A review by aditi_801
The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This book was pretty great. Before I started reading I was completely unsure of where this book would go. And then there's the fact that I'm not too familiar with cults. I've only ever watched true crime videos on literally only 2 or so cults. I found it fascinating, as well as heartbreaking of course. However, the new territory didn't stop me from loving how this book turned out. Every character had so much depth and while I didn't completely love any of them (except Marco and Stella ofc), this book was so enjoyable. It wasn't enjoyable in the way that I usually find books enjoyable but in how much it made me think and analyze every character. Henry was an unreliable narrator and it only made the book more interesting. There's not much else to say about this book but I thoroughly enjoyed it. There were a few areas that fell flat for me. Most commonly the sort of plot holes or unmentioned things. I just found out there is another book in this series releasing literally tomorrow, so I look forward to reading it.  
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