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matulass 's review for:
This Is Our Story
by Ashley Elston
This book started off strong, lost steam in the middle, and landed flat on its face at the end. The only thing that kept me reading to the end was my curiosity; I wanted to know who the killer was. The things that bothered me might seem insignificant, but they prevented me from becoming fully absorbed.
I never felt like I had a clear picture of Kate, and I don't just mean what she looks like. I know what she likes to do for fun... but I don't really know who she is. That made it very hard for me to connect with her. It was frustrating because I know Elston had it in her to write a fully fleshed-out character; I have a very clear picture of each of the River Point Boys.
I really didn't like the way Elston wrote the adult characters. It turns me off when parents are written in a way that makes it obvious the author didn't want them to be part of the story but couldn't think of a plausible reason to completely leave them out. That, to me, is lazy. Kate's mom is present throughout but never really *there*. She's always taking a smoke break, stuck working late, and tossing her car keys at Kate so Kate can drive around and get caught spying on people. Mr. Stone, on the other hand, was very much a part of the story. And he was interesting and likeable until he did something that was out of character and clearly just meant to service the plot. Another turnoff.
Then there's the ending. The killer wasn't who I thought it was... but the reveal wasn't that exciting. But perhaps that's mostly because I just didn't care at that point and wanted to be done with the book so I could start a new one.
One thing I really liked about this book: dual perspective. Most of the story is told from Kate's point of view, but there are short sections told from the killer's perspective. It really added interest to the story and kept me reading even when I was feeling bored by Kate.
This book was an entertaining quick read, but I'm not rushing to recommend it to anyone.
I never felt like I had a clear picture of Kate, and I don't just mean what she looks like. I know what she likes to do for fun... but I don't really know who she is. That made it very hard for me to connect with her. It was frustrating because I know Elston had it in her to write a fully fleshed-out character; I have a very clear picture of each of the River Point Boys.
I really didn't like the way Elston wrote the adult characters. It turns me off when parents are written in a way that makes it obvious the author didn't want them to be part of the story but couldn't think of a plausible reason to completely leave them out. That, to me, is lazy. Kate's mom is present throughout but never really *there*. She's always taking a smoke break, stuck working late, and tossing her car keys at Kate so Kate can drive around and get caught spying on people. Mr. Stone, on the other hand, was very much a part of the story. And he was interesting and likeable until he did something that was out of character and clearly just meant to service the plot. Another turnoff.
Then there's the ending. The killer wasn't who I thought it was... but the reveal wasn't that exciting. But perhaps that's mostly because I just didn't care at that point and wanted to be done with the book so I could start a new one.
One thing I really liked about this book: dual perspective. Most of the story is told from Kate's point of view, but there are short sections told from the killer's perspective. It really added interest to the story and kept me reading even when I was feeling bored by Kate.
This book was an entertaining quick read, but I'm not rushing to recommend it to anyone.