Review by vereadsbooks - The Crash

vereadsbooks 's review for:

The Crash by Freida McFadden

2.5

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Freida McFadden knows how to hook readers from the beginning. Her books are easy to read, and they entertain.

Tegan is eight months pregnant. She's alone and desperate to leave her old life behind. She plans to stay with her brother until she figures out what to do with her life. While heading toward her destination, a snowstorm catches her stranded. Trapped in her car with a broken ankle, Tegan is rescued by a couple who offer their cabin as shelter until the storm passes. But what seemed like a safe haven could turn out to be dangerous for her and her unborn child.

The book reads quickly, and the short chapters help to fly through it. However, it felt like a formulaic thriller.

The writing style itself feels very on the nose. The author wants an unreliable narrator, but Tegan's constant paranoia and suspicion of everyone become repetitive and exhausting. The situation is already tense and frightening, but the protagonist's incessant thoughts about being in danger and not trusting anyone feel like an over-explanation. It's as if the book is telling us to be scared, instead of letting the situation create the fear. This constant back and forth, where Tegan says she's scared but then tries to convince herself she's overthinking, only to end the chapter with a revelation that confirms her fears, feels like a narrative trick that gets old quickly.

The book has two POVs: Tegan's and Polly's. The problem is that they often narrate the same scene from different perspectives, which defeats the purpose of having distinct POVs. Tegan makes assumptions about her experiences, which Polly's chapter reveals to be entirely unfounded. This undermines Tegan's perspective, making reading the pervasive, unfounded paranoia tiresome. Furthermore, having Polly's point of view takes away a lot of mystery from the entire post-crash plot.

I did enjoy Polly's chapters. She is so crazy that it makes me laugh. Tegan, however, is too repetitive and paranoid. But she is intelligent, doesn't sit still, and is decisive. Seeing her plotting against her capture and being smart about it was refreshing.

I'm not disappointed, but I'm not impressed either. It's a fun ride, but not a memorable one.

Content Warnings