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de_worde 's review for:
The Bad Ones
by Melissa Albert
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Toxic girl best friends in a supernatural high school coming of age grounded in the Midwestern suburbs. The first half to two-thirds-ish of the book was great until it lost track of its own themes and characters.
Really interesting concepts - I liked the depiction of a love that isn't enough to fix someone's issues and the stubborn nature of holding on to a friendship that is almost as bad for you as it is dear to you. I also enjoyed the depiction of a suburban legend that has permeated a whole town over the course of decades. The depiction of high school and high school students were refreshingly well done. The prose was simple, descriptive, and engaging. The relationship between Nora and Becca was so much fun.
I found the ending to be rushed and very disjointed. It was far removed from the atmosphere of the rest of the book; the big plot reveals at the end were quite anticlimactic. The romance felt shoehorned in there, the message incomplete, and several plot threads were left hanging loose.
It works as an introductory exploration of the messy, beautiful, intense, and dangerous relationships of youth. The incorporation of folklore and the depiction of high school in a bland suburbia was fun. But I was disappointed in the handling of the mystery elements, the lack of depth or any second thoughts about the model of "badness" introduced, and the general weirdness of the ending.
Really interesting concepts - I liked the depiction of a love that isn't enough to fix someone's issues and the stubborn nature of holding on to a friendship that is almost as bad for you as it is dear to you. I also enjoyed the depiction of a suburban legend that has permeated a whole town over the course of decades. The depiction of high school and high school students were refreshingly well done. The prose was simple, descriptive, and engaging. The relationship between Nora and Becca was so much fun.
I found the ending to be rushed and very disjointed. It was far removed from the atmosphere of the rest of the book; the big plot reveals at the end were quite anticlimactic. The romance felt shoehorned in there, the message incomplete, and several plot threads were left hanging loose.
It works as an introductory exploration of the messy, beautiful, intense, and dangerous relationships of youth. The incorporation of folklore and the depiction of high school in a bland suburbia was fun. But I was disappointed in the handling of the mystery elements, the lack of depth or any second thoughts about the model of "badness" introduced, and the general weirdness of the ending.