bookishchef's review
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Violence
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Cursing
Minor: Child death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, and Injury/Injury detail
e_lace's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
This is the kind of YA book that definitely reads as if it would make a much better CW series. Like every chapter feels exactly like an episode of Riverdale. It's fun, but at first all of the twists kind of make sense and you think you know the destination but then in the last two episodes the plot changes pretty dramatically and what you thought was a murder mystery is in fact, much like Riverdale, actually just about a cult.
I had fun reading this because I wanted to see what happened and I think I would have given this four or five stars when I was like 13 or 14. I think this would have been something I might have liked. In terms of a debut, I think this was pretty decent and I'm curious to see what Lily Sparks does in the future, especially if she writes longer stories because I felt like this book would have been a lot better and more fleshed out if it was like 4-500 pages. For instance it felt kind of rushed for them to just info dump all of that about the camp at the end when it seemed like it could have been worked into the plot more from the beginning because by the time I got to it I didn't really care. I considered just skipping to the end because I really didn't care about them storming the compound, but I wanted to know who killed Rose so I read to find that answer lol.
Anyway, if you're looking for a book that has all the mystery of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, the twists and turns of Riverdale, and the intrigue of the trailer for Suicide Squad, this book is probably for you.
I had fun reading this because I wanted to see what happened and I think I would have given this four or five stars when I was like 13 or 14. I think this would have been something I might have liked. In terms of a debut, I think this was pretty decent and I'm curious to see what Lily Sparks does in the future, especially if she writes longer stories because I felt like this book would have been a lot better and more fleshed out if it was like 4-500 pages.
Anyway, if you're looking for a book that has all the mystery of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, the twists and turns of Riverdale, and the intrigue of the trailer for Suicide Squad, this book is probably for you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Gore
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual violence
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