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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
This is an YA mystery thriller about the killings past and present, where young girl Lucy realizes she might be in the middle of conspiracy and where certain information might mean - death.
I have found this a good, catchy read - yet I would love to have much more human interactions. There really is too much of secretive atmosphere is the close community, so I would think there would be much more of the human connections? Also, there is too high a pile of dead bodies here without much explanation. But the atmosphere is intense and I have enjoyed this read (which is quite a praise in my books).
I have found this a good, catchy read - yet I would love to have much more human interactions. There really is too much of secretive atmosphere is the close community, so I would think there would be much more of the human connections? Also, there is too high a pile of dead bodies here without much explanation. But the atmosphere is intense and I have enjoyed this read (which is quite a praise in my books).
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for an ARC of this book.
I LOVED this book. It kept me on my toes the entire time. I also loved our main character Lucy.
I know some folks on Goodreads said they were able to pick out the culprit of the Lucy's missing friends was from the beginning, but I had no idea. Each character has some sort of redeeming quality that makes the reader doubt that they are capable of any sort of foul play. The characterization in this book was top-notch.
This book also brings into play how a large corporation/factory/plant can impact a community and community member choices. As climate change and the impact of factories is more on the forefront in todays news, this subplot I found to be very relevant and interesting.
The alternating timelines really worked with the plot of the book. You slowly learned the background of what happened when the dam broke while getting deeper into the present day investigation.
Now, can we talk about the twists. The last third of this book was WILD. I could not predict the outcome at all. And all of the subtle little details made it even more difficult for me to infer what would come of Lucy and the investigation. When you learn the whole story, if you are like me, you will spend time just sitting in shock.
I also need to add that I listened to the audio narration of this book and McKenzie Fetters did an excellent job. You could tell who was speaking by how she changed her voice in the story. As the majority of the story is told from Lucy's point of view, I have to add that her narration for Lucy was very genuine and fit Lucy's character perfectly.
Loved this. Would recommend it to any mystery reader- especially the audiobook version! And will be looking into reading more of Court Stevens other books.
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Last Girl Breathing got my attention because I adored Dress Codes for Small Towns by the same author, Court (Courtney) Stevens. Dress Codes for Small Towns is a moving, queer coming of age story about Billie and her group of friends in a small rural town with a conservative preacher as a father. Dress Codes encapsulates the uncertainty of exploring your gender and sexual identity in that kind of pressure cooker environment. So I went into this book with high expectations of good writing, deep characters, and space for queer identities beyond the binary.
NOPE. That's not what this book is. Honestly, the fact that both of these books are by the same author makes me furious. Last Girl Breathing is chock full of unnecessary gendering ("him and her self" when it would have been so easy to say "themselves"), frequent and extended Harry Potter references and romanticizing, and an inappropriate step sibling relationship. The characters and plot excludes any kind of diversity. And the story should have touched more on the role of class in rural towns impacted by millionaires, but that opportunity was completely ignored. Then add in that this book was painfully slow until the 70% mark and had little character development throughout, and I can no longer read from this author.
We deserve better from YA authors. This is NOT it.
NOPE. That's not what this book is. Honestly, the fact that both of these books are by the same author makes me furious. Last Girl Breathing is chock full of unnecessary gendering ("him and her self" when it would have been so easy to say "themselves"), frequent and extended Harry Potter references and romanticizing, and an inappropriate step sibling relationship. The characters and plot excludes any kind of diversity. And the story should have touched more on the role of class in rural towns impacted by millionaires, but that opportunity was completely ignored. Then add in that this book was painfully slow until the 70% mark and had little character development throughout, and I can no longer read from this author.
We deserve better from YA authors. This is NOT it.
Content Warnings
Minor: Incest
Eight years ago, tragedy struck Lucy Michaels that changed her life forever. She lost her five-year-old brother Clay Michaels, who was swept away in the floodwaters. Now seventeen, Lucy tried to put everything behind as graduation and Olympics were on the horizon. But tragedy struck again, and she was thrown right back into her trauma.
Oh gosh, this story broke my heart. I knew it was gonna be heartbreaking, but I didn’t know how much. I had heard of the author before but I hadn’t read any of her previous books despite of seeing all the praises, so this was my first one. And it didn’t disappoint.
Lucy’s life was full of tragedy. She had to face so much already despite of her young age. Her thought process, her dialogues with the other characters and her way of coping felt so real, sometimes I forgot this was a work of fiction.
As a thriller, the mystery elements were done well. I didn’t actually guess the main twist, but I also didn’t look too hard because I was just enjoying the story. The narration of the audiobook was done really well.
All in all, this was an unexpected gem. I’d recommend this highly to anyone who likes their thrillers with some depths and great writing.
(Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for a gifted copy in exchange for an honest review)
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is my first Court Stevens and I will definitely pick up more from her backlist! Two young members of a community are found murdered at the location of a horrible tragedy that took place when they were children. Lucy, our narrator, lost her brother at this tragedy - a damn break that took place while she was camping. Close with both of the victims, Lucy is forced to attempt to determine if there is a connection between the recent murders and her childhood loss. To complicate things more, her ex-boyfriend stands accused of being involved.
Lucy was such a relatable narrator. She struggles with her own grief while trying to stay strong for everyone else. At the same time, her determination will not allow her to leave things alone - she has to search for answers. All the other characters also held nuance and the characters were as well developed as the plot.
Random, and definitely specific to me, but my town was briefly a key location in the book. It gave me another added connection that made me enjoy this book all the more.
Lucy was such a relatable narrator. She struggles with her own grief while trying to stay strong for everyone else. At the same time, her determination will not allow her to leave things alone - she has to search for answers. All the other characters also held nuance and the characters were as well developed as the plot.
Random, and definitely specific to me, but my town was briefly a key location in the book. It gave me another added connection that made me enjoy this book all the more.