ilhaanreads's review
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Rape and Alcoholism
elementarymydear's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This book drew me in with it’s premise, it’s setting, and kept me hooked for hours at a time. The start of the book delivers on the promise of the blurb: at a small town’s primary school, battle is waged between an out-and-proud mother of three and the homophobic head of the PTA. Before long though, the story takes a much darker turn, as secrets are revealed and loyalties tested.
First of all, the things that worked for me: I really liked the multiple perspectives. Sometimes too many perspectives can feel crowded, but I thought it was done really well and helped us to understand all the characters’ points of view. There was very little communication between the characters or development of one particular character, so having those multiple perspectives really helped us as readers understand where all of the different characters were coming from.
📚Find this and other reviews on my blog!📚
This is the sort of book that you cannot put down. I read the whole thing in one day, picking it up every spare minute to find out what happened next. Every time I said to myself “okay, last chapter”, there was a big reveal and I had to know what happened next.
The problem I had though, is that the pacing and the plot relied too much on the big reveals and not enough on the actual development of the characters or storyline. The first half of the book, with the initial premise, never felt resolved or completed, as the story became something else entirely that bore little to no relation to the beginning. If I had known what the plot actually was, I don’t know if I would have picked this book up (and I recommend to anyone wanting to read this book that you check the content warnings first).
With all the big twists and reveals, I found myself being pulled out of the story as it became less believable. Some storylines, shocking when first revealed, turned out to be nothing much. Some things were extreme but didn’t feel as important as they should have. Some things felt too unrealistic; surely a headteacher would know more laws regarding minors than she seemed to in this book? Some things were just little bug bears: I have never met a homophobe who hasn’t made a point of getting the letters “LGBTQ” wrong, or similar moments where frankly the politically incorrect words would have made more sense coming from the characters thinking or saying them. All of these things are little things, but they added up as the book progressed and ultimately undermined it for me.
Overall, while I was gripped while reading this book, it was the plot that let it down for me as it progressed.
Thank you to the publishers for providing me with a free copy for review. All opinions are my own.
First of all, the things that worked for me: I really liked the multiple perspectives. Sometimes too many perspectives can feel crowded, but I thought it was done really well and helped us to understand all the characters’ points of view. There was very little communication between the characters or development of one particular character, so having those multiple perspectives really helped us as readers understand where all of the different characters were coming from.
📚Find this and other reviews on my blog!📚
This is the sort of book that you cannot put down. I read the whole thing in one day, picking it up every spare minute to find out what happened next. Every time I said to myself “okay, last chapter”, there was a big reveal and I had to know what happened next.
The problem I had though, is that the pacing and the plot relied too much on the big reveals and not enough on the actual development of the characters or storyline. The first half of the book, with the initial premise, never felt resolved or completed, as the story became something else entirely that bore little to no relation to the beginning. If I had known what the plot actually was, I don’t know if I would have picked this book up (and I recommend to anyone wanting to read this book that you check the content warnings first).
With all the big twists and reveals, I found myself being pulled out of the story as it became less believable. Some storylines, shocking when first revealed, turned out to be nothing much. Some things were extreme but didn’t feel as important as they should have. Some things felt too unrealistic; surely a headteacher would know more laws regarding minors than she seemed to in this book? Some things were just little bug bears: I have never met a homophobe who hasn’t made a point of getting the letters “LGBTQ” wrong, or similar moments where frankly the politically incorrect words would have made more sense coming from the characters thinking or saying them. All of these things are little things, but they added up as the book progressed and ultimately undermined it for me.
Overall, while I was gripped while reading this book, it was the plot that let it down for me as it progressed.
Thank you to the publishers for providing me with a free copy for review. All opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Rape and Child abuse
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