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2.91 AVERAGE
2.91 AVERAGE
3.5 Stars
Four-Letter Word tells the alarming story of Chloe Sanders and her sort-of friends as they give in to the whim of the new girl, the seemingly larger than life Chloe Donnelly that gives narrator Chloe a new nickname, Other Chloe. New Chloe comes from Chicago, seems to know about everything, and uses a game to control the 7 friends. What seems to be a simple game becomes something much scarier when the truth is revealed, people will do anything they need to in order to protect their secrets. When the game turns nasty and the friends are turned against each other a plan is formed to shut Chloe Donnelly down, but the truth could cost them more than their secrets.
While I can't imagine myself ever giving in to a game like this, Christa Desir brings the game and the characters to life in Four-Letter Word. I ached for Other Chloe as she dealt with typical and non-typical teenage drama, I wouldn't know what to do in her shoes. Though the believability of the novel is a bit far-fetched, the way the friends treated each other was very accurate. I actually liked the dramatization of the game, this idea that people, especially teenagers, would do nearly anything to both keep secrets and to uncover them. Chloe is the sort of girl who hasn't figured it all out yet, unaware that her naivety is actually a good thing in many ways. She's both independent and codependent, her role created by her so-called friends and the lack of parental supervision. The secondary characters include her previous best friend Eve, Eve's present bestie Hollie, Other Chloe's crush, three other boys, and of course, New Chloe. Each is very well developed and had distinct voices and characteristics even when only being described by Other Chloe. The interactions Other Chloe has with her friends are impactful and very true to reality, at least from what I can remember of high school.
As for the game, it's twisted and not something I would've come up with or been willing to play at that age. It reveals a lot about the characters and about teenagers in general. The ending was lackluster for me and for me, I think a novel of this style should leave a lasting impression and Four-Letter Word just didn't for me. I think Christa Desir did a stunning job portraying the age group and the secrets they feel are most important. The things the teens were willing to do though, it's a bit harsh and a little sad too, as they came across as trying so hard to be adult at an age where they shouldn't have to worry about these things. The teens had a proclivity to make things sexual and that added an even more adult feel to the novel. Ultimately, I would have to categorize this as New Adult or even Adult.
I enjoyed the mystery and thriller aspect of Four-Letter Word, as well as the bits of coming-of-age tale that we got from Chloe. The characters and their secrets were interesting and allowed for a complex novel that kept me fairly engaged.
ARC provided via Netgalley.
Four-Letter Word tells the alarming story of Chloe Sanders and her sort-of friends as they give in to the whim of the new girl, the seemingly larger than life Chloe Donnelly that gives narrator Chloe a new nickname, Other Chloe. New Chloe comes from Chicago, seems to know about everything, and uses a game to control the 7 friends. What seems to be a simple game becomes something much scarier when the truth is revealed, people will do anything they need to in order to protect their secrets. When the game turns nasty and the friends are turned against each other a plan is formed to shut Chloe Donnelly down, but the truth could cost them more than their secrets.
While I can't imagine myself ever giving in to a game like this, Christa Desir brings the game and the characters to life in Four-Letter Word. I ached for Other Chloe as she dealt with typical and non-typical teenage drama, I wouldn't know what to do in her shoes. Though the believability of the novel is a bit far-fetched, the way the friends treated each other was very accurate. I actually liked the dramatization of the game, this idea that people, especially teenagers, would do nearly anything to both keep secrets and to uncover them. Chloe is the sort of girl who hasn't figured it all out yet, unaware that her naivety is actually a good thing in many ways. She's both independent and codependent, her role created by her so-called friends and the lack of parental supervision. The secondary characters include her previous best friend Eve, Eve's present bestie Hollie, Other Chloe's crush, three other boys, and of course, New Chloe. Each is very well developed and had distinct voices and characteristics even when only being described by Other Chloe. The interactions Other Chloe has with her friends are impactful and very true to reality, at least from what I can remember of high school.
As for the game, it's twisted and not something I would've come up with or been willing to play at that age. It reveals a lot about the characters and about teenagers in general. The ending was lackluster for me and for me, I think a novel of this style should leave a lasting impression and Four-Letter Word just didn't for me. I think Christa Desir did a stunning job portraying the age group and the secrets they feel are most important. The things the teens were willing to do though, it's a bit harsh and a little sad too, as they came across as trying so hard to be adult at an age where they shouldn't have to worry about these things. The teens had a proclivity to make things sexual and that added an even more adult feel to the novel. Ultimately, I would have to categorize this as New Adult or even Adult.
