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marymoth's review against another edition
2.0
“My old man was a walking, talking master class. But in the end, the main thing I learned—the best thing—was never to bring a knife to a gunfight.”
Starting off by saying I had a huge slump, due to different personal reasons I didn´t even feel like reading, back to it though, a few months back, I saw this book in my local library and got really curious by the reviews, etc. It also hyped me up more the fact that I love thrillers, I find them really entertaining and love guessing.
This however, I felt more like I was watching a TV show where everyone was just being petty to one another and horny about one guy, as if the girls in the book had never seen a boy in their lives. I´M SERIOUS. The book revolved about this guy who somehow made everyone horny except the main character. RIGHT. Okay.
Anyways, basically Kate, our main character does not come from a privileged status as all the other girls, which is fine. I thought the author would explore more this point. She had a scholarship in every school she went to, and she wanted to go to Yale. So, being in the school she currently was on, somehow helped with that, she worked and lived in Chinatown, right before she meets Olivia Sumner. Which she ultimately USES to have a better place to live in and manipulates her to have what she wants.
Kate has a "dark" and "shameful" past, I wouldn´t categorize it like that if you ask my opinion. Anyways, she skips from school to school with scholarships, and makes people not say anything about her secret because Yale would *blow* up. Basically.
Olivia also has a "dark" past. Wow. Which could also potentially not get her into Yale. So what do both of them do? They manipulate each other to get into Yale. If you ask me, a bit too much work to get there, but WAIT. Gets better as the book goes on.
So anyways, horny gets better of all of them, which well, is to be expected after all of them just *drool* after him for the entirety of 300 pages.
This is when our sexy, manipulative, rich and educated boy comes into play. He complies to every one of them and things start going downhill after that. Now, if you have not read this book, spoilers ahead, I will have some SPOILER signs soon so you can click safely away if you haven´t read this.
SPOILER
SPOILER
SPOILER
SPOILER
SPOILER
SPOILER
SPOILER
SPOILER
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You´ve been warned, seriously go if you plan on reading this book.
“Waiting was a tragicomedy. There was this whole absurdist, endless, excruciating quality to it. We distract ourselves in a million different ways to delude ourselves into thinking that we're not "waiting", because waiting is unendurable. Waiting has demands. It percolates with fear and potential rejection, and threatens you with despair... There's always a wisp of hope in the hopelessness...”
So, as I was saying, things start to go downhill with this dude. Why? Well he uses all of them. Basically "too sexy" to turn down. He uses the director, the head of administrations, the girls, all of them to get what he wants. He gets the information in regards to both, Olivia and Kate, which he uses to control them.
Olivia falls in love with him, by this point, Kate tries to warn her about him, to which she replies she is jealous. OML. *face palm* anyways, things continue to go on like that until Kate sees Olivia naked one day and sees hes been giving her scars and bruises. Olivia is still in love with him anyways, so things don´t end well with Kate.
In this point of the book is when we realize Mark is using Olivia to get to Kate his "ultimate obsession" and is threatening her to expose her secret to Kate, so she complies. Kate finds out about Olivia´s secret by herself so, not much of a surprise when she finally opens her eyes and refuses to give him Kate.
They both create a master plan which ends going to hell and Olivia accidentally kills Mark, which obviously means trouble for them, how do they solve it? They try to make it look like a perfect murder although, in my opinion and with the information i still have fresh, that wouldnt have been possible for a number of reasons. Meaning, DNA was all over him and the scene just wasn´t well planned, it was rushed. So basically? They make it look like a car crash, but: here´s the catch: he also goes into the river? how? did his corpse walk? Anyways! The last sloppy part, she calls the ambulance, which brings police, firefighters etc. Again, sloppy. Police would find out in real life. And then: gold pin. Turns out he had been investigated the whole time, which means: *drumroll* you guessed it! They did all that for nothing ( not that killing someone is excusable but you know what I mean).
So Kate end up hospitalized, and Olivia being the person that was the manipulator all along. WHAT?
So yeah, my final thoughts: I wouldn´t do all that just to get into Yale. The good news is though, they did get into Yale, still so much work just to get into Yale. I mean, the people I know, would not just kill someone to get into college. Anyways.
