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A review by beforeviolets
The Girls Are Never Gone by Sarah Glenn Marsh
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Thank you so much to Penguin Teen for providing me a copy in exchange for an honest review!
what a fun spooky read! I had the pleasure of getting to read this haunted horror while on a weekend trip to VA (where the book is set) which made reading it all the more fun :) I felt so immersed!
I loved the representation in this book! our MC is bisexual and has diabetes and our LI is sapphic (obviously) and half-Puerto Rican! and they’re both such incredible nerds, I felt like I would be friends with them in real life.
this was such a wonderful classic haunted house story! fascinating complex lore! relatable and interesting characters! overall a great time while also being a really quick read.
the points are lost where I felt like this book missed a lot of opportunities. I would’ve loved to see more of the multi-media style writing throughout rather than used just as bookends! I also felt like I often found myself being told things instead of being showed them, especially earlier on. I ached for more descriptive atmospheric choices (where were the dark clouds rolling in? the hoot of an owl deep in the trees? each omen felt like a planned plot point instead of an aid to the tension as a whole). not disappointing enough to take away from my reading experience but it kept the book from going above and beyond for me.
what a fun spooky read! I had the pleasure of getting to read this haunted horror while on a weekend trip to VA (where the book is set) which made reading it all the more fun :) I felt so immersed!
I loved the representation in this book! our MC is bisexual and has diabetes and our LI is sapphic (obviously) and half-Puerto Rican! and they’re both such incredible nerds, I felt like I would be friends with them in real life.
this was such a wonderful classic haunted house story! fascinating complex lore! relatable and interesting characters! overall a great time while also being a really quick read.
the points are lost where I felt like this book missed a lot of opportunities. I would’ve loved to see more of the multi-media style writing throughout rather than used just as bookends! I also felt like I often found myself being told things instead of being showed them, especially earlier on. I ached for more descriptive atmospheric choices (where were the dark clouds rolling in? the hoot of an owl deep in the trees? each omen felt like a planned plot point instead of an aid to the tension as a whole). not disappointing enough to take away from my reading experience but it kept the book from going above and beyond for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Medical content
Minor: Stalking