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A review by jennywrennn
You by Caroline Kepnes
3.0
This was interesting. I'm finding it hard to review.
It was definitely creepy...but honestly, not nearly as creepy as I thought it was going to be. You'd think a book from the perspective of a sicko stalker would really give you the chills, but there was something clinical in the way he talked about things that kind of took away from the terror of the moment?
I didn't like Beck very much, but I think that was almost the point/it helped the story. You really got a sense of how delusional Joe is based on how high a pedestal he puts this girl on, when she's actually kind of shitty.
I did feel like it ran a little long- it dragged in points. His obsession didn't peak fast enough nor was it intense enough to really get the creep factor going
I don't know. I thought it was good. I thought it was creepy-ish. I liked it. It wasn't great, terrifying, and I didn't love it. I think if you like thrillers but get scared too easily, then this is probably a good book for you. But if you're expecting serious creep-out-can't-put-it-down-what's-going-to-happen...it's not quite that.
It was definitely creepy...but honestly, not nearly as creepy as I thought it was going to be. You'd think a book from the perspective of a sicko stalker would really give you the chills, but there was something clinical in the way he talked about things that kind of took away from the terror of the moment?
Spoiler
When he killed Peach and Benji, I wasn't even scared or disgusted or anything... I think the way Joe talks about it so simply and casually makes it less scary than it should be, for some reason. He just talks about things in a way that's like, 'This is just how it has to be for us to be together, so I took care of it." And my reaction was mostly just, 'huh. yeah, okay.' I also felt like it was lacking in description and gore - he kills Benji with a peanut allergy, and then burns his body. I guess I was hoping for a more brutal/gruesome/scary end for these characters, but we don't get that. That makes ME sound like the sicko, but you want a thriller to be thrilling!I didn't like Beck very much, but I think that was almost the point/it helped the story. You really got a sense of how delusional Joe is based on how high a pedestal he puts this girl on, when she's actually kind of shitty.
Spoiler
I did love how hard she fought in the end there though, badass!I did feel like it ran a little long- it dragged in points. His obsession didn't peak fast enough nor was it intense enough to really get the creep factor going
Spoiler
I mean, he lets Beck go and dates Karen for a good chunk of the book, and I know she was just a 'practice girlfriend' but it felt unneccessary to me. If he's an obsessive stalker, let him be an obsessive stalker - we spent way to big a chunk of the book with them broken up and not even talking, and Joe didn't even seem that bothered about it?I don't know. I thought it was good. I thought it was creepy-ish. I liked it. It wasn't great, terrifying, and I didn't love it. I think if you like thrillers but get scared too easily, then this is probably a good book for you. But if you're expecting serious creep-out-can't-put-it-down-what's-going-to-happen...it's not quite that.