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minimicropup's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
šŗšø Set in Marylandās Chesapeake Bay area, USA
POV: The narrative intertwines the past and present of a child counselor haunted by the disappearance of her best friend in the 1990s.
Mood Reading Match Up:
-Secretive dark past with unraveling and mysterious occurrences
-Coming of age friendship with tragic āwhat would you doā, āhow far would you goā tropes
-Themes of peer pressure, childhood trauma, fate, ideology, sacrifice, friendship, neglect, loyalty, madness, and personal development.
ā
šŗ Growls, Howls, and Tail Wags š
āļø Writing: The narrative style was immersive and sensory, effectively transitioning between the two timelines. The use of first-person present tense for the adult perspective and past tense for childhood memories created distinct atmospheres for each period, adding depth to the story over time.
š«„ Characters: For me the protagonist, Heather, came across as frustratingly impulsive and self-sabotaging as an adult, but her character was more sympathetic and relatable in her tween years. I guess the contrast portrayed the lasting impact of childhood trauma. Her best friend, Becca, was also a character with depth who I sometimes disliked and other times felt for.
šŗļø Worldbuilding: The descriptions were perfect if you love to visualize settings, offering just enough detail without being overwhelming. The atmospheric buildup was gradual, kind of like a scene taking shape over time.
š„ Fuel: Central to the novel was the mystery surrounding Heather and her best friend, Becca. There is also suspense building from exploring the complexities of their relationship and the impact of external influences. We necessarily need the characters to hold back from the reader for this story to take shape, but I thought it was done well without resorting to cheap narrative tricks. There is also considerable suspense around who to trust in the present day.
š¢š Pacing: The pacing balanced well between reflection and progression. However, Heatherās development felt rushed towards the end, with a sudden shift in her understanding of herself and her past that didnāt quite align with her earlier characterization.
š¬ Scenes: The portrayal of the girlsā tween years was particularly vivid, capturing the essence of childhood innocence, peer pressure, and the yearning for acceptance. I thought the narrative did a good job with showing the complexities in navigating the emotional landscape of young friendships and their darker undertones. I felt the present-day narrative lagging sometimes when our main character was going off the rails, risking her career and relationships just to get a āsenseā of something, but it was still interesting.
š¤·āāļø Nerdy Nit-picking: Heatherās profession in child psychology contrasted sharply with her apparent inability to apply her knowledge to her own life and somehow a lack of mandatory therapy for herself, a point that remained unaddressed until the very end.
š¤ Random Thoughts: Overall I thought this story was a haunting look into the shadows of the past, revealing how secrets and childhood experiences shape our present. Itās likely to be a compelling read for those who appreciate psychological depth and the blurred lines between memory and reality.
ā
Content Heads-Up: Peer pressure, ostracizing. Domestic violence (parent on child). Parental abandonment and neglect. Substance abuse, alcoholism, self-medicating. Murder. Manipulation. Stalking. Fire (building). Blood.
Rep: Includes White, mixed race (Asian American), and racially ambiguous Americans.
Format: Library via Overdrive
āReviews are my musings š powered by puppy snuggles š¶ refined by my AI bookworm bestie āØā
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, and Murder
Moderate: Death and Alcoholism
seagullsaga's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Car accident, Child death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Bullying, Violence, Alcoholism, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, Mental illness, and Stalking
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
aseel_reads's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
This was super suspenseful and captivating. I thought part of the part twist was a little weak but by the end, I thought it was done mostly well
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Stalking, Bullying, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Blood, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Child abuse, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Addiction
siobhanward's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I don't know what happened to this one. The premise was strong but the execution just wasn't great. Adult Heather apparently never developed any common sense and every decision she makes is terrible. I'm shocked she had anyone still around her by the end of the book. The past plot was decent though, and I liked the story behind The Red Lady, so the book was clinging onto that third star until the end where absolutely everything unraveled. This just was not a good read for me, unfortunately.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Child abuse, Child death, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Stalking
beanjoles's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
WARNING for people like me who read reviews before finishing a book: This review has some mild spoilers, so read at your own risk! Heavy plot spoilers are tagged appropriately. :)
Overall impression: For a thriller, this was quite boring. I only finished because I wanted to understand the Then chapters. The characters, aside from Becca and Ryan, were mostly forgettable. The āsupernaturalā element alluded to in the synopsis is delivered upon only in the vaguest of ways, and because Heather barely believes it herself, the reader has no incentive to, either.
Some other gripes:
This book is full of stilted dialogue that didnāt feel real or impactful.
Heather really suffered from an initial lack of character-building. Because her character was so bland, it was difficult to muster up any interest in her motivations and increasingly erratic behaviour.
That endingā¦ Weāre introduced to a character that we never knew existed, who apparently had a hard-on for ājusticeā for the daughter she was fine ignoring during her life and forgetting about for nearly 30 years after her disappearance? And Heatherās mom not only helped cover up the murder, but then refused to even talk to her daughter about itāinstead encouraging her to FORGET about it?? . Come on, nowā¦ In my eyes it could still have been salvaged if only Heather had used some of her clinical training to reflect on Becca and her past self. Motivations are lightly pointed out, but itās hard to feel the full tragedy of the situation because of this lack of depth.
