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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
2.5 stars for this thriller that focuses heavily on mother-daughter relationships.
Abigail Knight is shocked when her daughter Olivia is found brain dead and pregnant at the bottom of an embankment in their hometown of Washington. It is clear to Abi that someone intentionally pushed Olivia, but the police are putting in little effort in tracking down who the culprit might have been. Abi decides to take matters into her own hands while her daughter is kept on life support in hopes that Olivia's unborn baby will be able to thrive.
Chapters told from Olivia's viewpoint leading up to her murder are interspersed with Abi's present-day chapters, weaving a more complete picture of events for the reader. It is rare that I can't quite articulate what I did not like about a book, but this one was lacking a certain quality that I can't place. It could definitely just be me based on the positive reviews that this book is getting; but all in all, it didn't do it for me.
Abigail Knight is shocked when her daughter Olivia is found brain dead and pregnant at the bottom of an embankment in their hometown of Washington. It is clear to Abi that someone intentionally pushed Olivia, but the police are putting in little effort in tracking down who the culprit might have been. Abi decides to take matters into her own hands while her daughter is kept on life support in hopes that Olivia's unborn baby will be able to thrive.
Chapters told from Olivia's viewpoint leading up to her murder are interspersed with Abi's present-day chapters, weaving a more complete picture of events for the reader. It is rare that I can't quite articulate what I did not like about a book, but this one was lacking a certain quality that I can't place. It could definitely just be me based on the positive reviews that this book is getting; but all in all, it didn't do it for me.
The Night Olivia Fell is a run of the mill thriller done well.
You ever get the feeling a book is just ~trying~ to make you cry? I do. And I get BITTER about it.
From the very beginning of the novel I felt tremendous empathy for Abi. As clues from the past were revealed in the alternating perspectives of her and Olivia, I was totally consumed with finding out who was responsible for what happened to her daughter. Just when I was sure I knew who was to blame, a shift would occur and I was again left guessing. The solving of the case came as a total surprise to me. A two for one, The Night Olivia Fell
Abi is a single mother awoken in the middle of the night by a call from the local hospital telling her that her daughter, Olivia, has been in a terrible accident. Olivia is now brain-dead and pregnant. When it appears that the police are making no progress in uncovering the truth, Abi somehow musters the strength to launch her own investigation. Both Abi’s and Olivia’s characters are well developed and relatable, drawing the reader into the story.
Abi is a single mother awoken in the middle of the night by a call from the local hospital telling her that her daughter, Olivia, has been in a terrible accident. Olivia is now brain-dead and pregnant. When it appears that the police are making no progress in uncovering the truth, Abi somehow musters the strength to launch her own investigation. Both Abi’s and Olivia’s characters are well developed and relatable, drawing the reader into the story.
Thank you to Simon and Schuster for the copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Given that we know from the onset who was hurt (Olivia) and how she got hurt (she fell from a bridge in the middle of the night), the mystery and suspense in this novel comes from the struggle her overprotective mother (Abi) has to find out what actually happened that night. At the beginning, Abi is the only one who believes that Olivia was pushed off the bridge, and slowly begins to unravel the events that put Olivia in a coma. An added twist to the stress that Abi has to deal with is that Olivia is brain dead, and pregnant---they have to keep her alive to save the baby.
Told with alternating points of view between Abi (after the fall) and Olivia (the months and days before the fall), The Night Olivia Fell is a complex and heart-wrenching look at the depths of the relationship between mothers and daughters, and how secrets can fester in even the closest families.
Given that we know from the onset who was hurt (Olivia) and how she got hurt (she fell from a bridge in the middle of the night), the mystery and suspense in this novel comes from the struggle her overprotective mother (Abi) has to find out what actually happened that night. At the beginning, Abi is the only one who believes that Olivia was pushed off the bridge, and slowly begins to unravel the events that put Olivia in a coma. An added twist to the stress that Abi has to deal with is that Olivia is brain dead, and pregnant---they have to keep her alive to save the baby.
Told with alternating points of view between Abi (after the fall) and Olivia (the months and days before the fall), The Night Olivia Fell is a complex and heart-wrenching look at the depths of the relationship between mothers and daughters, and how secrets can fester in even the closest families.
2.5 stars. A little predictable. The dialogue was very YA. I thought the characters lacked depth. The emotional ending brought my rating up.
