A review by kjurewicz
The Centre by Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi

dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

This book was a disappointment. It reminded me of Nine Perfect Strangers (but not as good). First of all, the main character was completely unlikable. Anisa was annoying and pretentious while also making a lot of dumb, nonsensical decisions, especially in her relationship with Adam and when it came to finding out the truth about The Centre and its founders. The book moved at a glacial pace to get to the big reveal about The Centre’s true process. That was definitely the best part of the book, as well as the memory that was induced by Naima’s tea near the end and Anisa’s tension-filled exploration of the staff areas. However, there were not enough tense/exciting moments; in fact, there were a lot of missed opportunities for tension, suspense, and symbolism (I thought the plants would be a lot more significant!) And the ending was vague and unsatisfying (although there was a clever attempt to break the fourth wall). And the whole situation with Arjun - ugh, just why?

Overall, this book had a lot of potential to be an awesome modern day Gothic novel, but missed the mark in a lot of ways. 
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