Scan barcode
A review by bmyurs
The Ruins by Phoebe Wynne
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC copy and opportunity to preview this book!
I had previously read Wynne's book Madam over the winter and loved it- dark and gothic, but not too far off this edge. This one though took things too far. I was not a fan at all at how the adults in the story took advantage and abused these poor girls during their summer- to me that crossed a line of being appropriate to write about. In fact, I think the shock of that distracted from the overall plot of a 'coming-of-age' story that it could have been.
With that aside, the plot also moved really slow and there were a lot of characters to keep track of which was confusing. I found myself constantly going back and re-reading who was who just to keep people straight. Plot line also felt too slow for me, especially compared to Madam. There also was a lot of description into the scenery and what I would call props within the story, which I thought was leading me somewhere in the plot, but it never went anywhere and could have been cut out. Overall pretty disappointed in this book given how much I enjoyed other books by her.
I had previously read Wynne's book Madam over the winter and loved it- dark and gothic, but not too far off this edge. This one though took things too far. I was not a fan at all at how the adults in the story took advantage and abused these poor girls during their summer- to me that crossed a line of being appropriate to write about. In fact, I think the shock of that distracted from the overall plot of a 'coming-of-age' story that it could have been.
With that aside, the plot also moved really slow and there were a lot of characters to keep track of which was confusing. I found myself constantly going back and re-reading who was who just to keep people straight. Plot line also felt too slow for me, especially compared to Madam. There also was a lot of description into the scenery and what I would call props within the story, which I thought was leading me somewhere in the plot, but it never went anywhere and could have been cut out. Overall pretty disappointed in this book given how much I enjoyed other books by her.