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_mercury_'s review
1.0
This was the most unbelievably confusing and ridiculous book I have ever read. I didn't get it, not at all. It's been a year since I read this and I still don't know what happened at the end. Did everyone die? Was the whole story about a video game? Did the steak dude do anything? Was everyone actually a ghost?! I don't know.
The first 100 pages were fine and interesting but all of a sudden Faring started dropping 1000 miles out of the box plot pointss and twists and turns that made no sense whatsoever, so by the time I made it to page 350 I didn't even know who was who. I resorted to reading spoilers to at least get an idea of what happened in the end, but even then I couldn't figure it out. All I know is that is that it had something to do with ghosts and a cheese steak eating demon god.
A good premise, but a bad story. Very cluttered and scattered.
The first 100 pages were fine and interesting but all of a sudden Faring started dropping 1000 miles out of the box plot pointss and twists and turns that made no sense whatsoever, so by the time I made it to page 350 I didn't even know who was who. I resorted to reading spoilers to at least get an idea of what happened in the end, but even then I couldn't figure it out. All I know is that is that it had something to do with ghosts and a cheese steak eating demon god.
A good premise, but a bad story. Very cluttered and scattered.
guzzie's review
This book was so slow and confusing and I kept telling myself I would get back into it for the sake of knowing the ending. But after reading other reviews I decided I wouldn’t finish because the ending seemed to just confirm for many people that it wasn’t interesting at all. I’ve read books before that were not well written but this one not only was poorly written it was also so long for nothing. So much information yet it gave nothing.
janeefritz's review
2.0
2 stars. It’s a no from me dog. I had to start skimming and skipping chapters just to finish.
After the first 30% I understand why this book has such a low rating. After finishing it I also understand why the ending was so divisive. This book is overly wordy, boring even during “exciting” moments, and after getting through the ending seems to be kind of pointless. We start the book going in a particular direction. Haunted school, girls disappearing, mystery, horror. But at about 80% we take a hard left and everything you thought the book was about gets turned totally on it’s head but not in a fun way. When the big reveal about the school comes into play I said to myself “Then what was even the point of everything we’ve been through so far?”.
Wouldn’t recommend. I can’t even say this is a good book to read during the Halloween season which is the whole reason I picked it up.
After the first 30% I understand why this book has such a low rating. After finishing it I also understand why the ending was so divisive. This book is overly wordy, boring even during “exciting” moments, and after getting through the ending seems to be kind of pointless. We start the book going in a particular direction. Haunted school, girls disappearing, mystery, horror. But at about 80% we take a hard left and everything you thought the book was about gets turned totally on it’s head but not in a fun way. When the big reveal about the school comes into play I said to myself “Then what was even the point of everything we’ve been through so far?”.
Wouldn’t recommend. I can’t even say this is a good book to read during the Halloween season which is the whole reason I picked it up.
lesliewatwar's review
2.0
I gave this the best try I possibly could. At first I thought I was distracted and even started all the way over. No, I just couldn't follow what was going on. I was very confused from the beginning especially when I hit chapter two. Alternate chapters are from the viewpoint of two main characters. The second chapter, I assumed was someone from the future since the date was 2020 ( what are the rest of the numbers? What do they mean?).
I tried again and did finish the book, but it was a struggle.
I tried again and did finish the book, but it was a struggle.
rdyourbookcase's review
2.0
Two stars means I finished it - but almost didn't.
At first, I was terribly confused. Finally, when I just started ignoring the numbers in the chapter headings, I began to enjoy the book a little. Unfortunately, it didn't grab me at all. I didn't care who the tenth girl was. It wasn't spooky; it was just weird and off-putting. Then came the twist - one that I didn't care for and that made the entire plot pointless. I was no longer rooting for this story at all. I finished it just to see what happened, but I don't recommend reading this one.
At first, I was terribly confused. Finally, when I just started ignoring the numbers in the chapter headings, I began to enjoy the book a little. Unfortunately, it didn't grab me at all. I didn't care who the tenth girl was. It wasn't spooky; it was just weird and off-putting. Then came the twist - one that I didn't care for and that made the entire plot pointless. I was no longer rooting for this story at all. I finished it just to see what happened, but I don't recommend reading this one.
billblume's review against another edition
4.0
Easily one of the weirdest books I’ve ever read. This book cannot be easily discussed or reviewed without spoiling it.
The book comes out the gate with a gothic setting: the Vaccaro School in the icy wastes at the southern tip of South America. The POV starts with Mavi, a girl posing as an English teacher at the school in 1978.
Then chapter two switches to the other POV of Angel, a teenager from 2020 who observes the same events from 1978 at the school in the fashion of a ghost inhabiting this remote house.
There are some crazy plot twists to this book. When you think you’ve figured out what’s really going on, Faring then yanks the rug out from under you. No, the story is something completely different than it seems. This happens multiple times.
My only major gripe is that I feel as if it’s not believable for Angel not to have given up more information to the reader earlier in the book. That would have given away the biggest twist of all, but again, Angel’s emotional reactions also seem strange given what’s really happening. The wording for Angel’s chapters are very carefully crafted, though. I went back and skimmed the first couple chapters from Angel’s POV to see how well Faring handled this.