SERIOUS FINAL THOUGHTS: Marketing people did a good job, but ultimately its not what it promises. Too much drama, and tbh, not much of a thriler to me. Try The Girl On The Train or Sharp Objects if you want a good thriller. I didnt hate it, but well, its also and obviously not my favorite.
Starting off by saying I had a huge slump, due to different personal reasons I didn´t even feel like reading, back to it though, a few months back, I saw this book in my local library and got really curious by the reviews, etc. It also hyped me up more the fact that I love thrillers, I find them really entertaining and love guessing.
This however, I felt more like I was watching a TV show where everyone was just being petty to one another and horny about one guy, as if the girls in the book had never seen a boy in their lives. I´M SERIOUS. The book revolved about this guy who somehow made everyone horny except the main character. RIGHT. Okay.
Anyways, basically Kate, our main character does not come from a privileged status as all the other girls, which is fine. I thought the author would explore more this point. She had a scholarship in every school she went to, and she wanted to go to Yale. So, being in the school she currently was on, somehow helped with that, she worked and lived in Chinatown, right before she meets Olivia Sumner. Which she ultimately USES to have a better place to live in and manipulates her to have what she wants.
Kate has a "dark" and "shameful" past, I wouldn´t categorize it like that if you ask my opinion. Anyways, she skips from school to school with scholarships, and makes people not say anything about her secret because Yale would *blow* up. Basically.
Olivia also has a "dark" past. Wow. Which could also potentially not get her into Yale. So what do both of them do? They manipulate each other to get into Yale. If you ask me, a bit too much work to get there, but WAIT. Gets better as the book goes on.
So anyways, horny gets better of all of them, which well, is to be expected after all of them just *drool* after him for the entirety of 300 pages.
This is when our sexy, manipulative, rich and educated boy comes into play. He complies to every one of them and things start going downhill after that. Now, if you have not read this book, spoilers ahead, I will have some SPOILER signs soon so you can click safely away if you haven´t read this.
SPOILER
SPOILER
SPOILER
SPOILER
SPOILER
SPOILER
SPOILER
SPOILER
SPOILER
You´ve been warned, seriously go if you plan on reading this book.
“Waiting was a tragicomedy. There was this whole absurdist, endless, excruciating quality to it. We distract ourselves in a million different ways to delude ourselves into thinking that we're not "waiting", because waiting is unendurable. Waiting has demands. It percolates with fear and potential rejection, and threatens you with despair... There's always a wisp of hope in the hopelessness...”
So, as I was saying, things start to go downhill with this dude. Why? Well he uses all of them. Basically "too sexy" to turn down. He uses the director, the head of administrations, the girls, all of them to get what he wants. He gets the information in regards to both, Olivia and Kate, which he uses to control them.
Olivia falls in love with him, by this point, Kate tries to warn her about him, to which she replies she is jealous. OML. *face palm* anyways, things continue to go on like that until Kate sees Olivia naked one day and sees hes been giving her scars and bruises. Olivia is still in love with him anyways, so things don´t end well with Kate.
In this point of the book is when we realize Mark is using Olivia to get to Kate his "ultimate obsession" and is threatening her to expose her secret to Kate, so she complies. Kate finds out about Olivia´s secret by herself so, not much of a surprise when she finally opens her eyes and refuses to give him Kate.
They both create a master plan which ends going to hell and Olivia accidentally kills Mark, which obviously means trouble for them, how do they solve it? They try to make it look like a perfect murder although, in my opinion and with the information i still have fresh, that wouldnt have been possible for a number of reasons. Meaning, DNA was all over him and the scene just wasn´t well planned, it was rushed. So basically? They make it look like a car crash, but: here´s the catch: he also goes into the river? how? did his corpse walk? Anyways! The last sloppy part, she calls the ambulance, which brings police, firefighters etc. Again, sloppy. Police would find out in real life. And then: gold pin. Turns out he had been investigated the whole time, which means: *drumroll* you guessed it! They did all that for nothing ( not that killing someone is excusable but you know what I mean).
So Kate end up hospitalized, and Olivia being the person that was the manipulator all along. WHAT?
So yeah, my final thoughts: I wouldn´t do all that just to get into Yale. The good news is though, they did get into Yale, still so much work just to get into Yale. I mean, the people I know, would not just kill someone to get into college. Anyways.
