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A review by amyvl93
The It Girl by Ruth Ware
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This was my first Ruth Ware pick as my book club chose it as their latest read. It follows Hannah who when she was at Oxford University provided eyewitness evidence that placed the college porter, John Neville, in prison for the murder of her roommate April. Many years later, Hannah is married to (April's ex) Will and they live together in Edinburgh and are expecting their first child. When John dies in prison, this sparks renewed interest in whether he truly committed the crime he died in prison for; and Hannah herself begins to review her past.
This was a fairly entertaining read. The supporting characters are by-and-large stereotypes; ranging from the one character with a working class accent to to the prickly smart girl. Hannah, our protagonist, is not like the other girls in her university years, and largely defined by her pregnancy in her later years. April is perhaps slightly more complicated, but her character type does feel familiar in many contemporary thrillers (wealthy, incredibly attractive woman who manipulates everyone around her whilst struggling with some undefined inner demons). I found the introduction of November to be quite intriguing, but she tends to serve as just a sidekick to Hannah's investigating.
There are definitely moments where both the plot and character decisions stretch reality and my personal enjoyment; Hannah is easily drawn towards believing in people's potential motives and often makes some questionable decisions as a result of this, and the last 10% really felt like it jumped off a cliff (no pun intended) which undermined some of the tension that Ware had built up.
That being said, this was a pretty entertaining read, and Ware is definitely on my list of authors to check out next time I want an easier read.
This was a fairly entertaining read. The supporting characters are by-and-large stereotypes; ranging from the one character with a working class accent to to the prickly smart girl. Hannah, our protagonist, is not like the other girls in her university years, and largely defined by her pregnancy in her later years. April is perhaps slightly more complicated, but her character type does feel familiar in many contemporary thrillers (wealthy, incredibly attractive woman who manipulates everyone around her whilst struggling with some undefined inner demons). I found the introduction of November to be quite intriguing, but she tends to serve as just a sidekick to Hannah's investigating.
There are definitely moments where both the plot and character decisions stretch reality and my personal enjoyment; Hannah is easily drawn towards believing in people's potential motives and often makes some questionable decisions as a result of this, and the last 10% really felt like it jumped off a cliff (no pun intended) which undermined some of the tension that Ware had built up.
That being said, this was a pretty entertaining read, and Ware is definitely on my list of authors to check out next time I want an easier read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Murder, and Pregnancy