Reviews with content warning for Death - My Sweet Girl

Much like in the other book I read from Amanda Jayatissa, it seems like she can't help but ruin a really good book by going too far into the horrifying. I don't mean horror as in spooky, or disturbing existential dread - there's plenty of that in this book and it worked really well and I was entirely into it.

What I mean is this book made me discover I needed some trigger warnings I didn't know I needed. Some things never, never ever, need be this graphic. Or maybe they do if you really want true, unadulterated, experience of things that do happen in real life and that are just as revolting. They, maybe successfully, made me feel ill and violated and absolutely not okay. The way I see it, alluding to them is plenty. Especially as a device to make us understand how horrible someone's situation was.

Much like in You're Invited, it just seems gratuitous and too much.

I'm starting with what will unfortunately stay my main takeaway for this book that I otherwise really liked and that offered a fascinating take on another one of Jayatissa's tricks, but a positive one: the unreliable narrator. We watch Paloma sink helplessly into her vices, unable to stop her as she makes bad decisions, unable to help her as things unravel. Supernatural forces or too much to drink? The characters around her are no less mysterious and you'll find yourself, too, in a haze of distrust for everybody. I really enjoyed the read and the end still had me invested again as Jayatissa arfully kept things ambiguous until she wanted us to know. I loved predicting practically nothing that happened. Only one plot point, and I thought I was so smart for it.

I'm really sad about this one part that truly left a sour, ugly taste in my mind for a book I had no reason not to love. After all, there's a reason I picked up this book after reading another one from the author. But before I pick up another one, I'll dutifully read the trigger warnings and know that when it comes to Jayatissa, graphic means GRAPHIC.

Content Warnings

amandalorianxo's review

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

OMG!! How creepy and twisted !! This was such a engaging scary read for the month of October ! Granted there are some trigger warnings such as assault and abuse that need to be looked up in case you are triggered by this. I loved the fresh take on the unreliable narrator ! Riley Sagar was right that this was original as far as storytelling goes. I didn’t see the ending at all. It was a little bit long and slow for my taste but it fits the narration style & helping put the pieces together without giving away too much all at once.

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