SERIOUS FINAL THOUGHTS: Marketing people did a good job, but ultimately its not what it promises. Too much drama, and tbh, not much of a thriler to me. Try The Girl On The Train or Sharp Objects if you want a good thriller. I didnt hate it, but well, its also and obviously not my favorite.
bookslifeandeverythingnice's review against another edition
4.0
Beware that Girl isn't exactly the story that I thought it would be when I started the book, but it ended up being really good. The premise is intriguing. Kate and Olivia are the main characters. Both are mysterious and have secrets upon secrets. Which girl should we beware of? Initially I think I know who is "bad", but then subtle things made me question myself. And the introduction of a school staff member completely turns the story upside down. I liked that the setting was the rich entitled private school world without completely focusing on the money, but rathe the secrets, mystery, and dramatic suspense. I also really enjoyed all the twists and turns thrown at the reader. The writing was much more dark and intense than I expected from a YA psychological thriller. But since it was young adult, it made for a very quick read. I couldn't put down this intriguing yet slightly horrifying book. The ending is fitting, but I'm not sure if I liked it. Also, trigger warning for sexual assault and manipulation/ coercion. Overall, I recommend Beware That Girl for it's dramatic psychological thriller atmosphere set in an elite private school.
greergreer's review against another edition
3.0
I must admit I really did like this book up until the end. Maybe I wanted a happy ending. Yeah that's what i wanted a happy ending. Two girls raised in different ways but so much alike. Conniving and ambitious each has their eye on the prize until a predator in a man suite makes his entrance at the school they attend and makes all the girls a flutter in the most sociopathic way. He uses one friend to get to the other, his eye is on the prize also.
unacalle's review against another edition
3.0
Rating: 3/5
This is one of those rare books that I knew absolutely nothing about before checking it out from my library's Overdrive selection and taking on vacation with me, and I don't know if the lack of information helped my opinion of the book or not. Because I was very mixed in my opinions on this book.
Let's Break it Down:
What I Liked
•The Plot. This is what this book REALLY had going for it. The plot kept me interested. I could never figure out what was going to happen next. And while I had a hard time connecting with the characters, I really needed to find out what was going to happen and to find out who was who at the beginning. The larger plot, once it unfolds, is easy to get drawn into. I also personally, found it relevant to local school scandal that was breaking at the time I read it.
•The Ending. I found it very fitting and extremely suitable to the book as a whole. It open-ended in some respects, but it leaves you on a satisfying' – if somewhat unexpected – note.
What I Didn't Like:
•The Characters. I found every last one of them extremely unlikable. I think of all of them I like Kate the most because we saw a great deal of the story from her POV, and I was able to empathize with her – hell, I was rooting for her to succeed - but I can't say that I liked her. The way that she seeks out Olivia solely because she's the most vulnerable person at her and the easiest to con. She's an extremely well-done morally gray character, I don't know that I like her. I couldn't stand Olivia, I thought she was annoying and made extremely questionable decisions when the right and wrong choice was utterly clear. The supporting characters were either not meant to be sympathetic or utterly annoying. I had a really hard time with the fact that teenage girls were throwing themselves at a man in his 30s or the fact that he was encouraging it and the rampant and flippant use of prescription drugs. I know that people actually do all of these things in real life and I think its wrong. I can deal with characters that I find morally objectionable but it's hard to connect with an entire cast of such characters.
•POV Switching. I found it extremely jarring at first – I'm not always a fan of changing tense with POV – but I got used to it. I did prefer Kate's to Olivia's, not surprising with how I feel about the characters, but I did feel that Kate's voice was stronger and more memorable and Olivia's did drag a bit.
•A Pointless Romantic Subplot. There's a romantic subplot that adds nothing to the story. I actually enjoyed it until I realized that it wasn't really going anywhere, and compounded with the fact there is no resolution to this thread, I couldn't understand why it was included at all.
All in all, Beware That Girl is a decent YA thriller with an intriguing, morally gray main character and addictive plot, but with an extremely unlikable supporting cast.
This review and others can be found at my blog The Fangirl Reads
This is one of those rare books that I knew absolutely nothing about before checking it out from my library's Overdrive selection and taking on vacation with me, and I don't know if the lack of information helped my opinion of the book or not. Because I was very mixed in my opinions on this book.
