Scan barcode
A review by annettebooksofhopeanddreams
Perfectly Preventable Deaths by Deirdre Sullivan
4.0
Sometimes you open a book and you know from the start that it's a book that people either hate or love. This is such a book. It's too unique, too different, it stands out, it's like not much else I've ever read. It either works for you and grabs you in some way, or it's just a hard to understand story with a lot of violence, darkness and gore.
This book totally worked for me, although I always hope that a book manages to trigger some more emotion. The writing style is unique, although I already got to know it a little in the fairytale retellings I've read a few weeks ago. It's in a way very raw and pure, and yet it also has something flowery and old fashioned. It's hard to describe, but it clearly comes from within.
That also means that the descriptions aren't always detailed. The focus of the writing is on the emotion, on the current trail of thoughts, on what's going on at the time and not on what has been or what the characters already know. Therefore as a reader there are a lot of moments where gaps aren't fully explained or filled. I personally don't mind that, because I like being challenged a little and having to use my own imagination, but I can imagine that for some people this book is quite confusing.
Especially because the characters are mostly true teenagers. They are flawed, deeply flawed. They're egocentric and not always nice. In a world where especially YA heroines always have to be those perfect saints who can't make any mistakes or who can't be real teenagers, that was very refreshing. It doesn't always make it easy to form a connection with the characters, but for me I could identify with them exactly because they were flawed and therefore realistic. They mess up, they make mistakes and therefore it's not an impossible standard to live up to.
The true star of the story however was the atmosphere. I felt chills rolling down my spine, excitement rushing through my veins and the more we discovered, the more I was sucked into this story. Especially the ending made me stop breathing.
Reading this book was a unique experience that I wouldn't have wanted to miss.
This book totally worked for me, although I always hope that a book manages to trigger some more emotion. The writing style is unique, although I already got to know it a little in the fairytale retellings I've read a few weeks ago. It's in a way very raw and pure, and yet it also has something flowery and old fashioned. It's hard to describe, but it clearly comes from within.
That also means that the descriptions aren't always detailed. The focus of the writing is on the emotion, on the current trail of thoughts, on what's going on at the time and not on what has been or what the characters already know. Therefore as a reader there are a lot of moments where gaps aren't fully explained or filled. I personally don't mind that, because I like being challenged a little and having to use my own imagination, but I can imagine that for some people this book is quite confusing.
Especially because the characters are mostly true teenagers. They are flawed, deeply flawed. They're egocentric and not always nice. In a world where especially YA heroines always have to be those perfect saints who can't make any mistakes or who can't be real teenagers, that was very refreshing. It doesn't always make it easy to form a connection with the characters, but for me I could identify with them exactly because they were flawed and therefore realistic. They mess up, they make mistakes and therefore it's not an impossible standard to live up to.
The true star of the story however was the atmosphere. I felt chills rolling down my spine, excitement rushing through my veins and the more we discovered, the more I was sucked into this story. Especially the ending made me stop breathing.
Reading this book was a unique experience that I wouldn't have wanted to miss.