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challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Is there such a thing as a true coincidence or is life a series of carefully planned events?
Ellie Mack seemed to have the perfect life. She was the apple of her mom Laurie’s eye. Smart and beautiful, Ellie had the entire world ahead of her. Then one day, shortly before her school exams, she disappeared. The police chalked Ellie’s disappearance up as a runaway teenager, but Laurie knew her daughter and she knew that Ellie wouldn’t have just ran away without a word to anyone.
Years later, a chance encounter at a coffee shop causes Laurie to meet Floyd, a single father of two daughters. After years of heartache, Laurie is finally open to the idea of love and embraces the idea of being a mother figure to Floyd’s younger daughter, Poppy, a precocious preteen girl whose own mother abandoned her years before. Laurie’s vision of a perfect blended family is shattered when she meets Poppy, who looks just like Ellie. This meeting causes Laurie to wonder if meeting Floyd and Poppy was a coincidence or is there a sinister connection to Ellie’s disappearance
Ellie Mack seemed to have the perfect life. She was the apple of her mom Laurie’s eye. Smart and beautiful, Ellie had the entire world ahead of her. Then one day, shortly before her school exams, she disappeared. The police chalked Ellie’s disappearance up as a runaway teenager, but Laurie knew her daughter and she knew that Ellie wouldn’t have just ran away without a word to anyone.
Years later, a chance encounter at a coffee shop causes Laurie to meet Floyd, a single father of two daughters. After years of heartache, Laurie is finally open to the idea of love and embraces the idea of being a mother figure to Floyd’s younger daughter, Poppy, a precocious preteen girl whose own mother abandoned her years before. Laurie’s vision of a perfect blended family is shattered when she meets Poppy, who looks just like Ellie. This meeting causes Laurie to wonder if meeting Floyd and Poppy was a coincidence or is there a sinister connection to Ellie’s disappearance
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Kidnapping, Grief
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death
Minor: Miscarriage, Suicide, Murder, Pregnancy
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, Suicide, Kidnapping, Murder
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Self harm, Suicide, Suicide attempt
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Pregnancy, Gaslighting
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping
Minor: Suicide
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Wow. I feel like a lot of stories about “missing kids” can be very easy to predict. They tend to be written the same. I did not feel that way with this book. There are times you think you know. But you don’t. The ending was exactly what it needed to be.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Violence
Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Murder
Minor: Suicide
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Kidnapping
Moderate: Rape
Minor: Child death, Confinement, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book was incredible!!! Definitely broke me out of a reading rut. The end is somewhat controversial as to who likes it, but I loved it. From the beginning, it kept me engaged and interesting and I truly loved it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Torture, Pregnancy
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Suicide
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
At times I didn’t want to keep going, but felt I had to to figure out the tangles that created this mystery. Although you can kind of see where things are headed, how Jewell tells the story is interesting and pulls you in. I enjoyed how the book did not just center on the missing girl and her mom, but expanded to show the complexities of the entire family & extended family. The ending is bittersweet but I’m glad I finished this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Suicide
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
This book was an insane roller coaster. Like… Wow.
Honestly though? I was right about a lot of it which is something I both love and hate. Since I was right, there wasn’t a whole lot of plot twists for me? But it was a good book nonetheless and a very good thriller.
Honestly though? I was right about a lot of it which is something I both love and hate. Since I was right, there wasn’t a whole lot of plot twists for me? But it was a good book nonetheless and a very good thriller.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage, Suicide, Kidnapping, Pregnancy
Minor: Medical trauma
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
The premise of this book was good enough for me to pick it up, but it was so predictable that I had to force myself to read it.
Most of the "twists" are revealed in the first half of the book and the second half is just an in depth look into what happened. I read and read hoping something more would happen, but was sadly disappointed.
Jewell, in her acknowledgements says that this is either "brilliantly bizarre, or just bizarre." And I have to agree. I love thrillers, but this was just an awfully sad story about a girl who is kidnapped.
Most of the "twists" are revealed in the first half of the book and the second half is just an in depth look into what happened. I read and read hoping something more would happen, but was sadly disappointed.
Jewell, in her acknowledgements says that this is either "brilliantly bizarre, or just bizarre." And I have to agree. I love thrillers, but this was just an awfully sad story about a girl who is kidnapped.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder