Take a photo of a barcode or cover
2.73 AVERAGE
2.73 AVERAGE
In a mysterious boarding school at the edge of the world, a young teacher finds herself trying to understand her new students, get along with the staff and make a place for herself. She soon learns that there is a missing student and the the school is plagued by spirits and possibly cursed. Atmospheric and creepy, THE TENTH GIRL leads the reader to an unexpected conclusion.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for a fair review.
On NetGalley I gave this book 3 stars because I think there is an audience for this story. I am not the audience. I chose to read this book based on the description of the haunted boarding school with gothic overtones. The start is quite good, full of atmosphere. But the story soon fell apart for me. It jumped between narrators and one was not at all successful to me. The other was okay but there was a lot of repetition that was just tiresome. I skipped ahead to read the twist. Interesting premise. I also don’t think it’s appropriate for young adults, even if you could find one to slop through it.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for a fair review.
On NetGalley I gave this book 3 stars because I think there is an audience for this story. I am not the audience. I chose to read this book based on the description of the haunted boarding school with gothic overtones. The start is quite good, full of atmosphere. But the story soon fell apart for me. It jumped between narrators and one was not at all successful to me. The other was okay but there was a lot of repetition that was just tiresome. I skipped ahead to read the twist. Interesting premise. I also don’t think it’s appropriate for young adults, even if you could find one to slop through it.
Ok this book... THIS FREAKING BOOK. This is going to be one of those "hate it or love it books", so don't be surprised if you see a mix in the reviews. From my interpretation of everything, I really did not like this book, especially how it all ended.
I really, really wanted to like this book. Seriously, I did. I went into this excited about a new debut YA thriller novel that had a lot of promise. As I started this, it was quite shaky but I gave it the benefit of the the doubt. It really started picking up after the initial chapters, and I was actually starting to get into it. However, my main gripe is the ending. I'll get into that later, as I also found the chapter POVs awkward as well.
This book likes the change POVs every chapter. This usually isn't an issue for me, but it really bothered me here. There were some character POVs that we didn't need to hear at certain times, and other times we needed a certain character to show up with theirs. It also was a bit off for me to see the year change in the chapter title, as it made me have to keep track of many different aspects of the story. It was done in a bit of a jumble that made some information seem useless or just too expositional. It was confusing at times, but I learned to get used to it. It also doesn't help that some of the characters just don't click right throughout the course of the book.
So now that that's out of the way...
The last quarter of the book ruined this for me. I very much disliked this twist, and it just completely turns the story in a weird direction. The story was heading in a good direction, and I was actually invested, only for it to just become a whole mess. I only had more questions and zero answers. I felt my positive view of the book as I got closer to the end just shatter. I literally let out a groan in frustration and threw my phone onto my bed. I was not satisfied by this at all. I can see how others still remained to love this, but I for one just did not enjoy that one bit. I stopped caring as soon as I got there.
As much as I'd love to rave about how good the middle was, I just can't ignore how the ending changes everything in this book. Because of that, I'll be giving this a solid 2/5 stars.
ARC provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I really, really wanted to like this book. Seriously, I did. I went into this excited about a new debut YA thriller novel that had a lot of promise. As I started this, it was quite shaky but I gave it the benefit of the the doubt. It really started picking up after the initial chapters, and I was actually starting to get into it. However, my main gripe is the ending. I'll get into that later, as I also found the chapter POVs awkward as well.
This book likes the change POVs every chapter. This usually isn't an issue for me, but it really bothered me here. There were some character POVs that we didn't need to hear at certain times, and other times we needed a certain character to show up with theirs. It also was a bit off for me to see the year change in the chapter title, as it made me have to keep track of many different aspects of the story. It was done in a bit of a jumble that made some information seem useless or just too expositional. It was confusing at times, but I learned to get used to it. It also doesn't help that some of the characters just don't click right throughout the course of the book.
So now that that's out of the way...
The last quarter of the book ruined this for me. I very much disliked this twist, and it just completely turns the story in a weird direction. The story was heading in a good direction, and I was actually invested, only for it to just become a whole mess. I only had more questions and zero answers. I felt my positive view of the book as I got closer to the end just shatter. I literally let out a groan in frustration and threw my phone onto my bed. I was not satisfied by this at all. I can see how others still remained to love this, but I for one just did not enjoy that one bit. I stopped caring as soon as I got there.
As much as I'd love to rave about how good the middle was, I just can't ignore how the ending changes everything in this book. Because of that, I'll be giving this a solid 2/5 stars.
ARC provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
slow-paced
This was an enjoyable read! I went into this one blindly and was pleasantly surprised to find this to be a young adult gothic horror ghost story. I absolutely loved the author’s writing style in this book. This book did feel a bit longer than it needed to be and it was fairly slow paced, but it definitely kept me curious and intrigued. I loved all the interesting characters and appreciated the dual timelines, although it did have me a bit confused at first. This book also had some good twists. Overall this was an enjoyable read, perfect for the upcoming spooky season.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Too slow and not interesting enough to continue
This was truly one of the most original stories I've ever read. The story takes place in a remote
South American village in a school for girls that has been closed for sixty years after tragedy struck. It's been re-opened to teach daughters of wealthy families from around the world. The protagonist, Mavi, a young girl fleeing the political uprising in Buenos Aires that took her mother and has left her to fend for herself. She gets a job teaching at this school and she figures it's the perfect refuge to escape her past before it catches up with her.
But things aren't all they seem to be. The eclectic faculty, the foreboding director of the school and dire warnings to stay in her room at night all make this story intriguing, terrifying and spellbinding.
I don't know that this story would be great for younger readers as there are very dark topics such as rape, pedophilia, and molestation.
The ending, no spoilers here, totally threw me for a loop. I didn't see that coming at all. It kind of makes me want to re-read the book knowing how it ends.
South American village in a school for girls that has been closed for sixty years after tragedy struck. It's been re-opened to teach daughters of wealthy families from around the world. The protagonist, Mavi, a young girl fleeing the political uprising in Buenos Aires that took her mother and has left her to fend for herself. She gets a job teaching at this school and she figures it's the perfect refuge to escape her past before it catches up with her.
But things aren't all they seem to be. The eclectic faculty, the foreboding director of the school and dire warnings to stay in her room at night all make this story intriguing, terrifying and spellbinding.
I don't know that this story would be great for younger readers as there are very dark topics such as rape, pedophilia, and molestation.
The ending, no spoilers here, totally threw me for a loop. I didn't see that coming at all. It kind of makes me want to re-read the book knowing how it ends.
Full Review on my blog, Storied Adventures
2.5 Stars. Because I was actually struggling with 2 or 3 stars.
This was a WEIRD book. In a good way I think. I liked the concept, the morally grey characters, and the ending. The ending I don't think did come out of left field like a lot of people are saying. I didn't see it coming and it was certainly a twist, but looking back, the author dropped very clever, subtle hints. So, why the 2.5 stars? I feel so bad saying this, but it was boring! It was soooo slow up until the big twist. I just wasn't that entertained by it.
2.5 Stars. Because I was actually struggling with 2 or 3 stars.
This was a WEIRD book. In a good way I think. I liked the concept, the morally grey characters, and the ending. The ending I don't think did come out of left field like a lot of people are saying. I didn't see it coming and it was certainly a twist, but looking back, the author dropped very clever, subtle hints. So, why the 2.5 stars? I feel so bad saying this, but it was boring! It was soooo slow up until the big twist. I just wasn't that entertained by it.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I love wierd plot lines, the more mysterious and creepier the better, they don't even have to completely make sense. A bit of mystery, an open ending, done well i can handle either or both.
But its hard to be creeped out or even intrigued by a "horror" novel when the writing is so complex, and the story jumps timelines and nothing is ever really established and you get 200 pages in and still have no clue whats really happening. I started googling reviews essentially spoilers, to get a bit of an idea.
I got about 80% in, felt like the pay off would only be worth it if i went back and reread a lot of it and decided to quit.
Im not sure i connected with the writing style.
But its hard to be creeped out or even intrigued by a "horror" novel when the writing is so complex, and the story jumps timelines and nothing is ever really established and you get 200 pages in and still have no clue whats really happening. I started googling reviews essentially spoilers, to get a bit of an idea.
I got about 80% in, felt like the pay off would only be worth it if i went back and reread a lot of it and decided to quit.
Im not sure i connected with the writing style.