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3.09 AVERAGE
3.09 AVERAGE
I would have loved more depth to the characters and an actual twist. This story was compelling enough for me to want to see how it ended, but once I got there I realized it may not have been worth the journey. Layers and layers of exposition and totally unrealistic behavior from characters. It would be nice to attribute some pieces of this to "magical realism," but the bits about intuition and premonition feel like a clunky plot device to move forward. An interesting idea with execution that could have been better.
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
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I enjoyed much of the story, but the humor infused in the writing sapped much of the tension. How am I supposed to feel real fear for the characters when the story is telling me to not take anything seriously? And my suspension of disbelief kept being broken. It's like the author couldn't decide between realism or something more akin to Lemony Snicket's absurdist writing. It's just not the right tone for a psychological thriller. Even so, I did enjoy the characters and the overall mystery was satisfying (I mean, the story within a story mystery since Anne's death really....wasn't. "And she was crazy" isn't really satisfying nor creative plus it makes the school seem even LESS believable) . I loved some of the subtler clues left like that Malachay is a dog and not a thirteen year old boy and that the parents are the ones who killed Perrine (so Allisande tried to ignore this while Lisette left in horror).
I’d give it a better rating if not for the one chapter containing the word “transmisogynistically” as an adverb. That single-handedly (or single word-edly) dropped the book a rating point. The most charitable interpretation of this section of the story is that it’s a cautionary tale against mob mentality, but seeing as the author has a Twitter, I’m sure the true message is that women are evil, lying bitches who ruin the lives of innocent men (less funny of an accusation after Depp DARVO’d the internet and a jury full of idiots) and that women who DARE to divorce autogynephiles are the worst of all as opposed to, I don't know, victims of their husbands' misogyny. Sorry, the one gay boy in your book who doesn’t have internet isn’t gonna know what the fuck “cis” means and neither will the other adolescent girl who seems normal (so she probably doesn’t know unless she’s been booted from a female sports team or harassed in the locker room/bathroom by men in wigs).
Ah well. I liked the mother-daughter relationship at the center of the novel.
Ah well. I liked the mother-daughter relationship at the center of the novel.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Excellent book that is hard to put down once you start. Lots of twists and turns that keep the reader guessing until the end.
I feel a need to go read a few sweet MG novels and a fluffy romance or two to clean my palate now. That was seriously creepy. Looking at the ratings on here, this definitely seems to be a love-it-or-hate-it book. I didn't think it was perfect, but I had a great time reading it.
For much of the book, things are so WEIRD. I was sorely tempted to skip ahead just to get out of the confused nightmare feeling of it all. I knew that if as a reader I was feeling so disoriented and unable to tell fantasy from reality, Justine must have felt a thousand times worse. But I trusted Hannah and just kept reading, and eventually all the blurry pictures came into focus.
My issues with the book are the behaviors of the school staff and the final resolution. The first could be partially explained by the crazy-making behavior of Anne (although I still don't buy that the entire school would fall victim to it), and the other was believable enough; I just didn't like it. I wanted Justine to get free entirely.
And I LOVE that
For much of the book, things are so WEIRD. I was sorely tempted to skip ahead just to get out of the confused nightmare feeling of it all. I knew that if as a reader I was feeling so disoriented and unable to tell fantasy from reality, Justine must have felt a thousand times worse. But I trusted Hannah and just kept reading, and eventually all the blurry pictures came into focus.
My issues with the book are the behaviors of the school staff and the final resolution. The first could be partially explained by the crazy-making behavior of Anne (although I still don't buy that the entire school would fall victim to it), and the other was believable enough; I just didn't like it. I wanted Justine to get free entirely.
And I LOVE that
Spoiler
Malachay is a dog.
slow-paced