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seraphjewel 's review for:
Truly, Devious
by Maureen Johnson
I just finished this book and I feel like I need to read it again. Actually read it, since I was listening to the audio book the first time around. This, at least for me, definitely feels like the sort of book that needs to be read so more focus is on what's going on. While listening to it, I wanted to take notes. I think that in itself shows that it was a good mystery.
And yeah, it was a pretty damn good mystery. The clues were trickled in a little at a time. I still feel like I missed something, though, and that may be because I was listening to the audio. But getting all the pieces and seeing how they fit together was really fascinating. The one downside is that the mystery wasn't fully solved at the end. Parts of it were, but so many other parts were still left as a question. I guess that leads into sequels, but other mysteries can give a conclusion while still continuing as a series.
I really hope that the minor characters play some role in later books, because I feel like sometimes they were just pointless. Like they existed to take up space and that was it. And for a school, there didn't seem to be a lot of learning going on. I know a lot of books that take place in school gloss over the actual school part, but I don't know. I would've liked to see more of the classroom settings in this one. Especially from the 1930s era. Hopefully there'll be more of that in later installments.
One thing I really loved was that Stevie suffered from anxiety. I know that's a weird thing to focus on, but the way she talks about it and describes what it feels like was so genuine. I loved the scene where she was coaxing Nate through his own attack.
I'm going to have to pick on the romance, because that always ALWAYS bugs me in YA. Once again, I'm not entirely sure why there had to be a romance at all. It annoyed me that Stevie didn't speak up for herself more when David butted himself into her life. She did a little, but I feel like went right back into his arms way too quickly after. I didn't see much romance or connection between either of them. The reveal at the end was super frustrating. I get she was in denial over it but it also felt like the author was just dragging it out so the reveal would be that final punch to end the novel. Personally, I think the book would've been a lot better if it focused on the mystery aspects and left the stupid YA romance out of it.
Loved the mystery, didn't much care for the romance, overall enjoyable and really hoping more questions will be answered in future books.
And yeah, it was a pretty damn good mystery. The clues were trickled in a little at a time. I still feel like I missed something, though, and that may be because I was listening to the audio. But getting all the pieces and seeing how they fit together was really fascinating. The one downside is that the mystery wasn't fully solved at the end. Parts of it were, but so many other parts were still left as a question. I guess that leads into sequels, but other mysteries can give a conclusion while still continuing as a series.
I really hope that the minor characters play some role in later books, because I feel like sometimes they were just pointless. Like they existed to take up space and that was it. And for a school, there didn't seem to be a lot of learning going on. I know a lot of books that take place in school gloss over the actual school part, but I don't know. I would've liked to see more of the classroom settings in this one. Especially from the 1930s era. Hopefully there'll be more of that in later installments.
One thing I really loved was that Stevie suffered from anxiety. I know that's a weird thing to focus on, but the way she talks about it and describes what it feels like was so genuine. I loved the scene where she was coaxing Nate through his own attack.
I'm going to have to pick on the romance, because that always ALWAYS bugs me in YA. Once again, I'm not entirely sure why there had to be a romance at all. It annoyed me that Stevie didn't speak up for herself more when David butted himself into her life. She did a little, but I feel like went right back into his arms way too quickly after. I didn't see much romance or connection between either of them. The reveal at the end was super frustrating. I get she was in denial over it but it also felt like the author was just dragging it out so the reveal would be that final punch to end the novel. Personally, I think the book would've been a lot better if it focused on the mystery aspects and left the stupid YA romance out of it.
Loved the mystery, didn't much care for the romance, overall enjoyable and really hoping more questions will be answered in future books.