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A review by thisismenow
All Unquiet Things by Anna Jarzab
5.0
Last night, I planned to go to bed early, and I planned to finish this book in the morning, but I tried to sit it down and go to sleep, but I just couldn't. I wanted to know how it ended, so, instead, I stayed up into the early morning hours to finish. Then, once I was finished, I just laid in bed thinking about what I'd read.
While this is something of a mystery novel, I'd call it somewhat understated. It's more of a quiet, character novel, but it was some beautifully and wonderfully done.
Typically, I'm not a big fan of books that switch point of view, but I thought it worked really well here. The point of view switches back and forth a couple of times, but it's done in sections, rather than every other chapter, and it was very interesting to look at the same situation from two totally different views.
I think I enjoyed Neily's sections more. I seemed to identify with him more, or maybe I just found him more likable than Audrey. There were times when it was really tough to get through some of parts of the book. I just felt awful for Neily when Carly ended things - mostly because of the way she did it. My heart still aches thinking about it.
The mystery aspect of the book was good. It was well paced with multiple layers, but not so many that I felt like it was out of control. Through much of the book, I wasn't sure who had killed Carly, either, and usually I'm pretty quick to guess, but it wasn't blatantly obvious to me, and that's something I really appreciate in a mystery. I think looking back at the book now, I can see how the pieces and hints were there.
I think my one complaint, which isn't really a bad thing, would be that I didn't necessarily like the characters. They were all flawed in some way, which is realistic, but through much of the book, I just couldn't understand why people even liked Carly. Then I felt bad for thinking ill of the dead, but I just didn't like her. It seemed like all of the good in her was saved for other people, and not the ones that cared about her most. This, of course, is something she even admits to at one point, but even so, it was really hard for me to get past that.
As for Audrey, I had very mixed feelings about her. I didn't like many of the things she did, especially as it pertains to Neily and Carly. I suppose I could understand where she was coming from to a point, but it just didn't endear me to her. I also felt that way in regards to her and decisions about Cass.
I did like Neily. Yes, he was flawed and something of a loner, and he would was sometimes a little too judgmental about things, but I just didn't feel like same dislike for him as I did Carly and Audrey, and, as I said before, maybe that's because I identified with him more.
I think my favorite character of the book was Harvey, even though he was a minor character in the book. He was just the most likable person in the book, in my opinion, and overall good friend.
Another thing I really enjoyed about the book was the way the past was interwoven into the present. I think that's sometimes a very hard thing to pull off, but it worked so well here. Also, the past wasn't told in a linear way, which was very interesting, and that could have been very confusing, but it never was. It just flowed really well.
I'm still amazed that this was Anna Jarzab's first novel because it's so good. I don't know if I'd call it flawless, but it's pretty close. I'm very excited to read more from her in the future.
While this is something of a mystery novel, I'd call it somewhat understated. It's more of a quiet, character novel, but it was some beautifully and wonderfully done.
Typically, I'm not a big fan of books that switch point of view, but I thought it worked really well here. The point of view switches back and forth a couple of times, but it's done in sections, rather than every other chapter, and it was very interesting to look at the same situation from two totally different views.
I think I enjoyed Neily's sections more. I seemed to identify with him more, or maybe I just found him more likable than Audrey. There were times when it was really tough to get through some of parts of the book. I just felt awful for Neily when Carly ended things - mostly because of the way she did it. My heart still aches thinking about it.
The mystery aspect of the book was good. It was well paced with multiple layers, but not so many that I felt like it was out of control. Through much of the book, I wasn't sure who had killed Carly, either, and usually I'm pretty quick to guess, but it wasn't blatantly obvious to me, and that's something I really appreciate in a mystery. I think looking back at the book now, I can see how the pieces and hints were there.
I think my one complaint, which isn't really a bad thing, would be that I didn't necessarily like the characters. They were all flawed in some way, which is realistic, but through much of the book, I just couldn't understand why people even liked Carly. Then I felt bad for thinking ill of the dead, but I just didn't like her. It seemed like all of the good in her was saved for other people, and not the ones that cared about her most. This, of course, is something she even admits to at one point, but even so, it was really hard for me to get past that.
As for Audrey, I had very mixed feelings about her. I didn't like many of the things she did, especially as it pertains to Neily and Carly. I suppose I could understand where she was coming from to a point, but it just didn't endear me to her. I also felt that way in regards to her and decisions about Cass.
I did like Neily. Yes, he was flawed and something of a loner, and he would was sometimes a little too judgmental about things, but I just didn't feel like same dislike for him as I did Carly and Audrey, and, as I said before, maybe that's because I identified with him more.
I think my favorite character of the book was Harvey, even though he was a minor character in the book. He was just the most likable person in the book, in my opinion, and overall good friend.
Another thing I really enjoyed about the book was the way the past was interwoven into the present. I think that's sometimes a very hard thing to pull off, but it worked so well here. Also, the past wasn't told in a linear way, which was very interesting, and that could have been very confusing, but it never was. It just flowed really well.
I'm still amazed that this was Anna Jarzab's first novel because it's so good. I don't know if I'd call it flawless, but it's pretty close. I'm very excited to read more from her in the future.