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stellaar's review against another edition
4.0
Yes it was about a murder after all.. and yes i am still confused on what really happenned and what i just read. brilliant
tidyohio's review against another edition
3.0
More like 3 1/2 stars. It would have been 4 or maybe even 5 , but the ending didn't sit right with me.
For the most part I did love the style, especially the super distinctive first person POV, and the relationship between the Basic Eight, especially Flannery and Natasha.
For the most part I did love the style, especially the super distinctive first person POV, and the relationship between the Basic Eight, especially Flannery and Natasha.
jugglingpup's review against another edition
4.0
To see more reviews check out MI Book Reviews.
I picked up this book because I wanted to read something funny. I wanted something that was Daniel Handler funny and I was not let down. There were scenes that were so perfect I was laughing out loud. This is a what I have grown to expect of Daniel Handler.
The plot that the main character, Flannery or Flan for short, murdered someone was clear throughout the book and the surprise twist was a huge letdown. It was a twist ending that has been done a dozen times and was only interesting the first few times.The twist ending is the main flaw I found in the book and if you can ignore it the book reads as amazing. It reads as a teen’s diary so it is very much a teen girl being very self-important, which can be fun to read when she is a murderess.
The romantic plot lines were sometimes strained, but it felt like it was in an authentic way as the characters were a bunch of pretentious teens. The characters are generally likeable for the most part as they are witty, but they are very elitist so they are still human. Most of the bad reviews I have seen of this book are because the characters are elitist and it is a teen diary. These were elements I enjoyed. I loved the way that Flan would random interject and change the story as she was telling it. It gave the novel a more fun reading experience, especially when you can see the sanity of the group completely destroyed from within the group (the same reason why I like The Blair Witch Project).
I return again and again to Daniel Handler for my comedy, but only his adult books have been good for me. I have read some of his teen books, but with little good feeling.
I picked up this book because I wanted to read something funny. I wanted something that was Daniel Handler funny and I was not let down. There were scenes that were so perfect I was laughing out loud. This is a what I have grown to expect of Daniel Handler.
The plot that the main character, Flannery or Flan for short, murdered someone was clear throughout the book and the surprise twist was a huge letdown. It was a twist ending that has been done a dozen times and was only interesting the first few times.The twist ending is the main flaw I found in the book and if you can ignore it the book reads as amazing. It reads as a teen’s diary so it is very much a teen girl being very self-important, which can be fun to read when she is a murderess.
The romantic plot lines were sometimes strained, but it felt like it was in an authentic way as the characters were a bunch of pretentious teens. The characters are generally likeable for the most part as they are witty, but they are very elitist so they are still human. Most of the bad reviews I have seen of this book are because the characters are elitist and it is a teen diary. These were elements I enjoyed. I loved the way that Flan would random interject and change the story as she was telling it. It gave the novel a more fun reading experience, especially when you can see the sanity of the group completely destroyed from within the group (the same reason why I like The Blair Witch Project).
I return again and again to Daniel Handler for my comedy, but only his adult books have been good for me. I have read some of his teen books, but with little good feeling.
_duskicreads's review against another edition
5.0
THIS BOOK GUYS! THIS BOOK!
Flannery Culp is editing her journal two years after the events described, telling her side of the story of what came to be known as the Satanic murder of a classmate by the Basic Eight.
The book starts out slow and it takes a while to warm up to it - but bear with it, it will be worth it.
Just the fact that she is telling her story and quite literally editing her journal is a clear indicator of how unreliable of a narrator she will be - but she still manages to blindside you a fair few times. Going through this book, one of my favorite things was to just try to figure out what really happened and what she made up - and I'm still not sure - for example: there is a conversation she had with Adam, followed by a conversation with Gabriel, in which she verbatim repeats Adam's words - but did that conversation really happen? Would it have worked, with the same phrasing? Or is she changing it as she writes her journal?
Truthfully, I enjoyed everything about this book - her snarky and clever way of writing, the pretentiousness of the Basic Eight, a bunch of high school students who wear pearls and throw dinner parties, the way literary plot devices were being called out by Flan as she used them (like foreshadowing), the way she gives away spoilers ahead of time (like, who it was that died), the way chapters were structured like text-book chapters complete with a vocabulary section and discussion questions which actually further the plot.
And the ending! Holy mother of God! I'm not even going to say anything about it, if you've read it, you know what I'm taking about. And if you haven't - well, what are you waiting for?
Flannery Culp is editing her journal two years after the events described, telling her side of the story of what came to be known as the Satanic murder of a classmate by the Basic Eight.
The book starts out slow and it takes a while to warm up to it - but bear with it, it will be worth it.
Just the fact that she is telling her story and quite literally editing her journal is a clear indicator of how unreliable of a narrator she will be - but she still manages to blindside you a fair few times. Going through this book, one of my favorite things was to just try to figure out what really happened and what she made up - and I'm still not sure - for example: there is a conversation she had with Adam, followed by a conversation with Gabriel, in which she verbatim repeats Adam's words - but did that conversation really happen? Would it have worked, with the same phrasing? Or is she changing it as she writes her journal?
Truthfully, I enjoyed everything about this book - her snarky and clever way of writing, the pretentiousness of the Basic Eight, a bunch of high school students who wear pearls and throw dinner parties, the way literary plot devices were being called out by Flan as she used them (like foreshadowing), the way she gives away spoilers ahead of time (like, who it was that died), the way chapters were structured like text-book chapters complete with a vocabulary section and discussion questions which actually further the plot.
And the ending! Holy mother of God! I'm not even going to say anything about it, if you've read it, you know what I'm taking about. And if you haven't - well, what are you waiting for?
veronicacanread's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
kmsilverman92's review against another edition
3.0
Due to the unreliable narrator, this book ended up leaving me with a lot of question and few answers.
kellyzen's review against another edition
4.0
Flashes of The Secret History: this book is populated by improbably erudite children who drink ludicrously — also, murder! It doesn’t rise to the spellbinding beauty of Tartt’s, but it’s fun and funny and worth a read.
batsworthy's review against another edition
4.0
More like a 3.5, because I devoured this and then the corny "twist" at the end did NOT impress me. But I do just love a decent TSH clone.
joannavaught's review against another edition
2.0
7 word review of this book: fight club in high school, except shitty.
nrphoto's review against another edition
2.0
It tries real hard to be edgy. It tries real hard to be a caricature of high school. It doesn't get either one right. It's just a not very interesting story of a bunch of really vile teens with an ending so absurd it's...well...absurd.
This would make a great b movie. Right up there with like, Teaching MS.Tingle, The Faculty, and The In Crowd. But it's not worth more than 90 minutes on a lazy Saturday afternoon.
This would make a great b movie. Right up there with like, Teaching MS.Tingle, The Faculty, and The In Crowd. But it's not worth more than 90 minutes on a lazy Saturday afternoon.