Iāll end this review on a positive note: annoying and obvious as it sometimes felt, reading Heatherās descent into paranoia and mental breakdown was emotionally affecting. The sense of disconnection from her surroundings and loved ones was palpable, and I appreciated that this alienation didnāt immediately go away once she explained the situation to her people in the epilogue.
Overall impression: For a thriller, this was quite boring. I only finished because I wanted to understand the Then chapters. The characters, aside from Becca and Ryan, were mostly forgettable. The āsupernaturalā element alluded to in the synopsis is delivered upon only in the vaguest of ways, and because Heather barely believes it herself, the reader has no incentive to, either.
Some other gripes:
This book is full of stilted dialogue that didnāt feel real or impactful.
Heather really suffered from an initial lack of character-building. Because her character was so bland, it was difficult to muster up any interest in her motivations and increasingly erratic behaviour.
That endingā¦
Iāll end this review on a positive note: annoying and obvious as it sometimes felt, reading Heatherās descent into paranoia and mental breakdown was emotionally affecting. The sense of disconnection from her surroundings and loved ones was palpable, and I appreciated that this alienation didnāt immediately go away once she explained the situation to her people in the epilogue.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Child abuse, and Toxic friendship
kirstendo's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse
Moderate: Stalking and Violence
rachelunabridged's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
I found this to be a really disappointing read. I was on-board at the beginning and thought it had a great set-up. Sadly, the further I read, the worse it got.
For one thing, it was just physically painful for me to keep watching the main character make increasingly stupid decisions. Also, I just found her choices and actions to be absolutely wild for someone who's supposed to be a psychologist. (Not saying that psychologists inherently make correct decisions, just the nature of her actions was what I thought was kind of hard to swallow.) Toward the end of the book, I was ready for her to be caught in her manipulations and maybe arrested or something because, yikes, did she do some morally reprehensible things throughout this book!
Main character aside, this book also hit one of my big plot pet peeves: the author lying to the reader.The "twist" of the book is that Becca's secret mother who no one knew about was actually the one who was harassing Heather. We're told throughout the book that Lauren is Becca's mother, with no indication otherwise and no breadcrumbs to be able to figure it out for ourselves. So not only does the author try to pull a "gotcha!" by straight up lying to the reader, the mysterious antagonist of the book is also someone that you'll never get the opportunity to figure out because you don't know she even exists. In a book with such a heavy mystery plot, this was just so frustrating to me.
Ultimately, I just felt cheated by this book. I like to go into books as blind as possible, but if I'd known how this book ended, I wouldn't have finished it, to be completely honest.
For one thing, it was just physically painful for me to keep watching the main character make increasingly stupid decisions. Also, I just found her choices and actions to be absolutely wild for someone who's supposed to be a psychologist. (Not saying that psychologists inherently make correct decisions, just the nature of her actions was what I thought was kind of hard to swallow.) Toward the end of the book, I was ready for her to be caught in her manipulations and maybe arrested or something because, yikes, did she do some morally reprehensible things throughout this book!
Main character aside, this book also hit one of my big plot pet peeves: the author lying to the reader.
Ultimately, I just felt cheated by this book. I like to go into books as blind as possible, but if I'd known how this book ended, I wouldn't have finished it, to be completely honest.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Alcoholism and Animal death
sarah984's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This book is written in a "then/now" format, with every second chapter being a flashback to when the main character was thirteen. The flashbacks were interesting and exciting (and tragic since you already know how that story ends), and the kids felt realistic to me. Yes, they acted ridiculous but they were children still learning about themselves and the world.
The present chapters were another story. Heather is just constantly making the most unbelievable decisions. She will think of something she should do that would actually help her and then just not do it. She stalks a bunch of other characters for no reason (she never seems to actually have a goal in mind when she does it). It's hard to care about her one way or the other because it's never really clear what she's trying to do.
Parts of the ending worked for me and some parts didn't, but it was interesting to see the threads come together.
The major thing I don't understand is why the blurb called the book feminist when it doesn't seem to have much to say about gender. It takes more than a few female characters and an offhand remark about how true crime enthusiasts tend to be more interested in killers than their victims to be feminist in my opinion. If you're looking for a book with a message, this isn't it.
The present chapters were another story. Heather is just constantly making the most unbelievable decisions. She will think of something she should do that would actually help her and then just not do it. She stalks a bunch of other characters for no reason (she never seems to actually have a goal in mind when she does it). It's hard to care about her one way or the other because it's never really clear what she's trying to do.
Parts of the ending worked for me and some parts didn't, but it was interesting to see the threads come together.
The major thing I don't understand is why the blurb called the book feminist when it doesn't seem to have much to say about gender. It takes more than a few female characters and an offhand remark about how true crime enthusiasts tend to be more interested in killers than their victims to be feminist in my opinion. If you're looking for a book with a message, this isn't it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Child death, Child abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Stalking
Moderate: Car accident, Murder, Physical abuse, Self harm, and Torture
Minor: Death of parent, Animal death, Drug use, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, and Vomit
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