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2.73 AVERAGE
2.73 AVERAGE
Everything reminds Vicki of the accident. At breakfast, her family only eats blood-like foods, from tomato juice to clots of raspberry jam. At dinner they eat rare roast beef. You’d think they’d show a little more sensitivity! Vicki has night terrors; she hears laughter nearby without a source; someone left “hundreds of roaches” in her high-tops and “stumps of feet in [her] red shoes.” WHAT IF THE ACCIDENT WASN’T AN ACCIDENT?
I read this one back in the day, in high school and recently found my copy. So I re-read it. I enjoyed the story and the horror building. I liked most of the characters. Not a bad read.
1.5
Extremely disappointing from someone who took the time to name themselves Deathkins.
The blurb was actually totally different to the story. Did she forget to update it when the book was published? Sad retro reads day.
Extremely disappointing from someone who took the time to name themselves Deathkins.
The blurb was actually totally different to the story. Did she forget to update it when the book was published? Sad retro reads day.
Classic Point book from my childhood. Used to be one of my favorite books. I thought the twist at the end was amazing when I was 9 years old lol. I remember really wanting to know what "PDA" meant and how so much went over my head.
Now, the dialogue is so awkward! Sometimes it doesn't feel like the characters are even listening to each other... they just blurt out whatever. Giving it a 3 for nostalgia lol
Now, the dialogue is so awkward! Sometimes it doesn't feel like the characters are even listening to each other... they just blurt out whatever. Giving it a 3 for nostalgia lol
Content Warnings
Minor: Violence
No one is gonna talk about the weird chemistry between her and her twin brother? How come he's like "my my sister sister look at you in your TUBE dress its such a TUBE" lots of tube talk. Can anyone explain that dress she wore to the dance? Like it had coat it didn't have a coat which was it? How realistic were the paper mache feet???? I hope that's how you spell that. This book was a hilarious whirlwind like how was that less than 200 hundred pages? LIKE HOW COME SHE HAD SO MUCH SEXUAL TENSION WITH HER BROTHER INSTEAD OF HER LOVE INTEREST.
Disclaimer: This is going to be a rambly review as I wrote out notes so I will probably pick points to talk about according to those notes.
It was really interesting to re-read this, because I basically had forgotten the entire story. I'd forgotten that the main character's name is Vicki, that the book mentions Rod Stewart (made me crack up on both occasions, particularly the "insult" that was hurled on page 80: "...You Rod Stewart joke!"). Other things that dated the story were 1) a "twisted sister" reference, 2) the fact that everyone had to share landlines rather than have their own mobile phones, and 3) the fact that Marty is wearing black leather pants in one scene. Cute! :)
I was surprised while reading this one that it was quite racy compared to some others I've read. This was the shortest Point book I've read to date, possibly the shortest one ever written (at only 106 pages), but it seemed to pack quite a bit into a short read. Unlike some Point books it had some good insults, like "frustrated pond scum". I like that one. I also cracked up over the quote on page 33: "...a bunch of twisted sisters." Nawww, cute Twisted Sister reference (right?? I'm right, right??)!
It was surprising to read about teenagers practically having sex in the hallways, which usually with a Point book I'm not accustomed to reading about. This book was published in 1991 and when I think back to myself at that age I wonder what I would have thought of the read. On page 35 we hear about Vicki wanting to, which made my 37 year old eyes bug out a little. haha.
The character of Lolly Parsons (sounds like Dolly Parton a bit, right?) actually reminded me of Dolly in that she's big-boobed and has big blonde hair. In the scene with the shoes and the roaches, I couldn't quite picture where someone would get "hundreds" of roaches from. Did they bring them to school in boxes?
I found Vicki to be an interesting and sometimes confusing character. On page 20 she is which seemed a bit extreme. It actually made me wonder if perhaps the "bad guy" of the story was going to turn out to be . Of course, later on when we find out the truth about , perhaps her being like that earlier in the book makes more sense.
For such a short book I was kind of impressed by some of the aspects, like the fact that we get insight into Vicki's relationship with her dad and how she feels hurt when he's withholding of affection, etc. Also, what the hell was up with See page 25 and page 91, but especially page 25, for insight into that.
On another note, maybe it's because I'm Australian and not America, but I have no idea what Alan was going on about on page 90 - did it relate to United Airlines being the friendly skies? If so, I still don't get it! Another reference I didn't understand was the one about "The Bobbsey twins" (p.31). I'm sure I could Google it and find out what it means.
Comments on the "bad guy" reveal:
Some last comments: I thought Vicki was a bit of a bitch about Janet on p.52, but at least she didn't take it too far and get to a point of no return. Also, why the hell would My notes on my phone said simply, "Baka!"
