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sheriffrockyraccoon's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-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
SPOILERS AHEAD
I don’t even know where to start. Maybe the good stuff?
I loved Verona’s writing. She absolutely has a strong voice and creates a compelling world to write in. I loved how she described everyday suburbia and created unnerving visuals through the mundane. While I am so-so on putting lots of nostalgic references in books, it is still fun to read about a kid enjoying a Fruit Roll-up!
That being said, this book was frustrating. It was absolutely a mistake to make this story non-linear. It absolutely ruined the pacing and, in my opinion, made the twists and reveals obvious instead of exciting. Honestly, there were multiple points I was rooting for Amy to die just because I couldn’t stand her. Her character was very contradictory- she’s “shy and non-confrontational” according to her own narration and yet she takes every opportunity to cuss out her boyfriend and his brother. It makes her final scenes of actually doing something to stand up for herself and the kids become less poignant. Side note: it also drove me crazy that they didn’t get the hell out of that house when THE MAN WITH A RESTRAINING ORDER SHOWED UP? Maybe this is playing into how slashers always have dumb characters but honestly, it was ridiculous.
I should also add that Verona repeatedly goes over the same irrelevant information every 4 chapters. In case you forgot who Amy’s cousins were or that Amy has panic attacks. It almost felt like no one had read the novel before it was published or were trying to keep it at a certain word count. It was odd.
I will end on another good note I remembered about this book: Ben is absolutely adorable and I wish he had narrated the entire story. If this was a slasher story told from a child’s POV, it would have been much more interesting.
I don’t even know where to start. Maybe the good stuff?
I loved Verona’s writing. She absolutely has a strong voice and creates a compelling world to write in. I loved how she described everyday suburbia and created unnerving visuals through the mundane. While I am so-so on putting lots of nostalgic references in books, it is still fun to read about a kid enjoying a Fruit Roll-up!
That being said, this book was frustrating. It was absolutely a mistake to make this story non-linear. It absolutely ruined the pacing and, in my opinion, made the twists and reveals obvious instead of exciting. Honestly, there were multiple points I was rooting for Amy to die just because I couldn’t stand her. Her character was very contradictory- she’s “shy and non-confrontational” according to her own narration and yet she takes every opportunity to cuss out her boyfriend and his brother. It makes her final scenes of actually doing something to stand up for herself and the kids become less poignant. Side note: it also drove me crazy that they didn’t get the hell out of that house when THE MAN WITH A RESTRAINING ORDER SHOWED UP? Maybe this is playing into how slashers always have dumb characters but honestly, it was ridiculous.
I should also add that Verona repeatedly goes over the same irrelevant information every 4 chapters. In case you forgot who Amy’s cousins were or that Amy has panic attacks. It almost felt like no one had read the novel before it was published or were trying to keep it at a certain word count. It was odd.
I will end on another good note I remembered about this book: Ben is absolutely adorable and I wish he had narrated the entire story. If this was a slasher story told from a child’s POV, it would have been much more interesting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body shaming, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, and Stalking
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Cursing, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Homophobia
michelle_mightbereading's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Blood and Violence
frahhn's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Haunting themes and a horrible plot—what more can you ask for :) The author did an incredible job driving up the suspense in the book, I was *so* tense by the climax!! The writing was beautiful and I was moved by the compassionate portrayal of all of our main characters. I felt in hinsight that while the ending was good and satisfying, i would have liked a little more peppered throughout the book leading up to it, but perhaps that would have robbed surprise from the ending. One image that has latched to my mind is the young boy, Ben, clinging to a mezuzah for comfort and safety. The book is very cyclical, engaging with the transition from child to babysitter, daughter to mother, child to adult. Another major theme is the frustration and fully enveloping horror of anxiety. I was impressed how the author was able to convey how complex many of the secondary characters were, without providing clarifying insight into them, fully aligning the reader with the knowledge of our main characters. Sorry if that doesn’t make sense lol.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Death
Moderate: Child abuse
bookishchaos's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
I was expecting some kind of crazy plot twist but no, the story ends with zero explaintion as to what happened. The time jumps were confusing at first but I got used to it. This book is full of plot holes, like why does our 17-18 year old main character think like a 30 year old? And wtf was that ending? What was the purpose of Sadie trying to unalive Amy? None of the flashblacks implied that she was unstable, just lively and a bit reckless. It would've been a really cool twist if Sadie was just a figment of Amy's imagination.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Bullying and Domestic abuse
slimepuppy's review
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Slow, repetitive, uninteresting. I had high hopes for this book, but it only let me down. The non linear narrative felt unnecessary, the plot was fairly predictable and none of the characters felt special. The main character is just anxious, that's it, that's the character!
Some of the beginning of the book was actually a little creepy, though - before the plot started happening.
Some of the beginning of the book was actually a little creepy, though - before the plot started happening.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Domestic abuse, Death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Child abuse
Moderate: Violence, Self harm, and Bullying
queenginger's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
fast-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
3.0
I was eager for this one and sadly it fell flat for me.
Categorized as a thriller/horror I was curious to see what that meant.
The thriller element completely missed the mark. Things don’t speed up until the last 30 pages or so. Even within those moments I found myself skimming the paragraphs to get to the end.
Horror? The only element of that is the ode to classic slashers. There are others stories that have pulled off that trope in a more successful lens. It felt as though this idea needed to be fleshed out a bit more.
The strongest element of the book was the dialogue between characters. Especially between Amy and the children. I loved the energy of Mira and her sassy quips. Bens character was okay, but I just don’t jive much with young kids overall.
The POV and time jumping was almost nauseating. I couldn’t keep my head straight and not in a good, pay-off sort of way. The six year jump back felt unnecessary.
Lots of folks mentioned the overall writing felt very Y.A. — and I couldn’t agree more.
It was alright. I didn’t hate it. I’d be curious to see more from this author in the future.
Categorized as a thriller/horror I was curious to see what that meant.
The thriller element completely missed the mark. Things don’t speed up until the last 30 pages or so. Even within those moments I found myself skimming the paragraphs to get to the end.
Horror? The only element of that is the ode to classic slashers. There are others stories that have pulled off that trope in a more successful lens. It felt as though this idea needed to be fleshed out a bit more.
The strongest element of the book was the dialogue between characters. Especially between Amy and the children. I loved the energy of Mira and her sassy quips. Bens character was okay, but I just don’t jive much with young kids overall.
The POV and time jumping was almost nauseating. I couldn’t keep my head straight and not in a good, pay-off sort of way. The six year jump back felt unnecessary.
Lots of folks mentioned the overall writing felt very Y.A. — and I couldn’t agree more.
It was alright. I didn’t hate it. I’d be curious to see more from this author in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Mental illness
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Child abuse
Minor: Vomit
haleybre's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Bullying and Child abuse
nicolesbookreviews's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, and Murder
maggie_falk's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Minor: Domestic abuse and Child abuse
henrygravesprince's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Really interesting to see the small details changed from the eBook ARC and see the way the ending got filled in some more. I enjoyed it just as much. Very strong narration too. Stunning.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Stalking and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Self harm, and Child abuse
Minor: Bullying