A review by rumblethumps
Gretchen by Shannon Kirk

3.0

This was a weird one for me. I was really enjoying the first half or so, but the end (and the parts right before it) didn't really feel like they matched with the rest of the book at all. The creepy atmosphere from the first part came from wondering why Gretchen and her father acted the way that they did, and wondering why Lucy's mother is so paranoid about everything and what they're on the run from, but by the end all the answers are just unsatisfying.

Maybe this is just a personal pet peeve, but there were a lot of creepy things Gretchen did that were never really explained or discussed later. Or they were, but when Lucy would ask about them, there was a sense that Gretchen was lying about it, but then it was never mentioned again.

(Why did she make so much bacon when Lucy came over for dinner? She said it was for her dog "old Mr. Snoof", but he ended up being a plush toy. What the heck was the deal with her going to puzzle camp? Is puzzle camp even a thing in real life? What was the deal with all the tiny juice boxes? They said it was because Gretchen's father was nervous to hold anything after he broke his finger, but why bring so much attention to the juice boxes specifically? Why did she only have one design of dress, and so many creepy dolls?)

I hate it when random creepy details about a character are thrown in solely to make them seem weird and creepy, rather than actually being significant to the story. If a story is written well, the reader can tell that a character is creepy without needing extra details like the fact that they own 25 of the same apple print dress, or a wall of old doll heads in their bedroom.

I don't know, I enjoyed the first part enough to give it three stars, but the "climax" and conclusion to everything was just disappointing.