wading through molasses trying to finish it. So many unimportant things were explained in excruciating detail, while things that I was actually interested in were skimmed over. And the ending felt like drinking flat soda.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A story of a childhood survival of a "house of horrors" turns out to be much more clinical and disjointed than salacious and degenerate. I expected a thrilling, moment-by-moment race a la Room and was left reading something akin to therapist's notes.
Lex Grace is Girl A, the one who survived, the one who helped her siblings escape from her religious fanatic father and her negligent mother. Together, they abused and psychologically tortured most of their children until Lex was able to get out and bring help. Now that her mother has died in prison (her father killed himself in their home), the family house is for sale and Lex must acquire each sibling's permission to use it as she sees fit. The story follows adult Lex in this pursuit, and it also intersperses stories from her childhood and her father's descent into cultish madness of his own creation. That part is difficult to read, but the narrative itself is so choppy that you often must pause in the middle of reading to think about what is happening and if the author has shifted a time period or not. Her writing style is infuriating and leads to zero character development or connection for the reader.
This is the type of story that would be a challenge to read because you would be so invested with the characters and achingly sympathetic toward them and their plight and suffering. It all seems so removed and detached when told this way because of the frenetic jumps and chaotic vignettes. I was hoping for more from this book and think that Girl A will move down to Book Z on my shelf.
Lex Grace is Girl A, the one who survived, the one who helped her siblings escape from her religious fanatic father and her negligent mother. Together, they abused and psychologically tortured most of their children until Lex was able to get out and bring help. Now that her mother has died in prison (her father killed himself in their home), the family house is for sale and Lex must acquire each sibling's permission to use it as she sees fit. The story follows adult Lex in this pursuit, and it also intersperses stories from her childhood and her father's descent into cultish madness of his own creation. That part is difficult to read, but the narrative itself is so choppy that you often must pause in the middle of reading to think about what is happening and if the author has shifted a time period or not. Her writing style is infuriating and leads to zero character development or connection for the reader.
This is the type of story that would be a challenge to read because you would be so invested with the characters and achingly sympathetic toward them and their plight and suffering. It all seems so removed and detached when told this way because of the frenetic jumps and chaotic vignettes. I was hoping for more from this book and think that Girl A will move down to Book Z on my shelf.
challenging
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
⭐️⭐️⭐️
I had such mixed views about this book! I felt like the context of the story was brilliant, but it just wasn’t executed that well. For me, there was just too many loose ends and I also found the book hard to follow at times as the paragraphs jumped timescales!
There are a lot of difficult parts of the book, and the main character, Lex is trying to deal with her horrific past. However, I don’t think that we witnessed any growth or closure for Lex or her siblings. I found this unusual for a book, as normally we experience some growth or resolve, but I felt that the book ended with the characters very much in the same position.
I wish there was just a bit substance to this book. It seemed promising but just missed the mark with me. I give this book 3 out of 5 stars.
Not the book I was expecting. Its described as a mystery thriller which is not what I would say. Girl A and her family escape a very abusive family and this tells of their story. It jumps back and forward quite a book but a good story.
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated