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A review by dianacantread
Orphan Monster Spy by Matt Killeen
3.0
The ending of this book gets into some really interesting territory. The writing, especially in the end, is sharp and often clever in its metaphors and descriptions, and it really picks up into a dramatic yet deeply personal narrative.
That does not mean that its too-long, boring, overdone beginning can be forgiven. I get what it was setting up, but as much as I liked the second half, the emotional payoff was not so strong as to warrant such a long and weak beginning. The writing is also just not as good; honestly, the writing is as good as what it's describing, and again, the novel's front half is pretty weak. Compared to the insane, truly horrifying shit that goes down in the latter half, the time spent with the Nazi mean girls feels closer to The Clique or Gossip Girl than Nazi Germany. And there's a way that that could work; it simply didn’t here.
If you like these WWII thrillers, this one is pretty decent. I would never say that you should only read the second half of a book, but seriously, it's a bit of a slog to get to the stuff that feels more important and impactful. Not that the other stuff isn’t; clearly, those experiences are just as valid. But they don't carry the front half in the way that they should.
3/5 stars
That does not mean that its too-long, boring, overdone beginning can be forgiven. I get what it was setting up, but as much as I liked the second half, the emotional payoff was not so strong as to warrant such a long and weak beginning. The writing is also just not as good; honestly, the writing is as good as what it's describing, and again, the novel's front half is pretty weak. Compared to the insane, truly horrifying shit that goes down in the latter half, the time spent with the Nazi mean girls feels closer to The Clique or Gossip Girl than Nazi Germany. And there's a way that that could work; it simply didn’t here.
If you like these WWII thrillers, this one is pretty decent. I would never say that you should only read the second half of a book, but seriously, it's a bit of a slog to get to the stuff that feels more important and impactful. Not that the other stuff isn’t; clearly, those experiences are just as valid. But they don't carry the front half in the way that they should.
3/5 stars