Scan barcode
taylor_nic0le's review against another edition
1.0
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
maegsreadsalot's review against another edition
4.0
A great thriller and romance novel for anyone who loves both of those things.
dtaylorbooks's review against another edition
3.0
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
dewey7962's review against another edition
2.0
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.
raebae's review against another edition
3.0
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.
jessmcall's review against another edition
1.0
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.
thefallingshelf's review against another edition
3.0
Do you ever finish a book and think that it has possibly garnered five stars, but the more you think about it, the more it shows its true, albeit still very interesting, colors? For me, that was Four-Letter Word by Christa Desir.
Four-Letter Word honestly had one of my favorite expositions of the books I've read so far this year. As a recent high school graduate, I thought that the way Desir wove in the different conflicts and characters in Chloe Sanders' life was pretty seamless -- nobody was dropped in without explanation, and nearly everyone proved important to the story in some way or another. With the exception, of course, of antagonist Chloe Donnelly. I'm sure nearly every high schooler has run into Chloe Donnelly's particular brand of bully: they put on a front like they're much cooler and more mature than everyone else, while simultaneously encouraging everyone to put logic and rational thought aside and join them in some harebrained scheme or another, that is going to end up getting everyone in trouble but the bully herself. In Four-Letter Word's case, this scheme is called Gestapo. Yeah, you read that right, like the Nazi secret police. That word definitely came out of nowhere as I was first reading it, and I think Desir pretty effectively achieved her goal of making the reader as deeply uncomfortable with the game as Chloe Sanders is. There's basically no bigger red flag than someone calling a "game" after the Gestapo, even if it is, as Chloe S. kept trying to remind herself, just a word game.
But because this is high school, and because Chloe Donnelly has the magnetism that all high school mean girls seem to have, Chloe Sanders and her friends get wrapped up in the game before they know what's happening. And up to this point, I think I was totally on board, plotwise. I hated Chloe Donnelly, and I think that for the majority of the book, Desir wrote her soooo realistically. She was so easy to dislike. But then, as the game progressed, and it became clear that the way to win was to trade secrets (and sexual favors, which I'll get to in a minute). This is where, to me, the plot started to go kind of haywire. Chloe Donnelly knew things about the other players that nobody else did, even though the group of seven native Grinnell students had known each other longer than this newcomer. Some of the things she could have Googled (Holly's dad was in jail for possession of narcotics, for example), and some of the things she could have just stumbled upon (Josh and Aiden's relationship, much like Chloe Sanders accidentally saw them making out outside of the locker room, and even though Holly makes fun of Chloe for being a stalker, the girl is really not all that observant, so...Chloe Donnelly is no Sherlock Holmes, is what I'm trying to say) . The part that didn't make sense to me is how Chloe Donnelly could have known that Mateo and his family were undocumented. That seems beyond a smart 19-year-old catfisher's ability, which, in my opinion, is what totally dropped this from a five-star read to a three on my Goodreads. There were definitely some parts of Four-Letter Word that had my heart racing, turning the pages like crazy to find out the next twist, but the ending just wasn't one of them. Coupled with the total lack of resolution for all the characters I was rooting for, it made the book -- which was definitely on the long side for the story Desir was trying to tell -- seem unfinished.
Finally, my last issue with Four-Letter Word isn't an issue with a writing so much as it is in putting it into the Young Adult category. I think Desir really captured the strangeness and newness of being, well, a young adult, but her references to sex edged on gratuitous and were definitely graphic. With the proper warning, I think this book could be great for mature young adults, but it's definitely not something you'd find in a school library. In my opinion, putting this into the "new adult" category better represents the story and its author.
Four-Letter Word comes out May 15, 2018 from Simon Pulse (Simon & Schuster) in the US.
Disclaimer: I received an advanced readers' copy of Four-Letter Word at the Texas Library Association Conference 2018. This has in no way affected my rating, review, or opinion of this book. Some of the links in this review are affiliate links.
Come Visit Me At The Falling Shelf!
Four-Letter Word honestly had one of my favorite expositions of the books I've read so far this year. As a recent high school graduate, I thought that the way Desir wove in the different conflicts and characters in Chloe Sanders' life was pretty seamless -- nobody was dropped in without explanation, and nearly everyone proved important to the story in some way or another. With the exception, of course, of antagonist Chloe Donnelly. I'm sure nearly every high schooler has run into Chloe Donnelly's particular brand of bully: they put on a front like they're much cooler and more mature than everyone else, while simultaneously encouraging everyone to put logic and rational thought aside and join them in some harebrained scheme or another, that is going to end up getting everyone in trouble but the bully herself. In Four-Letter Word's case, this scheme is called Gestapo. Yeah, you read that right, like the Nazi secret police. That word definitely came out of nowhere as I was first reading it, and I think Desir pretty effectively achieved her goal of making the reader as deeply uncomfortable with the game as Chloe Sanders is. There's basically no bigger red flag than someone calling a "game" after the Gestapo, even if it is, as Chloe S. kept trying to remind herself, just a word game.
But because this is high school, and because Chloe Donnelly has the magnetism that all high school mean girls seem to have, Chloe Sanders and her friends get wrapped up in the game before they know what's happening. And up to this point, I think I was totally on board, plotwise. I hated Chloe Donnelly, and I think that for the majority of the book, Desir wrote her soooo realistically. She was so easy to dislike. But then, as the game progressed, and it became clear that the way to win was to trade secrets (and sexual favors, which I'll get to in a minute). This is where, to me, the plot started to go kind of haywire. Chloe Donnelly knew things about the other players that nobody else did, even though the group of seven native Grinnell students had known each other longer than this newcomer. Some of the things she could have Googled
Finally, my last issue with Four-Letter Word isn't an issue with a writing so much as it is in putting it into the Young Adult category. I think Desir really captured the strangeness and newness of being, well, a young adult, but her references to sex edged on gratuitous and were definitely graphic. With the proper warning, I think this book could be great for mature young adults, but it's definitely not something you'd find in a school library. In my opinion, putting this into the "new adult" category better represents the story and its author.
Four-Letter Word comes out May 15, 2018 from Simon Pulse (Simon & Schuster) in the US.
Disclaimer: I received an advanced readers' copy of Four-Letter Word at the Texas Library Association Conference 2018. This has in no way affected my rating, review, or opinion of this book. Some of the links in this review are affiliate links.
Come Visit Me At The Falling Shelf!
captainflint's review
3.0
10/20. The writing style and tension of this felt immediate in a way that distinguished it from other YA thrillers, but the plot and characters felt mostly very typical teen drama-y. Also, this generally went in a direction I didn't expect it to with regards to some of the topics it explored, and that was just not to my taste.
nireem's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75