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yawningyogi's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
swsquadleadr327's review against another edition
2.0
I'm very torn on how to rate this book. The writing was very good and the concept of the story was very interesting. I was super enjoying the spooky vibe for the first 75% of the book. But the 'twist' at the end just did not work for me. There was no foundation for it at all in the rest of the book. Maybe I just missed it, but I expected to be reading a horror/thriller and was enjoying it when that's what it was. When it took a hard ride into scifi a la The Matrix I felt kind of duped and it did not mesh well with the rest of the story. I also spent a solid half of this book thinking POV character Angel was a girl when in fact Angel is a guy. So I must have missed a lot about this story in general? All I know is that I'm bummed this story didn't work out for me because so much about it and the writing was super solid.
_mercury_'s review against another edition
1.0
This was the most unbelievably confusing and ridiculous book I have ever read. I didn't get it, not at all. It's been a year since I read this and I still don't know what happened at the end. Did everyone die? Was the whole story about a video game? Did the steak dude do anything? Was everyone actually a ghost?! I don't know.
The first 100 pages were fine and interesting but all of a sudden Faring started dropping 1000 miles out of the box plot pointss and twists and turns that made no sense whatsoever, so by the time I made it to page 350 I didn't even know who was who. I resorted to reading spoilers to at least get an idea of what happened in the end, but even then I couldn't figure it out. All I know is that is that it had something to do with ghosts and a cheese steak eating demon god.
A good premise, but a bad story. Very cluttered and scattered.
The first 100 pages were fine and interesting but all of a sudden Faring started dropping 1000 miles out of the box plot pointss and twists and turns that made no sense whatsoever, so by the time I made it to page 350 I didn't even know who was who. I resorted to reading spoilers to at least get an idea of what happened in the end, but even then I couldn't figure it out. All I know is that is that it had something to do with ghosts and a cheese steak eating demon god.
A good premise, but a bad story. Very cluttered and scattered.
guzzie's review against another edition
This book was so slow and confusing and I kept telling myself I would get back into it for the sake of knowing the ending. But after reading other reviews I decided I wouldn’t finish because the ending seemed to just confirm for many people that it wasn’t interesting at all. I’ve read books before that were not well written but this one not only was poorly written it was also so long for nothing. So much information yet it gave nothing.
janeefritz's review against another edition
2.0
2 stars. It’s a no from me dog. I had to start skimming and skipping chapters just to finish.
After the first 30% I understand why this book has such a low rating. After finishing it I also understand why the ending was so divisive. This book is overly wordy, boring even during “exciting” moments, and after getting through the ending seems to be kind of pointless. We start the book going in a particular direction. Haunted school, girls disappearing, mystery, horror. But at about 80% we take a hard left and everything you thought the book was about gets turned totally on it’s head but not in a fun way. When the big reveal about the school comes into play I said to myself “Then what was even the point of everything we’ve been through so far?”.
Wouldn’t recommend. I can’t even say this is a good book to read during the Halloween season which is the whole reason I picked it up.
After the first 30% I understand why this book has such a low rating. After finishing it I also understand why the ending was so divisive. This book is overly wordy, boring even during “exciting” moments, and after getting through the ending seems to be kind of pointless. We start the book going in a particular direction. Haunted school, girls disappearing, mystery, horror. But at about 80% we take a hard left and everything you thought the book was about gets turned totally on it’s head but not in a fun way. When the big reveal about the school comes into play I said to myself “Then what was even the point of everything we’ve been through so far?”.
Wouldn’t recommend. I can’t even say this is a good book to read during the Halloween season which is the whole reason I picked it up.
lesliewatwar's review against another edition
2.0
I gave this the best try I possibly could. At first I thought I was distracted and even started all the way over. No, I just couldn't follow what was going on. I was very confused from the beginning especially when I hit chapter two. Alternate chapters are from the viewpoint of two main characters. The second chapter, I assumed was someone from the future since the date was 2020 ( what are the rest of the numbers? What do they mean?).
I tried again and did finish the book, but it was a struggle.
I tried again and did finish the book, but it was a struggle.
rdyourbookcase's review against another edition
2.0
Two stars means I finished it - but almost didn't.
At first, I was terribly confused. Finally, when I just started ignoring the numbers in the chapter headings, I began to enjoy the book a little. Unfortunately, it didn't grab me at all. I didn't care who the tenth girl was. It wasn't spooky; it was just weird and off-putting. Then came the twist - one that I didn't care for and that made the entire plot pointless. I was no longer rooting for this story at all. I finished it just to see what happened, but I don't recommend reading this one.
