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oracle_of_madness's review
fast-paced
4.5
Wow. This is intense. Four students are being interrogated in separate rooms. All seem suspicious. Each chapter is a separate question, but with each students answer, often not aligned at all. Basically, who killed Maylee?
One night camping in the woods, this odd group often finds themselves in disagreement over everything. Really, it was a bit funny at times. Each short chapter added information that created a whole picture at the end. But, I have to admit, I was completely shocked by how everything turned out.
This book is dark, mysterious, and full of tension. I wound up really enjoying this!
One night camping in the woods, this odd group often finds themselves in disagreement over everything. Really, it was a bit funny at times. Each short chapter added information that created a whole picture at the end. But, I have to admit, I was completely shocked by how everything turned out.
This book is dark, mysterious, and full of tension. I wound up really enjoying this!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Alcohol, Gun violence, and Racism
morethanmylupus's review
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
What happened to Maylee out there in the woods?
I loved the format of this book. Each chapter tells you the question the police are asking, and then the responses given by each of the teens who was in the woods with her. As you piece the story together, you discover that the story is really simple. However, the fun is in figuring it out because everyone has different perceptions of what was going on. There are some attempts at addressing diversity and police treatment told through the viewpoint of a Black character, but it felt superficial to me. I struggled with finding Maylee sympathetic and as the book went on, the back and forth of it all started to drag. Overall, I was disappointed by the time I got to the end.
Still, if you Iiked books like A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, you may enjoy this one.
A huge thank you to the author and the publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
I loved the format of this book. Each chapter tells you the question the police are asking, and then the responses given by each of the teens who was in the woods with her. As you piece the story together, you discover that the story is really simple. However, the fun is in figuring it out because everyone has different perceptions of what was going on. There are some attempts at addressing diversity and police treatment told through the viewpoint of a Black character, but it felt superficial to me. I struggled with finding Maylee sympathetic and as the book went on, the back and forth of it all started to drag. Overall, I was disappointed by the time I got to the end.
Still, if you Iiked books like A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, you may enjoy this one.
A huge thank you to the author and the publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Lesbophobia, Gun violence, and Racism
beckyremillard's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Five teenagers are planning on a one-night camping trip at Salvation Creek. It’s not smooth sailing from the beginning, but gets worse when one of them goes missing. Everyone has their own theories about what happened and what they think needs to be done.
I wasn’t prepared for the story to be written in this format. It was different than anything I’ve read before. The prologue confused me but I got it once I was actually in chapter one.
The premise of the story is that the four teenagers are being questioned by police about the missing girl. We get the perspectives of all four, responding to a question posed by police, which is at the beginning of the chapter. Otherwise, there’s no dialogue from the police. There are a lot of context clues, but the only direct police comments are at the beginning of each chapter.
It’s a formatting you’ll like or hate. If you don’t like the way it’s written after the first couple chapters, you will probably feel that way throughout. But I thought it was a neat way of writing.
Regarding the actual plot, it was decent and fairly quick moving. I didn’t get bored throughout and I read it pretty fast. Don’t expect to like the characters, but they were written well to understand their background.
I guess there were kind of plot twists but they were anticlimactic with the reveal. It tied everything together and shows how one action can have a domino effect, but the reveal of Maylee’s death and how she died wasn’t shocking.
Thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Fire for a chance to read and review this book!
I wasn’t prepared for the story to be written in this format. It was different than anything I’ve read before. The prologue confused me but I got it once I was actually in chapter one.
The premise of the story is that the four teenagers are being questioned by police about the missing girl. We get the perspectives of all four, responding to a question posed by police, which is at the beginning of the chapter. Otherwise, there’s no dialogue from the police. There are a lot of context clues, but the only direct police comments are at the beginning of each chapter.
It’s a formatting you’ll like or hate. If you don’t like the way it’s written after the first couple chapters, you will probably feel that way throughout. But I thought it was a neat way of writing.
Regarding the actual plot, it was decent and fairly quick moving. I didn’t get bored throughout and I read it pretty fast. Don’t expect to like the characters, but they were written well to understand their background.
Thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Fire for a chance to read and review this book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Death, and Gun violence
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Racism
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