Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
mysterious
reflective
Not as much for a resolution as I'd like, but I get the point of grief being unending.
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:
Yes
Very creepy at times. There’s just something exceedingly evil about having your love for another be used against you. A little long but the mixed media made it a little better. Overall a great read. Will definitely be looking forward to the show.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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:
Yes
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Simplified summary:
A journey to understand her son's death leads her to a bizarre town stuck in the past.
Opening lines:
Esther and Gloria had a routine.
Review:
While the plot captured my attention, I found the writing lacklustre. The mystery of the town is teased early and often, but the reveal was just so underwhelming. Overall, even though there were some interesting tidbits here and there, I found the book to be boring and forgettable.
A journey to understand her son's death leads her to a bizarre town stuck in the past.
Opening lines:
Esther and Gloria had a routine.
Review:
While the plot captured my attention, I found the writing lacklustre. The mystery of the town is teased early and often, but the reveal was just so underwhelming. Overall, even though there were some interesting tidbits here and there, I found the book to be boring and forgettable.
Willow Stone is still grieving from the unexpected, accidental death of her son, Jacob, when she discovers the words: Clifford Island etched underneath his toy chest. Perplexed but intrigued, Willow starts an investigation into the mysterious island that will ultimately lead her to go there to discover the truth. What she finds is an island seemingly stuck in the past, in the 1990s to be specific, and no one on the island will tell her why or why they do things a "certain" way; like wear only 90s clothes, only listen to music from the 90s and back, and why some people watch the famous OJ Simpson chase on repeat. Her only hope of uncovering the specifics of Clifford Island lies with a teenager named Lily. Lily Becker is determined to get off Clifford Island for good. When she meets Williow, she feels that she has finally found the right person who will listen to her about the islands secrets and hopefully help her leave. But Lily first wants to blow the whistle on Clifford to the wider world.
However, when Willow disappears, her brother Harper learns about his sister's recent obsession with Clifford Island and decides to make the journey there himself to find her. What he discovers will change the trajectory of not only Lily's life but also of the island's secret culture.
My opinion: I was really intrigued by this book's premise. However, it took me weeks to read it. I couldn't get into the changing POVs, the switch from journal entries to text messages, and then newspaper clippings. It made sense for the plot, for the end where Harper has essentially packaged all of this together, but sometimes it took me out of the flow. It took until about 75% into the book to finally understand the "big" secret, and then when that was revealed, it took another 10% of the book to explain why and how. It almost felt like too much to reveal at the very end of the book. I understand creating a world and the rules of the world and then building the characters who inhabit said world, but I don't know, I felt this could have been done sooner. Too much was left in the dark in the first bulky half of the book. I did appreciate that everything was revealed and tidied up rather nicely, but meh. You're telling me literal evil incarnate is living on this one island, and the citizens of Clifford have been "happily" adapting to it this way, and no one's ever considered a way to kill it or vanquish it? Or send it back to "hell"? Only to appease it? No one wants to try? I think that might have been a cooler ending. Overall, it was interesting and had good creepy bits. An interesting mediation on grief and how we as humans cope with and overcome grief or not overcome, in this case. Worth a read once, maybe the audiobook is better?
However, when Willow disappears, her brother Harper learns about his sister's recent obsession with Clifford Island and decides to make the journey there himself to find her. What he discovers will change the trajectory of not only Lily's life but also of the island's secret culture.
My opinion: I was really intrigued by this book's premise. However, it took me weeks to read it. I couldn't get into the changing POVs, the switch from journal entries to text messages, and then newspaper clippings. It made sense for the plot, for the end where Harper has essentially packaged all of this together, but sometimes it took me out of the flow. It took until about 75% into the book to finally understand the "big" secret, and then when that was revealed, it took another 10% of the book to explain why and how. It almost felt like too much to reveal at the very end of the book. I understand creating a world and the rules of the world and then building the characters who inhabit said world, but I don't know, I felt this could have been done sooner. Too much was left in the dark in the first bulky half of the book. I did appreciate that everything was revealed and tidied up rather nicely, but meh. You're telling me literal evil incarnate is living on this one island, and the citizens of Clifford have been "happily" adapting to it this way, and no one's ever considered a way to kill it or vanquish it? Or send it back to "hell"? Only to appease it? No one wants to try? I think that might have been a cooler ending. Overall, it was interesting and had good creepy bits. An interesting mediation on grief and how we as humans cope with and overcome grief or not overcome, in this case. Worth a read once, maybe the audiobook is better?
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes