Reviews

The Listeners by Jordan Tannahill

grimby's review against another edition

A teacher and student team up is just a bit cringe.

annabookpaiges's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

4.0

shmeatsy_pie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad fast-paced

3.0

myratogonon's review

adventurous challenging emotional funny mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I've never read anything like it. The writing experience felt so real and tangible. Amazed.

abzoor's review

4.0

This definitely gave off ‘Black Mirror’ vibes!

jessicaroot's review

2.0

I genuinely feel like the author has no clue how to write a convincing and compelling female character. All of the characters lacked nuance, they all felt flat, including our protagonist. The plot was very redundant, it felt cyclical in a boring way. I feel like this story needed a massive revision to be more enticing. The bones of it feel good, but the execution just isn’t it for me. Also I can’t get behind the lack of quotations. I had to reread many lines as I was confused if the character was speaking out loud or not. Maybe that was intentional - blurring the lines between what’s going on within us and what is being perceived, either way i’m not a fan.

If you want a compelling story dealing with strangers brought together by paranormal phenomena - look no further than the tv show The OA. I feel like it has most of the elements that this book tried to accomplish and more.

stellahadz's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The premise of this book is really interesting and timely - it centers on a woman who starts to hear a low humming sound that no one else can hear. Through one of her students, she joins a group of people who can also hear it, and the story is told through her memories following a tragedy involving this group. The whole thing is a metaphor for conspiracy theories and getting sucked into a cult-like mentality by people who don't necessarily have your best interests at heart. I loved the idea of getting to hear the perspective of the person who believes the conspiracy theories. 

While I enjoyed the story and its themes, I wish we'd gotten a better insight into certain characters and their motivations.

Honestly, if Claire's relationship with Kyle ended at him introducing her to the group and didn't devolve into something inappropriate and just short of illegal, the author would have had more time to focus on Howard, who was technically the mastermind behind the group, although we don't find that out until a retrospective chapter at the very end of the book.

Also, this is maybe a bit nitpicky, but I think the book could have used a second round of editing for some of the language. The story takes place in the US, but the author is Canadian (as am I), so there are several "Canadian-isms" throughout the book that might be off-putting to American readers, such as "grade twelve" instead of "twelfth grade" or "senior."

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gun violence, Mental illness, Adult/minor relationship, and Death

kreatively_challenged23's review

tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

ovenbird_reads's review

5.0

This is one of the truly stand out books I've read this year. Couldn't put it down! It touched on so much of what is making our world feel off kilter these days and also managed to encompass a beauty in being alive that exists under it all. I also resonated strongly with the mental health collapse that Claire experiences. Much of it echoed pieces of how I felt early after my first child was born, in the grips of postpartum depression. In that time, too, there was an implosion of reality and also a sense of touching something huge and universal, something profound and esoteric. I would love to sit down with the author to talk about the parallels, because it was truly a bit uncanny! Incredible book!!

adudeandhislife's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75