I enjoyed the mystery and thriller aspect of Four-Letter Word, as well as the bits of coming-of-age tale that we got from Chloe. The characters and their secrets were interesting and allowed for a complex novel that kept me fairly engaged.
ARC provided via Netgalley.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Yikes. To be fair to myself, this is the year of shelf shopping.
The description of this book was good, which is why I bought it... but yikes. This whole thing missed the mark. The book itself was probably ~200 pages too long, there was no character development, and nothing about the plot held my interest. None of the characters were likable and all of their "secrets" were really nothing worth doing all of this over. The first 100 pages were good enough to keep my attention, but then it was just 300 pages of repetition. It just came off as very juvenile. I should have DNF'd this one.
Shop Your Shelves 2021 Challenge
The description of this book was good, which is why I bought it... but yikes. This whole thing missed the mark. The book itself was probably ~200 pages too long, there was no character development, and nothing about the plot held my interest. None of the characters were likable and all of their "secrets" were really nothing worth doing all of this over. The first 100 pages were good enough to keep my attention, but then it was just 300 pages of repetition. It just came off as very juvenile. I should have DNF'd this one.
Shop Your Shelves 2021 Challenge
A great thriller and romance novel for anyone who loves both of those things.
So that blurb overhypes what this game is and what’s at stake and as a result the book felt like a let-down. On top of that Other Chloe is self aware to a fault, to the point where things start to feel unrealistic, especially toward the end where Other Chloe makes all sorts of assertions and realizations that fit so neatly into the plot. Then the book over-explained everything into deflation. Like a balloon losing all its air. It just was an all around let-down.
This was a book listed on Riveted as an extended excerpt that I liked enough to want to keep reading. But my library didn’t have it so I had to buy a copy. Not my most favorite thing to do but I was able to get a relatively cheap copy so no love lost there. Considering I didn’t much like the book in the end, that’s still a book I bought that now I’m going to turn around and trade. Annoying, but at least I can get a book I do want for it.
The blurb really hypes up this game as something eerie and dangerous and it can be depending on what secret a person has (in this case only Mateo had something actually serious on the line). I figured it was going to go down the rape lane and it did a little with some forced touching but that eventually just gets brushed under the rug and I’m left here like okay, we’re not talking about that anymore? There was no real point to the game other than people getting screwed with on a mostly superficial level. And I guess when you’re in high school that’s a big deal, but it felt like such a tease. I was expecting something more from it.
None of the characters are all that likable, Other Chloe included. Mateo and Josh were really the only characters that were moderately decent, but everyone else was trying to overcompensate for something or using someone for something and it just didn’t beg much sympathy. As far as Other Chloe being self-aware, she ended up having this uber-progressive upbringing that had her exposed to things a lot of other kids aren’t and having perspectives other kids didn’t. It really got loaded on at the end when everything came to a head and it just didn’t seem authentic. While I felt like Other Chloe certainly reacted to some situations like I feel like a teenager would, how she rationalized things definitely felt like regurgitated adult speak that almost felt preachy. I just wasn’t into it.
And then the ending that wouldn’t end. It just kept going and going and going. And while the wrap-up was being dragged out, that’s when everything got over-explained to death. I don’t know whether the ending stretch was meant for the climax or for the author to get all that explanation in. Maybe a little bit of both. Plus there’s no real resolution to everything. It’s not that things are left hanging, but most of it is left deflated. Like it ran out of energy. Meh.
Not my kind of tense thriller. I could definitely see how it might mean more to an actual teenager reading this book, but I felt it was lacking all around.
2.5
This was a book listed on Riveted as an extended excerpt that I liked enough to want to keep reading. But my library didn’t have it so I had to buy a copy. Not my most favorite thing to do but I was able to get a relatively cheap copy so no love lost there. Considering I didn’t much like the book in the end, that’s still a book I bought that now I’m going to turn around and trade. Annoying, but at least I can get a book I do want for it.
The blurb really hypes up this game as something eerie and dangerous and it can be depending on what secret a person has (in this case only Mateo had something actually serious on the line). I figured it was going to go down the rape lane and it did a little with some forced touching but that eventually just gets brushed under the rug and I’m left here like okay, we’re not talking about that anymore? There was no real point to the game other than people getting screwed with on a mostly superficial level. And I guess when you’re in high school that’s a big deal, but it felt like such a tease. I was expecting something more from it.
None of the characters are all that likable, Other Chloe included. Mateo and Josh were really the only characters that were moderately decent, but everyone else was trying to overcompensate for something or using someone for something and it just didn’t beg much sympathy. As far as Other Chloe being self-aware, she ended up having this uber-progressive upbringing that had her exposed to things a lot of other kids aren’t and having perspectives other kids didn’t. It really got loaded on at the end when everything came to a head and it just didn’t seem authentic. While I felt like Other Chloe certainly reacted to some situations like I feel like a teenager would, how she rationalized things definitely felt like regurgitated adult speak that almost felt preachy. I just wasn’t into it.
