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jasperr's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I’ll start with the good. First of all, kisses to Holly Jackson for her first book being pretty damn good. The ending was satisfying for the most part. The hints towards the next course of action were well written (to the point where i could guess what conclusion we will be coming to next). As a character, Pip is very distinct. She has a clear voice in this story which is really good seeing as she is the protagonist. At some instances though, it seemed like her logic was inconsistent with what “she knows” thus far. It read as if her new leads and conclusions were just tools to progress the plot with no deeper connection to the actual story. Also, some characters felt like unnecessary additions (most of all, Josh). And the scenes where we get to see the family dynamics of Pip’s family were not very useful. From her character alone and the instances where they intervene subtly during scenes that do not center around them, we can understand the dynamics of her family and get the hint about them being a pretty functional family. However, other families’ dynamics would have been a lot more interesting (the Bells which does appear briefly, the Singhs who are dealing with the loss of their “alleged murderer” son). Also the conversations between the teenagers felt very scripted and unnatural at times. I get that Pip is this supernerd but regardless she is a person. I got second-hand embarrassment from reading some of that dialogue. Another thing, that spur of the moment relationship was so frustrating: would’ve rather taken a sprinkle of the rohypnol pills in my tea than a sprinkle of the romance in my murder mystery book. It was way too quick and out of nowhere and unnecessary. There are a lot of little things like that that I wish were cut out. Regardless, there were memorable moments in this book and Ravi easily became one of my favorite characters from the get-go. I really appreciated the different methods Pip would go about solving this case; it was really successful in creating interest while basically doing the same thing: chasing a lead. The book starts off so strongly but it drags on for a while. It’s a slower pace than I expected. Thanks for reading this. I’m pouring my thoughts out here, waiting for my friends to finish reading this. I might add something later when I figure out the spoiler warning thing though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Murder, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, and Animal death
Minor: Self harm and Adult/minor relationship
ashley_dreaming's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Murder, Kidnapping, Islamophobia, Addiction, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Rape, Death, Drug use, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Infidelity, Racism, Alcohol, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Grief, and Hate crime
emilyyyxleigh's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death
charlottereads_books's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Murder, Sexual assault, Animal death, and Animal cruelty
priscillarobock's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Car accident, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Toxic friendship, Drug use, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Rape, Alcohol, Blood, Kidnapping, Bullying, Death, Suicide attempt, Torture, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, and Drug abuse
poetkoala's review against another edition
5.0
Has some flavors of Truly Devious, which I also loved.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death
Minor: Vomit and Rape
jennaweston's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
I originally thought this was going to be a fun-loving tween mystery novel, but it ended up being a lot more intense, but also very interesting. I think this book got lost in the weeds at moments with trying to push you off the track of who the killer is, but overall good book.
What I Liked
What I Liked
- It was a quick read.
- Liked the different format of it. Made the book go by quickly.
- the plot twist was interesting at the end…saw some of it coming, but not really!
- Liked the duo of Pip and Ravi.
What I didn’t like
- though i liked the plot twist, i wasn’t super sold on Becca as the killer. It felt a little anti-climatic to be totally honest.
- No need to kill the dog…just sad for sad’s sake
- also comparing it to losing Sal…a little bit of a yikes there
Content Warnings
Moderate: Eating disorder, Suicide, Vomit, Animal death, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Grief, Murder, Sexual assault, and Adult/minor relationship
sabrinabeschke's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Murder and Rape
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Self harm, Suicide, and Animal death
katcarter_'s review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Suicide, Stalking, Animal death, Adult/minor relationship, Vomit, Violence, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Rape, Murder, Death, and Car accident
clovetra's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
can i just say ive never guessed a killer so quickly. 96 pages in and i guessed it. pretty proud of myself for that one.
anyways um this book to me perfectly encapsulates booktok. not in a bad way. i mean this in a nice way i swear
it’s got plot twist galore, thrilling scenes, cute charm, humour, suspense, mixed media, and a smidge of romance.
but why oh why is it only a 3 star then?
i got bored.
man this book reads like a YA. it’s a heavy YA-leaning book.
not saying that’s a bad thing! i also knew it was a YA going in so i can’t blame ignorance like i do in every other review (/lh). but yeah u can really tell this is a YA.
it kinda reminded me of my year 8 mystery novel where i had to write a complex murder. mind u i only got 70% and i wrote a wonderful story about a missing lia atsni dying of exsanguination. yeah i used that word at 14 and what. anyways i mean that to say is that this book is quite juvenile. i mean that’s ok but with how people rant & rave about it (side eyeing u alastair & lily) it was….. ok! it wasn’t outright bad but it wasn’t a masterpiece. and that’s ok not every book is meant to be like that. but i think because i had this hyped up to me my hopes were too high?
like seriously i know this book was more complex than just one clear cut killer but…. i guessed it <100 pages in.
i don’t know if that’s a good thing or not for a general reading audience but i don’t like being correct with my guesses because i always guess someone out of left field.
granted i also could just be goated at guessing killers in fiction because i guessed the killer in the movie “happy death day” (2017) about 30 minutes in so do what you will with that information.
this is kind of a ramble but that’s to say i can’t actually pin point anything specific that sucked or excelled in this book! i mean i can defo say the “confession” flopped so hard. but also i like that pip is lowkey fire ass autistic representation. i don’t even know if she was consciously written like that but idc.
um anyways i will be reading the rest of the series but my ass will not be buying them. this was a perfectly average book. it does not spark joy. it is marie kondo’ing out of my house tomorrow (aka entering facebook marketplace)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Drug abuse, Violence, Drug use, Murder, and Blood
Moderate: Animal death, Sexual assault, Car accident, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Suicide, and Bullying
Minor: Self harm, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, and Racism