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A review by rhensie
The Girls Are Never Gone by Sarah Glenn Marsh
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
There are some really great parts to this book - the really good chronic illness (diabetes T1) rep, sapphics, haunted houses, and cycles of repeated trauma. If you like spooky YA sapphics, then this will probably be up your alley.
But the narrative felt a bit choppy at times; sometimes I was checking myself to see if I'd accidentally skipped a page, because the event-to-event narrative seemed a bit off and I felt that I was missing stuff. This was especially a problem during the final confrontation. I also didn't find it that scary or surprising at any point, and I saw the big twist coming a long time before it did. I also feel like, other than Dare (and maybe Rose), the characters aren't fleshed out very well; Holly's ending wassuper sad, but I didn't really feel anything about it, and that's probably because I just didn't get to know her very well. Quinn also felt a bit underdeveloped to me, and I don't see the point in Cathy at all.
But the narrative felt a bit choppy at times; sometimes I was checking myself to see if I'd accidentally skipped a page, because the event-to-event narrative seemed a bit off and I felt that I was missing stuff. This was especially a problem during the final confrontation. I also didn't find it that scary or surprising at any point, and I saw the big twist coming a long time before it did. I also feel like, other than Dare (and maybe Rose), the characters aren't fleshed out very well; Holly's ending was