Reviews

Really fun and entertaining. Not scary but it was a creative concept with fun characters. Very easy, smooth read. Looking forward to reading more by the author.

sleepyshelves's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

I went into this unbelievably excited. Like read-the-synopsis-turned-to-my-mom-and-cackled excited. About 60% of the way through I was feeling let down because it wasn't what I had anticipated it to be. Now that I've finished, I'm glad I pushed through that 60-75% mark.
I never thought when I was younger that my favorite part of the book would be the author's note or acknowledgements at the end, but Kiersten White's finak thoughts really made this whole book for me. There were so many choices that I couldn't quite understand, and reading her parting words, everything just...clicked.
This is a great book. It is a wonderful experience, and it draws so beautifully from its inspiration - though that's dark, bizarre, and even unexpectedly classical. I really feel as though the book suffered from its marketing and copy. The book design itself is gorgeous (shout out to books that tell you about the typeface used, you're the real ones!), BUT the jacket copy lends itself to a different narrative. One that sets readers up for a bit of a strange ride.
White's voice in this book is just so cinematic. I found myself reading passages aloud to my gf because they were just so cleverly rendered.
Ultimately, mixed feelings about it but generally very positive.

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