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lindsaynixon 's review for:
Finders Keepers
by Natalie Barelli
Historically I have devoured and enjoyed every Natalie Barelli I've read.
The premise of this book had me hooked from the beginning and I was shooting my fists in the air in excitement for the first 20% (?) of the book.
The concept is novel, thought-provoking and outstanding with such a terrific setup. I was very eager to bing read.
However, by the end of Part 1 I was already let down, especially with the "revelation" that was not believable nor well explained/justified. It also felt like missed potential. Still I stayed with it and was briefly glad I did with another turn in the backstory (more below) but then the book lost me (again) and only got worse. Too many people, too many long winded confessionals (loathe!), too much explaining that I wasn't buying, crazy maniacial standoffs that diluted what could have been surprising revelations and just...distewmuch over the top insanity that wasn't fun or delicious. My other main issue was 13yo Rosie. I'm not sure the author knows an actual 13yo? She is written more like 8 or 9. I am around a lot of 11/12/13yo's regularly and Rosie wasn't 13.
In the end there were parts of this book I really liked but it is easily my least favorite; though with some editing I think it could be terrific. Thanks netgalley for my ARC/ALC!
SUMMARY (*note I cannot provide a summary that supports my points without a few very minor spoilers).
When Rosie was 13 she kept a diary on a laptop, detailing her teenage fantasies about a 37yo teacher. It was very similar to the crush the girl in the movie My Girl had, however here this one ends when the teachers wife dies. Rosie, who suffers blackouts, is afraid she may have killed his wife in a blackout. Because Rosie has also been accused of killing the class hamster (she has no memory of this either, but the critter was found in her locker) and the kids at school tease her for her crush; she and her mother move away. Rosie, however, lives with endless fear she will one day be found out for killing the teachers wife.
At 20yo (?) this laptop is lost. At 22, while at B&N, Rosie discovers her diary has been published as a book, by Emily Harper. Rosie poses as a fan named Iris to meet Emily. Emily claims this is a work of fiction; a book about a 13yo girl who doesn't realize she is being groomed by her teacher.
This got me thinking... did the teacher "groom" Rosie to kill his wife for him? (He was having an affair) so I read more...
Shortly after Emily and "Iris" meet, Emily hires Iris to be her PA. Iris/Rosie is thrilled as now she'll have access to Emily's apartment to find and destroy the laptop. (I had a GREAT laugh when she found the laptop in the basement storage and it had battery charge to power up; sure.)
As Rosie/Iris finds the laptop, Emily reveals to her that she knows who she is (a.k.a. the diary owner) and she is now going to blackmail Iris into giving a confession about killing the wife on her podcast. As this is all happening, Lola, a friend of 13yo Rosie, starts messaging Emily saying her book is the story of Rosie---is Emily Rosie or did Rosie tell Emily the story? Lola is suspicious.
Since Rosie/Iris has access to all of Emily's social media, email, etc. She sees the Lola messages and reaches out to her. Lola brings some clarity to Rosie, causing her to wonder for the first time if she was groomed and to doubt whether she killed the teacher or the hamster. As Lola and Rosie continue to sleuth the real killer comes out to play which leads to an epic showdown and many many long confessionals explaining things.
Note: I typically reserve 2-stars for DNF but I just couldn't seem to get myself to tap 3-stars here.
The premise of this book had me hooked from the beginning and I was shooting my fists in the air in excitement for the first 20% (?) of the book.
The concept is novel, thought-provoking and outstanding with such a terrific setup. I was very eager to bing read.
However, by the end of Part 1 I was already let down, especially with the "revelation" that was not believable nor well explained/justified. It also felt like missed potential. Still I stayed with it and was briefly glad I did with another turn in the backstory (more below) but then the book lost me (again) and only got worse. Too many people, too many long winded confessionals (loathe!), too much explaining that I wasn't buying, crazy maniacial standoffs that diluted what could have been surprising revelations and just...distewmuch over the top insanity that wasn't fun or delicious. My other main issue was 13yo Rosie. I'm not sure the author knows an actual 13yo? She is written more like 8 or 9. I am around a lot of 11/12/13yo's regularly and Rosie wasn't 13.
In the end there were parts of this book I really liked but it is easily my least favorite; though with some editing I think it could be terrific. Thanks netgalley for my ARC/ALC!
SUMMARY (*note I cannot provide a summary that supports my points without a few very minor spoilers).
When Rosie was 13 she kept a diary on a laptop, detailing her teenage fantasies about a 37yo teacher. It was very similar to the crush the girl in the movie My Girl had, however here this one ends when the teachers wife dies. Rosie, who suffers blackouts, is afraid she may have killed his wife in a blackout. Because Rosie has also been accused of killing the class hamster (she has no memory of this either, but the critter was found in her locker) and the kids at school tease her for her crush; she and her mother move away. Rosie, however, lives with endless fear she will one day be found out for killing the teachers wife.
At 20yo (?) this laptop is lost. At 22, while at B&N, Rosie discovers her diary has been published as a book, by Emily Harper. Rosie poses as a fan named Iris to meet Emily. Emily claims this is a work of fiction; a book about a 13yo girl who doesn't realize she is being groomed by her teacher.
This got me thinking... did the teacher "groom" Rosie to kill his wife for him? (He was having an affair) so I read more...
Shortly after Emily and "Iris" meet, Emily hires Iris to be her PA. Iris/Rosie is thrilled as now she'll have access to Emily's apartment to find and destroy the laptop. (I had a GREAT laugh when she found the laptop in the basement storage and it had battery charge to power up; sure.)
As Rosie/Iris finds the laptop, Emily reveals to her that she knows who she is (a.k.a. the diary owner) and she is now going to blackmail Iris into giving a confession about killing the wife on her podcast. As this is all happening, Lola, a friend of 13yo Rosie, starts messaging Emily saying her book is the story of Rosie---is Emily Rosie or did Rosie tell Emily the story? Lola is suspicious.
Since Rosie/Iris has access to all of Emily's social media, email, etc. She sees the Lola messages and reaches out to her. Lola brings some clarity to Rosie, causing her to wonder for the first time if she was groomed and to doubt whether she killed the teacher or the hamster. As Lola and Rosie continue to sleuth the real killer comes out to play which leads to an epic showdown and many many long confessionals explaining things.
Note: I typically reserve 2-stars for DNF but I just couldn't seem to get myself to tap 3-stars here.