All in all, I enjoyed this one more than I expected to, even if it made me laugh sometimes when that probably was not the author's intention in 1991.
It was really interesting to re-read this, because I basically had forgotten the entire story. I'd forgotten that the main character's name is Vicki, that the book mentions Rod Stewart (made me crack up on both occasions, particularly the "insult" that was hurled on page 80: "...You Rod Stewart joke!"). Other things that dated the story were 1) a "twisted sister" reference, 2) the fact that everyone had to share landlines rather than have their own mobile phones, and 3) the fact that Marty is wearing black leather pants in one scene. Cute! :)
I was surprised while reading this one that it was quite racy compared to some others I've read. This was the shortest Point book I've read to date, possibly the shortest one ever written (at only 106 pages), but it seemed to pack quite a bit into a short read. Unlike some Point books it had some good insults, like "frustrated pond scum". I like that one. I also cracked up over the quote on page 33: "...a bunch of twisted sisters." Nawww, cute Twisted Sister reference (right?? I'm right, right??)!
It was surprising to read about teenagers practically having sex in the hallways, which usually with a Point book I'm not accustomed to reading about. This book was published in 1991 and when I think back to myself at that age I wonder what I would have thought of the read. On page 35 we hear about Vicki wanting to
Spoiler
"run her hands over those jeans"The character of Lolly Parsons (sounds like Dolly Parton a bit, right?) actually reminded me of Dolly in that she's big-boobed and has big blonde hair. In the scene with the shoes and the roaches, I couldn't quite picture where someone would get "hundreds" of roaches from. Did they bring them to school in boxes?
I found Vicki to be an interesting and sometimes confusing character. On page 20 she is
Spoiler
thinking about her sister and saying, "I hate her, I could kill her!"Spoiler
Vicki herselfSpoiler
her sisterFor such a short book I was kind of impressed by some of the aspects, like the fact that we get insight into Vicki's relationship with her dad and how she feels hurt when he's withholding of affection, etc. Also, what the hell was up with
Spoiler
Vicki's brother? Was anyone else grossed out by his sleazy comments about his sister?On another note, maybe it's because I'm Australian and not America, but I have no idea what Alan was going on about on page 90 - did it relate to United Airlines being the friendly skies? If so, I still don't get it! Another reference I didn't understand was the one about "The Bobbsey twins" (p.31). I'm sure I could Google it and find out what it means.
Comments on the "bad guy" reveal:
Spoiler
I definitely had no idea who it was, and I didn't really suspect Alaina. In fact, I'm pretty sure I never once suspected her. Perhaps the fact that early in the book Vicki claims to "hate her" is a good indication that Alaina did something that was hate worthy. I didn't see it that way, though - only saw it as a sign of Vicki being psycho. There weren't really any signs of Alaina being a wackjob, and for me, no signs that anyone else in her family had noticed or were doing anything to try to protect Vicki. But maybe Alan's bizarre behaviour sometimes was a part of that? Also, I can only assume that Marty came out of his coma?Some last comments: I thought Vicki was a bit of a bitch about Janet on p.52, but at least she didn't take it too far and get to a point of no return. Also, why the hell would
Spoiler
Dace leave Vicki alone out in the car on page 95?All in all, I enjoyed this one more than I expected to, even if it made me laugh sometimes when that probably was not the author's intention in 1991.
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Waaaaay too short to have much depth or impact, but still a decent YA mystery! You could probably read this in an hour or less!
I am giving this 4* purely because I thought it was utterly bonkers nonsense and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Don't get me wrong, it is not a good book. Read it anyway.
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Even for a Point Horror, this one was a little surreal. 'Sister Dearest' barely clocks in at over a hundred pages. This decision makes the plot move faster, I suppose, but there are critical gaps in characterization and basic plot movement which is never a strong point in these books. We're supposed to believe that our protagonist, a girl returning to high school after a long recovery after a bad car accident, is acting rashly because she's, I don't know, found someone new to date besides her toxic ex? I don't know. I'm not going to give anything away, but after the big reveal of the baddie's identity, there was a lot of talk about it all making sense because of things that had happened in the past. We didn't see or hear anything about that.
This was...kind of dumb. It only gets a few points because of the ladies standing up for themselves in the face of male toxicity and refusing to go along with (most of) the usual Point Horror dating nonsense.
This was...kind of dumb. It only gets a few points because of the ladies standing up for themselves in the face of male toxicity and refusing to go along with (most of) the usual Point Horror dating nonsense.