You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
Wow. This was a pretty cool retelling/reimagining of Poe's "Cask of Amontillado" that really had some solid YA elements. I decided to re-read Poe in preparation for this and McGinnis does a good job of making it feel like her own story (minus the obvious nods: Tress instead of Montresor, it taking place in a town called Amontillado, etc.)
I had to have a suspension of disbelief when it came to how intense and brutal of a situation this is and it involving high schoolers (one of those where you think this could not happen in real life kind of things but hey, it's a fictional story. Yet they say fact is stranger than fiction so who really knows haha). I did wish that there was more revolving a few of the other characters (Ribbit, Cecil) but maybe they will shine more in the sequel.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and found myself unable to put it down when I was reading it. I'm torn between a 4 and the illustrious 5 so we'll say 4.5-ish. The ending is great and Poe-like that could make this title stand alone and not require a sequel.
I had to have a suspension of disbelief when it came to how intense and brutal of a situation this is and it involving high schoolers (one of those where you think this could not happen in real life kind of things but hey, it's a fictional story. Yet they say fact is stranger than fiction so who really knows haha). I did wish that there was more revolving a few of the other characters (Ribbit, Cecil) but maybe they will shine more in the sequel.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and found myself unable to put it down when I was reading it. I'm torn between a 4 and the illustrious 5 so we'll say 4.5-ish. The ending is great and Poe-like that could make this title stand alone and not require a sequel.
I was hopeful. "The Cask of Amontillado" is my favorite Poe to teach. EVER.
This book is just one disappointment after another.
The end? Crap. And it is super obvious that book 2 will be "The Telltale Heart" and we all know how that ended up.
There were too many unresolved matters in the falling action/resolution, too many tropes that have been overdone, and too many inconsistencies. I actually wish the heroines both would die and everyone in that town would burn a fiery death. It's all garbage. Horrible.
This book is just one disappointment after another.
The end? Crap. And it is super obvious that book 2 will be "The Telltale Heart" and we all know how that ended up.
There were too many unresolved matters in the falling action/resolution, too many tropes that have been overdone, and too many inconsistencies. I actually wish the heroines both would die and everyone in that town would burn a fiery death. It's all garbage. Horrible.
I'm not sure what to make of this book, towards the beginning I was really interested in a revenge angle. Tress had a good childhood until her best friend Felicity asked her parents to take her home early from an impromptu sleepover and her parents disappeared. Tress is then forced to live with her grandfather Cecil who has exotic possibly illegal animals in what folks in town call a white trash zoo. Felicity has a secret medical condition her mother doesn't want anyone to know even if knowing might have made Tress understand something important. Tress decides to get answers from Felicity even though her memories are fuzzy. It's hard to have sympathy after a point because of what happens at the end. I don't truly know what can be answered or get closure with the second book. The flashbacks were a window into what happened between 5th grade and senior year. And the writing was solid but the ending kind of lost me.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Absolutely wonderful.
I love this author and enjoyed this part of the story’s journey. It definitely left me needing to know more - as if it were just half the story. I’m on to the follow up book next so am hoping to feel more satisfied by its conclusion.
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
What is this book!? There were so many frustrating elements to this that I dropped a whole star over the ending. Otherwise, the plot would’ve held onto a 3.
The story follows Felicity and Tress, ex-best friends who live in a town where your name and your money determine your worth. Felicity stays with the in-crowd, always feeling guilty about Tress’ social state and having left her friend behind. Tress thinks Felicity is fake and wants revenge because Felicity is the only one who knows what happened to Tress’ parents.
Premise wise? Sign me up. I love a good mystery! But there isn’t much solving, there isn’t much of a reveal, and there isn’t much said about it. It felt like a plot line just to create the rest of the drama around. Characters? They’re all fine. No one seemed to be a real winner, they all had flaws. But no one really stood out either. It was just a collection of people. However, A PANTHER? No. That was completely unnecessary and didn’t add to the plot at all. How absurd. The narration was great though. I felt they did an awesome job having emotion and attitude come through their narrating and it was nice having different voices for the different POVs.
I do not recommend this, even with the audio only being 6hrs.
The story follows Felicity and Tress, ex-best friends who live in a town where your name and your money determine your worth. Felicity stays with the in-crowd, always feeling guilty about Tress’ social state and having left her friend behind. Tress thinks Felicity is fake and wants revenge because Felicity is the only one who knows what happened to Tress’ parents.
Premise wise? Sign me up. I love a good mystery! But there isn’t much solving, there isn’t much of a reveal, and there isn’t much said about it. It felt like a plot line just to create the rest of the drama around. Characters? They’re all fine. No one seemed to be a real winner, they all had flaws. But no one really stood out either. It was just a collection of people. However, A PANTHER? No. That was completely unnecessary and didn’t add to the plot at all. How absurd. The narration was great though. I felt they did an awesome job having emotion and attitude come through their narrating and it was nice having different voices for the different POVs.
I do not recommend this, even with the audio only being 6hrs.
Solid 3.5. I could do without the chapters in the Panther's voice and the super heavy handedness of the Poe references, but the back and forth, the mystery of the missing parents, the slow reveals were all so well done. You could read this as a stand alone and just make some cool assumptions, but there is a sequel I am immediately picking up. Good audio book.
The literary Easter eggs were fun. The story decent. If you are well read you already know how it ends, but there are other mysteries that made it a quick and entertaining read.