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sandysmith 's review for:

Pet by Catherine Chidgey
3.75
challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
It's a slow burner for me, but once it hooks you in, that's it, you just can't stop reading. A dark, compelling read full of guilt and portrayal, just when you think you know where it's going, it twists away. There is a dual timeline, set in New Zealand in both 1984, with the relationships of 12 year old girls and boys at a Catholic school vying for the attentions of their teacher, Miss Price, and more recently, in 2014 in a care home for dementia patients. Justine, as a unreliable narrator at 12 years old, struggles with relationships, the recent loss of her mother due to cancer, and her fathers relationship with alcohol. Her best friend is Amy (the only non white character), bullying, the pressure of conforming, wanting to be loved and recognised as special, mysogony, addiction, racism and other really important themes are scattered throughout the book making you really think. A compelling, profound, and a brilliant surprising read.
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