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cath_reads_books's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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
This was a wild ride! I think it’s my favorite of Amanda Jayatissa’s so far.
The story follows Paloma, a Sri Lankan orphan, who is adopted by the Evans couple and moved to the United States. There’s clearly something in Paloma’s past that haunts her; she has a terrible relationship with her adoptive parents, she drinks on medication that have interactions with alcohol, and she doesn’t seem to have any real friends. She also judges every person she comes across extremely harshly, as though she’s the best person on the planet, when in reality she’s an absolute asshole. She’s also extremely manipulative and conniving, and will do anything to keep herself in a good position. I found myself wondering many times if she was legitimately a psychopath.
The book goes back-and-forth between telling the story of present day Paloma and young Paloma living at the Sri Lankan orphanage.As I continued to hear more of the experiences about the orphanage, I started to suspect that Paloma wasn’t really Paloma at all, but instead was a close childhood friend posing as her to get their shot at a better life. By the end of the book I found out that this was absolutely the case.
What I didn’t expect was that the real Paloma was still alive and had planned on elaborate revenge scheme to try to take her place back from the pretender. The REAL Paloma was even more insane than the pretend one too, and layered on her own schemes to make the pretend Paloma look unhinged. The last few chapters of this book were beyond intense, and I had no idea which Paloma I was actually reading about for a while there. The last chapter had me grinning ear to ear when I figured it out.
4.25 of 5 stars from me! Top-notch writing with an insane cat and mouse game between two psychopaths lol.
The story follows Paloma, a Sri Lankan orphan, who is adopted by the Evans couple and moved to the United States. There’s clearly something in Paloma’s past that haunts her; she has a terrible relationship with her adoptive parents, she drinks on medication that have interactions with alcohol, and she doesn’t seem to have any real friends. She also judges every person she comes across extremely harshly, as though she’s the best person on the planet, when in reality she’s an absolute asshole. She’s also extremely manipulative and conniving, and will do anything to keep herself in a good position. I found myself wondering many times if she was legitimately a psychopath.
The book goes back-and-forth between telling the story of present day Paloma and young Paloma living at the Sri Lankan orphanage.
What I didn’t expect was that the real Paloma was still alive and had planned on elaborate revenge scheme to try to take her place back from the pretender. The REAL Paloma was even more insane than the pretend one too, and layered on her own schemes to make the pretend Paloma look unhinged. The last few chapters of this book were beyond intense, and I had no idea which Paloma I was actually reading about for a while there. The last chapter had me grinning ear to ear when I figured it out.
4.25 of 5 stars from me! Top-notch writing with an insane cat and mouse game between two psychopaths lol.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Sexual assault, Child abuse, Alcoholism, Vomit, Pedophilia, Drug abuse, and Death of parent
serendipitysbooks's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
My Sweet Girl is a psychological thriller. Paloma Evans grew up in a Sri Lankan orphanage but was adopted by an American couple when she was twelve. At the time she thought she was the luckiest girl in the world, and that her life proper was really about to begin. But at age thirty things are clearly not going so well for Paloma, and she is haunted by a secret from her past.
Plot wise there’s a lot going on including a dual timeline (I found the orphanage storyline the more compelling), an unreliable narrator, a disappearing dead body, a possible stalker, nosy and suspicious neighbours, not to mention a ghost.
Overall the book was fine. Detracting from my enjoyment was that I suspected the major twist very early on. Additionally I often found Paloma and her behaviour very irritating and couldn’t always bring myself to care about what happened to her. The pluses for me were the explorations of race, immigration and transracial adoption.
Plot wise there’s a lot going on including a dual timeline (I found the orphanage storyline the more compelling), an unreliable narrator, a disappearing dead body, a possible stalker, nosy and suspicious neighbours, not to mention a ghost.
Overall the book was fine. Detracting from my enjoyment was that I suspected the major twist very early on. Additionally I often found Paloma and her behaviour very irritating and couldn’t always bring myself to care about what happened to her. The pluses for me were the explorations of race, immigration and transracial adoption.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Confinement, Sexual assault, and Vomit
Moderate: Mental illness and Murder
amandalorianxo's review
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Torture
Moderate: Sexual assault and Vomit
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