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3.33 AVERAGE
3.33 AVERAGE
dark
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:
Yes
mysterious
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
This book started off so strong and I thought may be a 5 star. Then it got silly, and not very fleshed out.
adventurous
medium-paced
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Enjoyed this book, it was an easy read with enough going on to keep you interested and enough twists to keep you wondering. It flips back and forward between past/present but wasn’t confusing to follow
Had lots of potential and a good plot which could have possibly have been made slightly better with a bit more exploration of the characters and their story etc but all in all it was a quick, easy and fun read
Had lots of potential and a good plot which could have possibly have been made slightly better with a bit more exploration of the characters and their story etc but all in all it was a quick, easy and fun read
funny
mysterious
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
funny
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Not gonna lie I thought a book called Everyone in the Group Chat Dies would involve a group chat more than it did.
The story follows Kirby, who was a real mixed bag as a protagonist. Despite being a journalist she doesn't seem to think things through or do proper research a lot of the time. She doesn't know when to keep quiet and seems quite easily led. I do think this was intentional however, so she is a bit different from your usual protagonist. In a way I quite liked that, she wasn't necessarily the most competent person but she tried anyway and was tenacious and cared. On the other hand she was quite annoying. As I say, mixed bag. Her friends (except maybe Dylan) weren't too fleshed out or likeable and I didn't really feel like they had that strong a bond which sort of undermined the book.
I think the main problem is that this book is 75% flashback and 25% present day. This throws the pacing off and means we race through the present day storylines with no real opportunity to find out what the other characters lives are like now, how they were impacted by the past event, or for Kirby, or the reader, to process their deaths (I don't consider this a spoiler, it's in the title). We just rush through it all and gloss over some things in the conclusion. There was a nice slower bit on the roof where Kirby phones her mother and breaks down where I really felt for her, if there had been more slower, emotional character moments like that I think the book would have been better personally.
I do think the worldbuilding was good, Crowhurst was a believable boring English town, nothing really going for it in the modern day but with its own weird quirks and lore. I liked the commentary about the dark side of true crime, the potential ethical implications, the impact on the victims and victims families, how sensationalizing these stories can lead to people being desensitized, how some people use these tragedies for personal gain.
Overall, there were some good bits to the novel but I think the unequal focus on the past caused a lot of problems.
The story follows Kirby, who was a real mixed bag as a protagonist. Despite being a journalist she doesn't seem to think things through or do proper research a lot of the time. She doesn't know when to keep quiet and seems quite easily led. I do think this was intentional however, so she is a bit different from your usual protagonist. In a way I quite liked that, she wasn't necessarily the most competent person but she tried anyway and was tenacious and cared. On the other hand she was quite annoying. As I say, mixed bag. Her friends (except maybe Dylan) weren't too fleshed out or likeable and I didn't really feel like they had that strong a bond which sort of undermined the book.
I think the main problem is that this book is 75% flashback and 25% present day. This throws the pacing off and means we race through the present day storylines with no real opportunity to find out what the other characters lives are like now, how they were impacted by the past event, or for Kirby, or the reader, to process their deaths (I don't consider this a spoiler, it's in the title). We just rush through it all and gloss over some things in the conclusion. There was a nice slower bit on the roof where Kirby phones her mother and breaks down where I really felt for her, if there had been more slower, emotional character moments like that I think the book would have been better personally.
I do think the worldbuilding was good, Crowhurst was a believable boring English town, nothing really going for it in the modern day but with its own weird quirks and lore. I liked the commentary about the dark side of true crime, the potential ethical implications, the impact on the victims and victims families, how sensationalizing these stories can lead to people being desensitized, how some people use these tragedies for personal gain.
Overall, there were some good bits to the novel but I think the unequal focus on the past caused a lot of problems.
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Murder
challenging
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
I give 4 and not because the book is without major faults but because it was a really easy read, and I enjoyed the ride.