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A review by labunnywtf
The Night Olivia Fell by Christina McDonald
3.0
Received via Netgalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
Okay, okay, this is more like it. Phew. I swear to god, it's like 1 out of every 10 thrillers is a good one, and I have to slog through a lot of bullshit before I get joy. Almost makes it not worth it, until I get something like this.
This started out incredibly similar to another "thriller" I just finished reading, and I was so irritated by that one I almost quit. So, when it comes to this genre, this is a situation of pick This, not That.
Abi is a single mother to her 17-year old daughter Olivia. They are extremely close, and Abi is suuuuuuuuper helicopterish. There are strict rules and strict expectations, but their relationship really is a great one, despite Olivia's newfound pulling back.
Then Abi is woken up bright and early one morning to be told her daughter has had an accident. And she's now brain dead. Sorry about that, but by the way, she's going to have to live for a few more months because fetus.
Fetus, you say? What fetus?
I can't even get into the idea that this poor girl had to be kept alive in a vegetative state to keep the fetus alive, racking up medical bills her mother couldn't afford anyway, but WHATEVER, NOT THE TIME.
Abi sets off a mad dash to find out what the hell happened to her daughter that night. There are bruises on her wrists, suspicious circumstances, and a police force that says, "Enh, it was probably an accident, next."
Abi makes some monumentally dumb decisions. In the flashbacks told from Olivia's perspective, Olivia makes some monumentally dumb decisions. And the red herrings are a bit glaring at times. But this is a good, solid story about the secrets children hide from their parents, and vice versa, and a mother's need for justice for their child.
Solid work. Almost makes me not give up hope on the Thriller genre as a whole.
Okay, okay, this is more like it. Phew. I swear to god, it's like 1 out of every 10 thrillers is a good one, and I have to slog through a lot of bullshit before I get joy. Almost makes it not worth it, until I get something like this.
This started out incredibly similar to another "thriller" I just finished reading, and I was so irritated by that one I almost quit. So, when it comes to this genre, this is a situation of pick This, not That.
Abi is a single mother to her 17-year old daughter Olivia. They are extremely close, and Abi is suuuuuuuuper helicopterish. There are strict rules and strict expectations, but their relationship really is a great one, despite Olivia's newfound pulling back.
Then Abi is woken up bright and early one morning to be told her daughter has had an accident. And she's now brain dead. Sorry about that, but by the way, she's going to have to live for a few more months because fetus.
Fetus, you say? What fetus?
I can't even get into the idea that this poor girl had to be kept alive in a vegetative state to keep the fetus alive, racking up medical bills her mother couldn't afford anyway, but WHATEVER, NOT THE TIME.
Abi sets off a mad dash to find out what the hell happened to her daughter that night. There are bruises on her wrists, suspicious circumstances, and a police force that says, "Enh, it was probably an accident, next."
Abi makes some monumentally dumb decisions. In the flashbacks told from Olivia's perspective, Olivia makes some monumentally dumb decisions. And the red herrings are a bit glaring at times. But this is a good, solid story about the secrets children hide from their parents, and vice versa, and a mother's need for justice for their child.
Solid work. Almost makes me not give up hope on the Thriller genre as a whole.