And then the ending that wouldn’t end. It just kept going and going and going. And while the wrap-up was being dragged out, that’s when everything got over-explained to death. I don’t know whether the ending stretch was meant for the climax or for the author to get all that explanation in. Maybe a little bit of both. Plus there’s no real resolution to everything. It’s not that things are left hanging, but most of it is left deflated. Like it ran out of energy. Meh.
Not my kind of tense thriller. I could definitely see how it might mean more to an actual teenager reading this book, but I felt it was lacking all around.
2.5
The blurb from the cover is a pretty accurate description of the book...the plot centers around this group of eight students playing multiple games of Gestapo, things progressively getting more tense until everything blows up, Chloe Donnelly ends up missing, and the other seven teens are implicated in her disappearance..dun dun dun!
Obviously I did not enjoy this book, but good lord, where do I even begin?
Main character Chloe is boring, sanctimonious, and incredibly judgmental. Even more irritatingly, most of her judgement is sandwiched in her self-pity over how everyone else is sooooo mean to her. Basically the entire book is her keeping up a running mental commentary of how useless and beneath her the people around her are, interspersed with self-satisfied reminders of how patient and tolerant she is. I don't understand if Desir wrote her as an unsympathetic character on purpose, but I couldn't stand her. Some particularly cringe examples of her awfulness:
"Eve smiled smugly as if she was the reason he'd agreed to play again, which I didn't believe for a second was the case. Chloe Donnelly must have talked him into it. Which meant she probably found out something about him. Or maybe they were hooking up on the sly, an she had him pussy-whipped or whatever that absolutely gross term was for when a guy did everything a girl said."
LMAO what?! Be a little more holier-than-thou in your feminism, right after throwing out the term "pussy-whipped" like you aren't sure you have it right.
"For a second I felt bad for him, for his small life filled with detention and post-lunch make-out sessions with his girlfriend. For his grudging promise to Holly of "no more girls" that made me wonder if he'd fooled around a lot and why. He was never going to leave Grinnell, no matter how often he took off in his car. High school was probably going to be the best time of his life. He'd be stuck in this town til he became like one of the old guys Pops hung out with at the farm store. Cam was nothing like his brother. All that wasted singing talent he'd never do anything with. Aiden would give up everything to get out of here, but not Cam. Too lazy or too defeated. It was sad, really. But before I could spend more time on the pity train, I shook myself and remembered how easily he dropped to his knees in front of Chloe Donnelly, and all my compassion stalled out."
Again, not sure if this is a deliberate choice on Desir's part or what, but holy shit, compassion? Is that compassion? Am I taking crazy pills? And finally...
"I sounded prudish and judgmental like the churchy girls who took "purity pictures" with their dads in this slightly gross way and then posted them online."
Providing the context for this was way too long a quote, but to set the scene, her friend reveals that she bought Ritalin from someone to help her focus on schoolwork after revealing what sounded to me to be some kind of learning disability, and Chloe tears her down and is horrible to her about it, then says this. This was far from the most sanctimonious bit of their conversation, but I had to go back and read it several times because.......what a weird comparison to make. Seriously, tell me. Am I supposed to like her?!
As if her preachy, hypocritical, self-satisfied judgement toward everyone else weren't enough, pretty early on in the bookJesus H Christ, really? Are we supposed to like her?!
Moving past Chloe being the worst, this whole story was stuck in her head, and I feel like nothing got developed properly. It would be better, and maybe Chloe would even have seemed more likable, if more character and plot development had been described rather than narrated in Chloe's stream-of-consciousness litany of the faults of others and why nothing was her fault. I'm not averse to first person point of view, but this whole book was Chloe's self-narration, and not only did her mental voice get old fast, the limited description available meant that none of the other characters got any real development. Why should I care about Mateo when all I'm given about him is what benefits Chloe? What's the point of showing the soft side of douchebag Cam when it goes nowhere and leaves us picturing him as an irredeemable asshole? And finally, we spend the entire book on these games and trying to figure out what is going on with Chloe Donnelly, and then all that mystery is revealed in an epilogue? Really?
I read this book because the description and title were intriguing, but it was like reading the diary of a selfish, spoiled, overly-critical asshole, with absolutely no payoff at the end.
Obviously I did not enjoy this book, but good lord, where do I even begin?