A minor complaint I have is Mavi’s voice. She reads much older than her age. It’s not simply an issue regarding Mavi’s voice but the way she thinks of the girls at the school. I feel as if this is not as big a deal though, because of the major twist later in the book.
Faring has created a bizarre story here. She subverts the reader’s expectations throughout the story. Some readers might not like how jarring these shifts in tone are, but I think Faring makes it work.
The book comes out the gate with a gothic setting: the Vaccaro School in the icy wastes at the southern tip of South America. The POV starts with Mavi, a girl posing as an English teacher at the school in 1978.
Then chapter two switches to the other POV of Angel, a teenager from 2020 who observes the same events from 1978 at the school in the fashion of a ghost inhabiting this remote house.
There are some crazy plot twists to this book. When you think you’ve figured out what’s really going on, Faring then yanks the rug out from under you. No, the story is something completely different than it seems. This happens multiple times.
My only major gripe is that I feel as if it’s not believable for Angel not to have given up more information to the reader earlier in the book. That would have given away the biggest twist of all, but again, Angel’s emotional reactions also seem strange given what’s really happening. The wording for Angel’s chapters are very carefully crafted, though. I went back and skimmed the first couple chapters from Angel’s POV to see how well Faring handled this.
A minor complaint I have is Mavi’s voice. She reads much older than her age. It’s not simply an issue regarding Mavi’s voice but the way she thinks of the girls at the school. I feel as if this is not as big a deal though, because of the major twist later in the book.
Faring has created a bizarre story here. She subverts the reader’s expectations throughout the story. Some readers might not like how jarring these shifts in tone are, but I think Faring makes it work.
kevinjwangler's review
2.0
At 70%, I considered DNF'ing... but I skimmed my way onward, and then it really took a turn. All in all, I appreciate that it was something unlike anything I'd read before, but it just didn't work for me.
merethebookgal's review
1.0
I was led to believe that this was a YA psychological thriller with some horror elements thrown in, but it was in fact a painfully slow, confusing novel. I finished my library ebook hours before it was due; it should not take me 21 days to get through a thriller. There were a few vaguely creepy passages, but nothing was all that scary, and this is coming from someone who has a low threshold for scary things. The “twist” didn’t make sense at all, and felt completely out of place. That type of twist wasn’t earned and cheapened the rest of the book. I would have thrown the book, but didn’t want to hurt my kindle, so I refrained, lol. (This next thought is kinda spoilery but not actually the twist) I feel like the twist was just like an updated version of “it was all a dream.”
Anyway, I only finished it because it’s a book club book, but if I’d had my way, I would have DNF’d this pretty early on. It’s too bad, really, because the premise sounded cool.
Anyway, I only finished it because it’s a book club book, but if I’d had my way, I would have DNF’d this pretty early on. It’s too bad, really, because the premise sounded cool.
sausome's review
1.0
It's truly amazing how little sense this book made and how poorly so many disparate plot elements tried to be stitched together. I think this book failed because it couldn't decide what kind of book it wanted to be.
Separately: Argentinian disappeareds and guerrillas fighting against a corrupt government; a historically mysterious and troubled all girls school isolated in Patagonia; a ghost world with Others, a cloud, need to possess the living to stay connected to the living world rather than being sucked into a dark in between place, with a gross know-it-all Beetlejuice-type slobby mentor; THE LAST THING which I can't even allude to because of spoilers but also because zero elements of this thing appear before it randomly happened (ZERO SENSE). All of these things had potential as separate books, but instead they all got smushed together to make a terrible book with the BEST COVER.
I actually nearly gave up on this book 25% in, but kept getting drawn in by the cover ("why would they put such an awesome cover on a bad book?" I reasoned to myself), and the alluded to 'surprise ending' in the reviews made me curious. But really a waste of time. Also I'm kind of angry this book was such an utter waste of my time, tbh. I've got so many other books to read.
Separately: Argentinian disappeareds and guerrillas fighting against a corrupt government; a historically mysterious and troubled all girls school isolated in Patagonia; a ghost world with Others, a cloud, need to possess the living to stay connected to the living world rather than being sucked into a dark in between place, with a gross know-it-all Beetlejuice-type slobby mentor; THE LAST THING which I can't even allude to because of spoilers but also because zero elements of this thing appear before it randomly happened (ZERO SENSE). All of these things had potential as separate books, but instead they all got smushed together to make a terrible book with the BEST COVER.
I actually nearly gave up on this book 25% in, but kept getting drawn in by the cover ("why would they put such an awesome cover on a bad book?" I reasoned to myself), and the alluded to 'surprise ending' in the reviews made me curious. But really a waste of time. Also I'm kind of angry this book was such an utter waste of my time, tbh. I've got so many other books to read.
pillywiggin's review
3.0
I really enjoyed this book until I got to the part where it switched from a ghost story to something else. I won't say what, because I don't want to spoil it. The twist was creative and unusual. I personally just would have preferred that it remain a traditional ghost story. I liked the Argentine setting and background. I also liked the characters and most of the plot, and if you are not strongly attached to traditional ghost stories, I think you will like this book very much.