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missyjohnson's review against another edition
3.0
I bought this at my favorite book store, Book People in Austin. It was on a staff recommended mystery section and is a signed copy. It certainly kept me interested as I read it very quickly. I enjoyed the backdrop of the chemistry and scientific research labs. I had never ready anything that had a focus on PMDD and how the menstrual cycle affects the brain. I could relate to entirely too many of the issues expressed. It got a little sloppy toward the end and I had to extend belief a bit. the psychological aspects of what we know of others and what we think we know, then what we make up in our own heads that motivates actions is an interesting bit. The author did do a good job of keeping it suspenseful.
youmeandem's review against another edition
4.0
megan abbott has a way of making you fall in love with the girl you shouldn't fall in love with because she'd ruin you completely, and yet here i am once again rooting for diane fleming over the book's protagonist kit.
probably because kit is a whiny bitch that doesn't deserve all the good things she gets even though she thinks she does and everyone around her seems to agree
but diane deserved much more!! who cares if she's a psychopath she still had a lot of feelings!!! maybe if someone cared about her she would've been okay!!!
probably because kit is a whiny bitch that doesn't deserve all the good things she gets even though she thinks she does and everyone around her seems to agree
but diane deserved much more!! who cares if she's a psychopath she still had a lot of feelings!!! maybe if someone cared about her she would've been okay!!!
veganheathen's review against another edition
5.0
Megan Abbott has such a way of captivating me with her books. She always seems to add those little details of things that are inconsequential, but stand out in your memory when you recall certain events. The way she writes is beautiful, with complex and realistic characters. This book was about a complicated friendship intertwined with relentless ambition.
erintowner's review against another edition
5.0
This was a twisty turny psychological thriller with some truly surprising plot twists. I really couldn't put it down. I loved the setting of the book in a chemistry lab; either the author did her research well or she's spent a lot of time in the world of scientific research. This book seemed to posit deeper questions than the average book in this genre. Some people will take the how the author talks about 'female relationships' out of context and use her words to support the popular ideas that women can't be friends, women are socialized to be nice in society but aren't at their very cores, etc. Thinking like that is reductive and not how I interpreted the author's points. I felt the author captured some things a lot of women experience very well without being too dramatic or pitting her characters against each other in a literary catfight. If you're nervous about reading this book because of all the attention that's been focused on the female characters' relationships to each other and ohmygod what do they MEAN for ALL WOMEN, don't worry about that. I didn't experience this book that way.
crimsoncor's review against another edition
3.0
Liked but didn't love. Missing the breathless, edge-of-your-seat urgency of her other books I have read (which are all curiously poorly reviewed on good reads. This one has better reviews, shrug).
cleath2018's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
mbkarapcik's review against another edition
4.0
Like the tagline of the book reads, "You don't have a self until you have a secret," every character in the book seems to be hiding something. The beginning of the book feels chilling while the secret that binds Kit to Diane is revealed. A creepy book with harrowing events and an examination of female relationships, not really friendships. Some parts of the book slow down in the middle, but the writing is strong and darkly seductive. It seems impossible for any character to completely tell the truth or make a reasonable, moral decisions even if the want to! This would work really well as a book club read.
I read that it has been compared to Gone Girl, but I cannot entirely agree. I felt the same underlying chill, but it's quite different. A reader may even compare it to Luckiest Girl Alive, but the book is its own entity. I'm already set to read her other works!
I read that it has been compared to Gone Girl, but I cannot entirely agree. I felt the same underlying chill, but it's quite different. A reader may even compare it to Luckiest Girl Alive, but the book is its own entity. I'm already set to read her other works!
problematique's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5