A phone call in the middle of the night is never good news - Abi wakes up to find that her teenage daughter, Olivia, is in hospital. She's fallen from a bridge and has a serious head injury. Not only that, Abi then discovers that Olivia is pregnant.
I thought this was a very strong thriller. The action alternates between Abi's present day investigation into what happened to her daughter and Olivia's past point of view in the weeks leading up to her accident. It was a clever way of uncovering the truth and at times the reader knows more than Abi which I think worked really well. Both characters were well written. As Olivia came closer the day of the accident, the tension was almost unbearable! I definitely felt fully invested with both women.
Recommended for anyone who loves a twisty thriller with great characters.
I thought this was a very strong thriller. The action alternates between Abi's present day investigation into what happened to her daughter and Olivia's past point of view in the weeks leading up to her accident. It was a clever way of uncovering the truth and at times the reader knows more than Abi which I think worked really well. Both characters were well written. As Olivia came closer the day of the accident, the tension was almost unbearable! I definitely felt fully invested with both women.
Recommended for anyone who loves a twisty thriller with great characters.
"A search for the truth. A lifetime of lies." - from Goodreads.
I almost didn't read this one which would have been a shame. It's just that it felt like it hit too close at the beginning with small similarities to my own daughter (not sharing specifics because this is the internet). I was questioning whether I could or even wanted to read it. Before I even realized it though I was also pulled into the story making it impossible to set down. The author brought these characters to life for me. I ached for them, understood them (even when I didn't want to), and hoped against hope for them despite knowing the impossibility of it all. I just understood completely this mother's need and search for answers. This book broke me - I ended this book quietly tearing up at the softball fields in between games for my daughter. Having teenagers myself connected me to this book in ways I almost didn't want. It was a five star read but absolutely heartbreaking as well. I'm going to leave you with some quotes that stuck with me.
Readers who are looking for emotional, suspenseful reads should pick this book up. Five stars easily. I mean it should tell you everything that you need to know that I'm getting emotional all over again reading the quotes I saved (and I can't possibly include them all).
"And when you start to heal you can start living again. Not just existing, but actually living in the present moment, looking forward to the future rather than looking back, wishing you could change what couldn't be changed."
"Being a parent is one long process of daring yourself to let go."
"Trust, I learned, was the greatest gift you could give, the greatest gift to receive. The belief that a person wouldn't betray you required a strength and confidence I was only just finding."
"To feel love was to feel fear - you just couldn't let it dictate your life."
I almost didn't read this one which would have been a shame. It's just that it felt like it hit too close at the beginning with small similarities to my own daughter (not sharing specifics because this is the internet). I was questioning whether I could or even wanted to read it. Before I even realized it though I was also pulled into the story making it impossible to set down. The author brought these characters to life for me. I ached for them, understood them (even when I didn't want to), and hoped against hope for them despite knowing the impossibility of it all. I just understood completely this mother's need and search for answers. This book broke me - I ended this book quietly tearing up at the softball fields in between games for my daughter. Having teenagers myself connected me to this book in ways I almost didn't want. It was a five star read but absolutely heartbreaking as well. I'm going to leave you with some quotes that stuck with me.
Readers who are looking for emotional, suspenseful reads should pick this book up. Five stars easily. I mean it should tell you everything that you need to know that I'm getting emotional all over again reading the quotes I saved (and I can't possibly include them all).
"And when you start to heal you can start living again. Not just existing, but actually living in the present moment, looking forward to the future rather than looking back, wishing you could change what couldn't be changed."
"Being a parent is one long process of daring yourself to let go."
"Trust, I learned, was the greatest gift you could give, the greatest gift to receive. The belief that a person wouldn't betray you required a strength and confidence I was only just finding."
"To feel love was to feel fear - you just couldn't let it dictate your life."
Pretty typical and predictable. I might have not liked it because the audiobook actor was so fucking annoying.
This book made me feel a bit confused just in how it's structured. I didn't really feel any suspense in the beginning or end. This is because as Abi finds things out, we learn about the same topic from Olivia, so there's not really any new information until later on, when the truth isn't so cookie-cutter. The stakes also didn't seem very high to me, like with Gavin and keeping everything a secret. Obviously it was important to keep Olivia a secret, but his threats didn't always feel real to me. I did enjoy learning what happened to Olivia, and I liked how Olivia's life began to mirror Abi's in a strange twist of fate.