Main character Chloe is boring, sanctimonious, and incredibly judgmental. Even more irritatingly, most of her judgement is sandwiched in her self-pity over how everyone else is sooooo mean to her. Basically the entire book is her keeping up a running mental commentary of how useless and beneath her the people around her are, interspersed with self-satisfied reminders of how patient and tolerant she is. I don't understand if Desir wrote her as an unsympathetic character on purpose, but I couldn't stand her. Some particularly cringe examples of her awfulness:
Spoiler
"Eve smiled smugly as if she was the reason he'd agreed to play again, which I didn't believe for a second was the case. Chloe Donnelly must have talked him into it. Which meant she probably found out something about him. Or maybe they were hooking up on the sly, an she had him pussy-whipped or whatever that absolutely gross term was for when a guy did everything a girl said."
LMAO what?! Be a little more holier-than-thou in your feminism, right after throwing out the term "pussy-whipped" like you aren't sure you have it right.
"For a second I felt bad for him, for his small life filled with detention and post-lunch make-out sessions with his girlfriend. For his grudging promise to Holly of "no more girls" that made me wonder if he'd fooled around a lot and why. He was never going to leave Grinnell, no matter how often he took off in his car. High school was probably going to be the best time of his life. He'd be stuck in this town til he became like one of the old guys Pops hung out with at the farm store. Cam was nothing like his brother. All that wasted singing talent he'd never do anything with. Aiden would give up everything to get out of here, but not Cam. Too lazy or too defeated. It was sad, really. But before I could spend more time on the pity train, I shook myself and remembered how easily he dropped to his knees in front of Chloe Donnelly, and all my compassion stalled out."
Again, not sure if this is a deliberate choice on Desir's part or what, but holy shit, compassion? Is that compassion? Am I taking crazy pills? And finally...
"I sounded prudish and judgmental like the churchy girls who took "purity pictures" with their dads in this slightly gross way and then posted them online."
Providing the context for this was way too long a quote, but to set the scene, her friend reveals that she bought Ritalin from someone to help her focus on schoolwork after revealing what sounded to me to be some kind of learning disability, and Chloe tears her down and is horrible to her about it, then says this. This was far from the most sanctimonious bit of their conversation, but I had to go back and read it several times because.......what a weird comparison to make. Seriously, tell me. Am I supposed to like her?!
As if her preachy, hypocritical, self-satisfied judgement toward everyone else weren't enough, pretty early on in the book
Spoiler
she stands there and watches her drunk supposed best friend get sexually assaulted and not only does she not say anything or try to help, she later (more than once!) throws the incident in her friend's face.Moving past Chloe being the worst, this whole story was stuck in her head, and I feel like nothing got developed properly. It would be better, and maybe Chloe would even have seemed more likable, if more character and plot development had been described rather than narrated in Chloe's stream-of-consciousness litany of the faults of others and why nothing was her fault. I'm not averse to first person point of view, but this whole book was Chloe's self-narration, and not only did her mental voice get old fast, the limited description available meant that none of the other characters got any real development. Why should I care about Mateo when all I'm given about him is what benefits Chloe? What's the point of showing the soft side of douchebag Cam when it goes nowhere and leaves us picturing him as an irredeemable asshole? And finally, we spend the entire book on these games and trying to figure out what is going on with Chloe Donnelly, and then all that mystery is revealed in an epilogue? Really?
Spoiler
There's not even any actual resolution, it's just "oh hey, you all got catfished by a 19-year-old computer genius with vague mental issues who catfished all of you for funsies, but there's nothing the police can do about it, sorry. The end."I read this book because the description and title were intriguing, but it was like reading the diary of a selfish, spoiled, overly-critical asshole, with absolutely no payoff at the end.
All this lead up and mystery for a climax and “solution” in the last 20 pages? No actual wrapping up of any story lines, character arcs, anything? I can’t imagine being the editor of this book and thinking that didn’t need to be fixed.
A 400 page book with 380 pages of lead up and the last 20 pages felt like the author went “oh crap I forgot to write an ending and it’s due in two hours”. Big yikes.
A 400 page book with 380 pages of lead up and the last 20 pages felt like the author went “oh crap I forgot to write an ending and it’s due in two hours”. Big yikes.
Wow. I can't believe I sat through this whole book. This book definitely was not for me. The plot was mediocre at best. The majority of our characters were all HORRIBLE. They were so cruel and selfish. The "Friendships" in this book were a joke. They were all catty and vicious and even our main character- who I guess was supposed to be the moral compass of the group was horrible and judgemental. The plot twist at the end was ridiculous and there was ZERO character development or consequences for any of the character's actions.
I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.