Review by scarroll178 - Confessions

scarroll178 's review for:

Confessions by Kanae Minato

5.0

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This book hit me like a train from the first chapter. I loved the writing choices, the character building, and the reflections on the larger society the book takes place in.

It started to lose steam towards the end of the book; I liked the switching POV’s, but hearing the same story told over and over again by different characters slowed down the momentum of the book. I was also disappointed because the book starts off with such a creative writing choice — one character talking out loud for an entire chapter — and then follows up with a letter, a punchy response to the absolute chaos of the first chapter.. but then the rest is just.. a normal book. I was excited to see what other bold writing choices the author would make, but it seems like she just gave up, like maybe she was afraid of making the writing too experimental. I also thought it was interesting to see the domino effect of the teacher’s revenge, but I was disappointed to find that both boys evidently deserved what they got; I think a more nuanced conclusion would be at least one of the two boys truly regretting what he did, Maname’s death really being accidental, and/or the teacher regretting her revenge.

Still, great book; I just wish the author would’ve really committed to the bold creative choices she made at the beginning.

Content Warnings