At first, I was terribly confused. Finally, when I just started ignoring the numbers in the chapter headings, I began to enjoy the book a little. Unfortunately, it didn't grab me at all. I didn't care who the tenth girl was. It wasn't spooky; it was just weird and off-putting. Then came the twist - one that I didn't care for and that made the entire plot pointless. I was no longer rooting for this story at all. I finished it just to see what happened, but I don't recommend reading this one.
billblume's review
4.0
Easily one of the weirdest books I’ve ever read. This book cannot be easily discussed or reviewed without spoiling it.
The book comes out the gate with a gothic setting: the Vaccaro School in the icy wastes at the southern tip of South America. The POV starts with Mavi, a girl posing as an English teacher at the school in 1978.
Then chapter two switches to the other POV of Angel, a teenager from 2020 who observes the same events from 1978 at the school in the fashion of a ghost inhabiting this remote house.
There are some crazy plot twists to this book. When you think you’ve figured out what’s really going on, Faring then yanks the rug out from under you. No, the story is something completely different than it seems. This happens multiple times.
My only major gripe is that I feel as if it’s not believable for Angel not to have given up more information to the reader earlier in the book. That would have given away the biggest twist of all, but again, Angel’s emotional reactions also seem strange given what’s really happening. The wording for Angel’s chapters are very carefully crafted, though. I went back and skimmed the first couple chapters from Angel’s POV to see how well Faring handled this.
A minor complaint I have is Mavi’s voice. She reads much older than her age. It’s not simply an issue regarding Mavi’s voice but the way she thinks of the girls at the school. I feel as if this is not as big a deal though, because of the major twist later in the book.
Faring has created a bizarre story here. She subverts the reader’s expectations throughout the story. Some readers might not like how jarring these shifts in tone are, but I think Faring makes it work.
The book comes out the gate with a gothic setting: the Vaccaro School in the icy wastes at the southern tip of South America. The POV starts with Mavi, a girl posing as an English teacher at the school in 1978.
Then chapter two switches to the other POV of Angel, a teenager from 2020 who observes the same events from 1978 at the school in the fashion of a ghost inhabiting this remote house.
There are some crazy plot twists to this book. When you think you’ve figured out what’s really going on, Faring then yanks the rug out from under you. No, the story is something completely different than it seems. This happens multiple times.
My only major gripe is that I feel as if it’s not believable for Angel not to have given up more information to the reader earlier in the book. That would have given away the biggest twist of all, but again, Angel’s emotional reactions also seem strange given what’s really happening. The wording for Angel’s chapters are very carefully crafted, though. I went back and skimmed the first couple chapters from Angel’s POV to see how well Faring handled this.
A minor complaint I have is Mavi’s voice. She reads much older than her age. It’s not simply an issue regarding Mavi’s voice but the way she thinks of the girls at the school. I feel as if this is not as big a deal though, because of the major twist later in the book.
Faring has created a bizarre story here. She subverts the reader’s expectations throughout the story. Some readers might not like how jarring these shifts in tone are, but I think Faring makes it work.
kevinjwangler's review against another edition
2.0
At 70%, I considered DNF'ing... but I skimmed my way onward, and then it really took a turn. All in all, I appreciate that it was something unlike anything I'd read before, but it just didn't work for me.
merethebookgal's review against another edition
1.0
I was led to believe that this was a YA psychological thriller with some horror elements thrown in, but it was in fact a painfully slow, confusing novel. I finished my library ebook hours before it was due; it should not take me 21 days to get through a thriller. There were a few vaguely creepy passages, but nothing was all that scary, and this is coming from someone who has a low threshold for scary things. The “twist” didn’t make sense at all, and felt completely out of place. That type of twist wasn’t earned and cheapened the rest of the book. I would have thrown the book, but didn’t want to hurt my kindle, so I refrained, lol. (This next thought is kinda spoilery but not actually the twist) I feel like the twist was just like an updated version of “it was all a dream.”
Anyway, I only finished it because it’s a book club book, but if I’d had my way, I would have DNF’d this pretty early on. It’s too bad, really, because the premise sounded cool.
Anyway, I only finished it because it’s a book club book, but if I’d had my way, I would have DNF’d this pretty early on. It’s too bad, really, because the premise sounded cool.