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A review by liz_ross
The Hiding Place by C.J. Tudor
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
"Grief is personal. It is yours and yours alone. A spiked steel ball chained to your ankle. A coat of nails around your shoulders. A crown of thorns. Grief is the worst kind of torture and it never ends."
Do you know what pisses me off the most about this book? Exactly the same thing that pissed me of about The Chalk Man. The total waste of the book's potential. The idea was so good and promissing, that once I got the book all I wanted was to be left alone, so I could start reading it. And then I actually started reading it and got so incredibly disappointed.
It is just a repetition of all the bad things I listed about The Chalk Man.
The pace is awfully slow, making the plot so, so dull that it just had no chance of being able to keep me hooked.
The characters are just impossible to connect with. Joe seems to live in a completly different world, Beth is annoying and the others don't get enough development. The only character I could actually like was Gloria and that just makes everything worst, because you know that a book is really bad when you like a bitch like Gloria more than you like the main character, which you were supposed to connect with. Not to mention that Gloria is not important to the main plotline, which means that liking her or not isn't even that important.
And then, if you manage to make yourself go through the whole book without a real good reason to keep reading, you realize it speeds up near the end as if trying to make up for all the pages it had you almost dying of boredom. But what's the point of speeding up then, if it no longer has a chance of getting my atten tyion or make me care about the characters? The point is pretty much the same of inserting a plot twist I would have appreciated if only I was even if just a little interested in the story - none. I just couldn't care about anything that happened anymore. I was reading the book only because I do not like to DNF books and was doing my best to avoid that. Which I managed to do, so I think I deserve some kind of award for my sacrifice.
Until now, all I did was listing things I had already mentioned in my review of The Chalk Man. I don't even know why I put myself through that when I ould have just asked you to go check it out... Just kidding! But do feel free to check it out! 😉
Anyway, my point is, by doing this, you may be thinking I found the two books just as bad. Wrong. This book is worst. The way it portrays austism is just 100% annoying. I mean I understand that some people may get uncomfortable near an austistic person due to the strange behaviour and all. But there's a thin line that should not be crossed and calling someone "Little Miss Scary" just because she is autistic surely crosses that line. I won't dive into this aspect, because if I do I will just end up writing a whole rant about it, but damn it. Books are supposed to be a way of helping people feel included and to make people realize they shouldn't exclude others for being different. The way the character is portrayed and calling her "Little Miss Scary" even if there's no good reason for this character to be treated like this - if Tudor had included her instead of presenting her as she did, the story wouldn't have changed a bit, except for the fact it wouldn't have annoyed me so much - DOES NOT FREAKING HELP!
Overall, this book is just not good. Once again C. J. Tudor disappointed me. The story is dull and almost bored me to death, the characters are impossible to connect with and the way the autistic character is portrayed pissed me off more than anything else.
"Broken hearts don't mend. Time just takes the pieces and grinds them to dust."
Do you know what pisses me off the most about this book? Exactly the same thing that pissed me of about The Chalk Man. The total waste of the book's potential. The idea was so good and promissing, that once I got the book all I wanted was to be left alone, so I could start reading it. And then I actually started reading it and got so incredibly disappointed.
It is just a repetition of all the bad things I listed about The Chalk Man.
The pace is awfully slow, making the plot so, so dull that it just had no chance of being able to keep me hooked.
The characters are just impossible to connect with. Joe seems to live in a completly different world, Beth is annoying and the others don't get enough development. The only character I could actually like was Gloria and that just makes everything worst, because you know that a book is really bad when you like a bitch like Gloria more than you like the main character, which you were supposed to connect with. Not to mention that Gloria is not important to the main plotline, which means that liking her or not isn't even that important.
And then, if you manage to make yourself go through the whole book without a real good reason to keep reading, you realize it speeds up near the end as if trying to make up for all the pages it had you almost dying of boredom. But what's the point of speeding up then, if it no longer has a chance of getting my atten tyion or make me care about the characters? The point is pretty much the same of inserting a plot twist I would have appreciated if only I was even if just a little interested in the story - none. I just couldn't care about anything that happened anymore. I was reading the book only because I do not like to DNF books and was doing my best to avoid that. Which I managed to do, so I think I deserve some kind of award for my sacrifice.
Until now, all I did was listing things I had already mentioned in my review of The Chalk Man. I don't even know why I put myself through that when I ould have just asked you to go check it out... Just kidding! But do feel free to check it out! 😉
Anyway, my point is, by doing this, you may be thinking I found the two books just as bad. Wrong. This book is worst. The way it portrays austism is just 100% annoying. I mean I understand that some people may get uncomfortable near an austistic person due to the strange behaviour and all. But there's a thin line that should not be crossed and calling someone "Little Miss Scary" just because she is autistic surely crosses that line. I won't dive into this aspect, because if I do I will just end up writing a whole rant about it, but damn it. Books are supposed to be a way of helping people feel included and to make people realize they shouldn't exclude others for being different. The way the character is portrayed and calling her "Little Miss Scary" even if there's no good reason for this character to be treated like this - if Tudor had included her instead of presenting her as she did, the story wouldn't have changed a bit, except for the fact it wouldn't have annoyed me so much - DOES NOT FREAKING HELP!
Overall, this book is just not good. Once again C. J. Tudor disappointed me. The story is dull and almost bored me to death, the characters are impossible to connect with and the way the autistic character is portrayed pissed me off more than anything else.
"Broken hearts don't mend. Time just takes the pieces and grinds them to dust."