Scan barcode
A review by nzlisam
Three Boys Gone by Mark Smith
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
An Incredible Premise! That’s all folks!
Three sixteen-year-old boys drown in the rough surf on a treacherous stretch of an Australian beach. The only witness, one of their teachers, chooses not to risk her own life to save them, and instead stands helplessly by.
I went into Three Boys Gone expecting an emotional exploration of a school community torn apart by the moral implications of a senseless tragedy, and a main character struggling with her actions. What I received instead was a terribly written, cheap, cheesy thriller, full of plot holes, with a laughable ending. I still cannot believe how bad it was!
Initially I admired the vague and erratic writing throughout the first handful of chapters attributing the time jumps to the frantic numbness and trauma of the situation but in hindsight and given the low quality of the writing going forward I think I’m giving the author way too much credit. Weather was utilised well adding to the confusion and tension as well as the reliability of recall by characters involved. I also liked that the identity of the three boys was concealed until the 11% mark.
And thus ends my only positives. The behaviour of every character was absurd – the teachers, students, parents, school, police procedures and search and rescue – everything! The thriller ending came out of nowhere, made no sense, and I was left with so many unanswered questions. The book ended abruptly too. Although by this point, I was grateful for small mercies. The writing was juvenile – I have never heard a female refer to going to the bathroom as “needing to take a piss”, and this occurred on two occasions. So gross! And it was repetitive – I cannot count the number of times the phase “three boys missing/dead” or a variation of it was mentioned. Yeah, I get it, you don’t need to ram it home. And don’t get me started on all the blatant sexism toward women and discrimination against a lesbian couple. I was appalled by all the hatred, hate speak, and misogynist men. It just didn’t make sense given that this was set in 2024.
The early reviews for this have been very positive, which is why I purchased this book in the first place. I’m sorry I wasted my money.
Three sixteen-year-old boys drown in the rough surf on a treacherous stretch of an Australian beach. The only witness, one of their teachers, chooses not to risk her own life to save them, and instead stands helplessly by.
I went into Three Boys Gone expecting an emotional exploration of a school community torn apart by the moral implications of a senseless tragedy, and a main character struggling with her actions. What I received instead was a terribly written, cheap, cheesy thriller, full of plot holes, with a laughable ending. I still cannot believe how bad it was!
Initially I admired the vague and erratic writing throughout the first handful of chapters attributing the time jumps to the frantic numbness and trauma of the situation but in hindsight and given the low quality of the writing going forward I think I’m giving the author way too much credit. Weather was utilised well adding to the confusion and tension as well as the reliability of recall by characters involved. I also liked that the identity of the three boys was concealed until the 11% mark.
And thus ends my only positives. The behaviour of every character was absurd – the teachers, students, parents, school, police procedures and search and rescue – everything! The thriller ending came out of nowhere, made no sense, and I was left with so many unanswered questions. The book ended abruptly too. Although by this point, I was grateful for small mercies. The writing was juvenile – I have never heard a female refer to going to the bathroom as “needing to take a piss”, and this occurred on two occasions. So gross! And it was repetitive – I cannot count the number of times the phase “three boys missing/dead” or a variation of it was mentioned. Yeah, I get it, you don’t need to ram it home. And don’t get me started on all the blatant sexism toward women and discrimination against a lesbian couple. I was appalled by all the hatred, hate speak, and misogynist men. It just didn’t make sense given that this was set in 2024.
The early reviews for this have been very positive, which is why I purchased this book in the first place. I’m sorry I wasted my money.