A review by clarigold
You Are Not Alone by Greer Hendricks, Sarah Pekkanen

dark emotional informative mysterious sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

 You’re not alone is about our protagonist Shay, who witnesses a woman commit suicide. This causes her to feel a lot of guilt; so she looks up this woman and finds information for her memorial. She decided to attend to pay her respects, and in going she meets the woman's friends, two of whom were very inviting (Moore sisters). Shay has a lonely life, no friends, no job, and now no home; so she starts to gravitate towards the sisters looking for a group she can belong to; but little does she know that the sisters have other reasons for wanting her around.

This writing style has multiple POVS, is a dual timeline, and is split into Parts. At the beginning of Shay’s Chapters there’s random facts which I really loved, andt it also gives you an idea of what the chapter is going to be about. You also get Amanda’s POV, so you can see the days leading up to her death, which I loved. You get back stories of the women that are in this friend group, so you see how they all know each other, you get a sense of their character, and what they all have in common. You don’t need to, but I would probably recommend taking small notes on who the women are with their back stories, because there are a handful of characters which could get confusing. 

I found it a little annoying that Shay became so invested/obsessed with the woman who died (Amanda). I understand feeling guilty and constantly thinking about it, but to search her up on the internet, or at least as thoroughly as she did was unrealistic for me. Other than this small flaw, it was really fun to see this story unravel. I loved the characters, they were all distinguishable. The resolution left me feeling discontent, but the book itself actually ended really well. It had a heartfelt ending, and this is what always does it for me. 5 stars!


Tags: obsession, blackmail, revenge, manipulation, group of women
Warnings: suicide, rape attempts, sexual assault
 
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