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3.5 AVERAGE
3.5 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I don't think I've ever read a book about such a heart-wrenching topic and thought meh quite so much. I really enjoyed some of Dean's writing but I found myself with a fundamental lack of empathy for the characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
sad
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-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
This is a story about family, hopefully one far from the likes of your own. I opened this book expecting a thriller, it was nothing of the sort.
While it centers around the traumatic early lives of the Gracie children who suffered unimaginable torture from their parents and oldest sibling, it mostly was a story of coming to grips with your past, recovering from loss and moving forward after living through an unrelatable version of hell.
I appreciated that the author separated the book into chapters based on Girl A’s experience with each sibling. However, I found that even with the overwhelming length of these chapters, the characters were still largely underdeveloped. Why was Ethan chosen to become the next abuser? Why did he turn so swiftly away from Lex? What really goes through Delilah’s head and what motivates her? What was the parents relationship to each other?
With a book like this, it would have been so much more effective to be placed inside the mind of each sibling individually instead of seen through the lens of Lex, who in many ways did not suffer along with or in similar ways to her siblings.
While it centers around the traumatic early lives of the Gracie children who suffered unimaginable torture from their parents and oldest sibling, it mostly was a story of coming to grips with your past, recovering from loss and moving forward after living through an unrelatable version of hell.
I appreciated that the author separated the book into chapters based on Girl A’s experience with each sibling. However, I found that even with the overwhelming length of these chapters, the characters were still largely underdeveloped. Why was Ethan chosen to become the next abuser? Why did he turn so swiftly away from Lex? What really goes through Delilah’s head and what motivates her? What was the parents relationship to each other?
With a book like this, it would have been so much more effective to be placed inside the mind of each sibling individually instead of seen through the lens of Lex, who in many ways did not suffer along with or in similar ways to her siblings.
The early parts of this book weren’t quite what I’d expected. The pacing initially struggled to catch my mind, and it could be at moments challenging to retain. But the further into the book I got, the more the dread and tense energy that I’d expected began to bubble like a brewing cauldron. The final two chapters made a big difference in my perception of the book.
The author’s particular attention to the after-effects of her characters’ experiences, at times more than the experiences themselves, made for what I found to be some particularly engaging and emotional writing.
The author’s particular attention to the after-effects of her characters’ experiences, at times more than the experiences themselves, made for what I found to be some particularly engaging and emotional writing.
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I wanted to like this book more than I did. I felt like there were so many missing pieces that never got filled in and it wasn’t mysterious it just was kind of obnoxious.
im sad that i started the new year with such a low score, but it had to be done. ❤️
dark
emotional
sad
tense