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It’s a very sad story which leaves you wondering how anyone will find out the truth. I found empathy for Ellie, she really didn’t deserve what happened to her. I wish the tutor wasn’t so callous, but I understood the reasoning behind her shitty behavior. There are many women in this world who are exactly like the tutor, so she was the most believable character for me. As was Ellie. She was just a child, with her whole life ahead of her, as so many real children are. I feel for these two characters the most, as I felt like I spent the most time with them.
With that being said, Floyd could have been written better. It felt like shit was just happening to him and he was just accepting it. The only time he really stood up for himself was when he
I wish we had spent more time with Laurel finding out what a shit mom she’d been and making amends with her children, even Ellie. I hated the tutor explaining things to the reader. We’ve established she’s an unreliable narrator, so there could have been a second pov for certain events. I also wish we spent more time with the sister and how she started dating her boyfriend. That would’ve been a nice plot point instead of breezing past it:
The ending, I felt, was rushed. We don’t spend too long on everyone’s emotions or sitting with them as they learn the truth of what happened to their family member.
Overall, the book was an emotional letdown. I was expecting more emotionally from the characters given the nature of the story.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Confinement, Death, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Pregnancy
Minor: Animal death, Miscarriage
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment
My biggest issue:
My second issue was that Laurel doesn’t really seem to care for her 2 kids who were still alive. She compares Ellie to Hannah FAR too often, and doesn’t talk to her son. I wish she had some sort of reckoning earlier in the book, and I wish Hannah confronted her about it. But I’m glad her ex-Paul did. Because Laurel kept seeing herself as the only one suffering but like Paul said, she abandoned her family once Ellie disappeared.
Other than that, this was another solid mystery.
Graphic: Confinement, Kidnapping
Moderate: Gaslighting, Abandonment
Minor: Suicide, Murder
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicide, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Abandonment
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Miscarriage, Kidnapping, Grief, Pregnancy
Moderate: Dementia, Death of parent, Murder
Minor: Animal cruelty, Stalking
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Kidnapping, Murder
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Grief
Minor: Infertility, Miscarriage, Suicide
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Grief