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3.33 AVERAGE
3.33 AVERAGE
i really disliked this book. medoff is a talented writer, and it is certainly interesting and suspenseful. it also felt so anti-feminist and weirdly apologetic of SA??? maybe i just couldnt pick up on the nuance. it was also SO graphic. idk. not a fan and would not recommend
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I just feel like this was hard to get through content wise, but that aside, the story was kind of anticlimactic and just… sad.
I give this one a solid 3.5 (common Goodreads give us half stars!!) there were a few spot where I felt like saying “ok get on with it already!” But overall this was a decent family drama with some nice twisty bits.
This is not a story you’ll love. And you will probably actively hate all the characters. But I think the author did a wonderful job of humanizing the characters and showing how complicated (and frankly, messed up) family relationships/dynamics can be.
I cannot fathom how this book was published in 2022. This fictionalized take on a Brock Turner-like rape case that glorifies the white wealthy rapist and his family is harmful enough, but the abusive relationship between a child and her groomer/abuser made it ten times worse. The "twist" about the groomer/abuser was obvious but also so much worse than I was expecting.
I should have quit reading it halfway through, but I thought surely there would be some redemption or that justice would be served because so many people liked this book. Nope. Horrible people do horrible things, news at 11.
I should have quit reading it halfway through, but I thought surely there would be some redemption or that justice would be served because so many people liked this book. Nope. Horrible people do horrible things, news at 11.
Woof. I've joked that I've been on a reading trend of "rich people behaving badly" and this book does fit that, but it is much more. The characters are well developed, and the plot and motivations are applicable beyond the realm of the ultra-wealthy. I think Medoff has approached a delicate and controversial series of topics with care. As a reader I rooted for characters, felt conflicted about them, and sometimes wanted to smack them upside the head. But I never felt pandered to, led, or that as a reader I couldn't understand that sexual assault is bad. I walk away from this book thoughtful, and wishing for more or different resolution, as I frequently do in real life. In the end, I think that's the sign of a well-written piece of modern fiction.
Intense story of a family drama that starts with the youngest son being accused of rape against his ex girlfriend but warps into the older sister who was "adopted" into the family as a sexually abused girl and how she had been groomed since a young child. There is twist when you find out who the abuser is and how the trial turns out for the youngest brother.
This book has left me REELING. It all clicked about 3/4ths of the way through. We were dealing with an unreliable narrator, but that just left me not knowing what was going to happen next. The premise, REVOLTING. The execution, IMMACULATE. Highly recommend.
This book was very disturbing. And while I enjoyed parts of it I think the author did a real disservice to the characters. They were awful and impossible to sympathize with, especially the ones we should have