A review by obito
Penance by Eliza Clark

slow-paced

1.5

Had to rewrite my review after sitting on it. The more I think about this story the more I dislike it. Overall it's way too long for what it wants to accomplish, and that hurts the point the book was trying to make. The theme of exploitation and truth in true crime felt hypocritical after finding out that details of this fictional case were largely taken from the murder of Shanda Sharer. It actually puts a pretty bad taste in my mouth that a novel with attempts to interrogate the tactless exploitation of true crime ends up de-centering (and fictionalizing) real life victims and their families.

The story ends up being too unfocused to be a critique of the true crime genre. Themes of girlhood, bullying, and toxic female friendships could've been made more effectively in fewer pages. This novel should've been no more than 200 pages.

The attempt to recreate internet culture from a particular time were sometimes successful and often not. I wonder how much the inclusion of this element added to the text for those who haven't been chronically online or engaged in tumblr fandom.

Unfortunately, the execution of this book is extremely lacking. Its themes explored in far better novels. Obviously this is for some people, but just not for me. Boo
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