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A review by laurenrussell
Penance by Eliza Clark
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
5.0
this book consumed me and every spare moment i had i tried to read it. a riveting, disturbing, and in-depth story that takes a stark look at the weirdness of the true crime industry. the quips about meal delivery box ads and the inappropriate (and misogynistic) jokes during the “podcasts” cut deep and really forced some reflection. it was hard to remember this was a fictional novel because it was so immersive and detailed it felt real (thankfully not lol)
I didn’t really know much about the book going into it, but there is a whole unreliable narrator aspect throughout it which I always love and in this case was very captivating. It was so strange reading a book about middle/high school girls in the 2010s when I was in the exact same age as well! Eliza Clark did such an excellent job at capturing the absurdity of the culture especially around tumblr. The included posts and comments mirrored the language exactly (key board smashing, “i’m going to cry” were 2 things that really stuck out to me) and i found that incredibly impressive and immersive.
i expected a regular true crime mystery book and instead got a book that challenges us to examine that industry while exploring girlhood, the pains of maturing in a (repressive) small town, and fandom internet culture. loved every moment of reading it and highly recommend it!
I didn’t really know much about the book going into it, but there is a whole unreliable narrator aspect throughout it which I always love and in this case was very captivating. It was so strange reading a book about middle/high school girls in the 2010s when I was in the exact same age as well! Eliza Clark did such an excellent job at capturing the absurdity of the culture especially around tumblr. The included posts and comments mirrored the language exactly (key board smashing, “i’m going to cry” were 2 things that really stuck out to me) and i found that incredibly impressive and immersive.
i expected a regular true crime mystery book and instead got a book that challenges us to examine that industry while exploring girlhood, the pains of maturing in a (repressive) small town, and fandom internet culture. loved every moment of reading it and highly recommend it!