Let's Break it Down:
What I Liked
•The Plot. This is what this book REALLY had going for it. The plot kept me interested. I could never figure out what was going to happen next. And while I had a hard time connecting with the characters, I really needed to find out what was going to happen and to find out who was who at the beginning. The larger plot, once it unfolds, is easy to get drawn into. I also personally, found it relevant to local school scandal that was breaking at the time I read it.
•The Ending. I found it very fitting and extremely suitable to the book as a whole. It open-ended in some respects, but it leaves you on a satisfying' – if somewhat unexpected – note.
What I Didn't Like:
•The Characters. I found every last one of them extremely unlikable. I think of all of them I like Kate the most because we saw a great deal of the story from her POV, and I was able to empathize with her – hell, I was rooting for her to succeed - but I can't say that I liked her. The way that she seeks out Olivia solely because she's the most vulnerable person at her and the easiest to con. She's an extremely well-done morally gray character, I don't know that I like her. I couldn't stand Olivia, I thought she was annoying and made extremely questionable decisions when the right and wrong choice was utterly clear. The supporting characters were either not meant to be sympathetic or utterly annoying. I had a really hard time with the fact that teenage girls were throwing themselves at a man in his 30s or the fact that he was encouraging it and the rampant and flippant use of prescription drugs. I know that people actually do all of these things in real life and I think its wrong. I can deal with characters that I find morally objectionable but it's hard to connect with an entire cast of such characters.
•POV Switching. I found it extremely jarring at first – I'm not always a fan of changing tense with POV – but I got used to it. I did prefer Kate's to Olivia's, not surprising with how I feel about the characters, but I did feel that Kate's voice was stronger and more memorable and Olivia's did drag a bit.
•A Pointless Romantic Subplot. There's a romantic subplot that adds nothing to the story. I actually enjoyed it until I realized that it wasn't really going anywhere, and compounded with the fact there is no resolution to this thread, I couldn't understand why it was included at all.
All in all, Beware That Girl is a decent YA thriller with an intriguing, morally gray main character and addictive plot, but with an extremely unlikable supporting cast.
This review and others can be found at my blog The Fangirl Reads
carstensena's review against another edition
3.0
This really swept me up in the reading. But--and maybe I've read too many thrillers--I was disappointed in the climax of the story. I was expecting more of a twist at the end.
And what about Johnny??
Still, Kate is a great character. The NYC private school and Chinatown settings were well drawn. The mysteries around both Kate and Olivia's backstories kept me reading.
And the villain is truly awful! This is definitely for the older end of YA.
I could be talked into 4 stars, but for now I'm keeping it at a high 3.
And what about Johnny??
Still, Kate is a great character. The NYC private school and Chinatown settings were well drawn. The mysteries around both Kate and Olivia's backstories kept me reading.
And the villain is truly awful! This is definitely for the older end of YA.
I could be talked into 4 stars, but for now I'm keeping it at a high 3.
readingthebacklist's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
sc104906's review against another edition
3.0
For a more complete review, visit my vlog, Bickering Book Reviews.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRwxie-6XaU
Kate O'Brien has had a rough past, filled with some fairly psychologically unstable people. As a result, she has learned how to survive. Now that she is attending a new elite prep school, she has decided to hitch her wagon to the school's richest girl. Using charm and smarts, Kate O'Brien plans to get into Olivia's good graces and take advantage of all of the perks that come along with being her friend. After weaseling her way into Olivia's life and home, the friendship begins to be tested by Olivia's secret romance with an older man. Something doesn't seem right and if Kate can't get to the bottom of it, there will be deadly consequences.
I am not a fan of the unfortunate social climbers, who seem to have no ethics. The amount of intense psychological issues found in this novel seem unrealistic. Not everyone is a psychopath. Also, I think that by relying on this heavy psychological issues, the author takes the easy way out and doesn't work to develop the villains as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRwxie-6XaU
Kate O'Brien has had a rough past, filled with some fairly psychologically unstable people. As a result, she has learned how to survive. Now that she is attending a new elite prep school, she has decided to hitch her wagon to the school's richest girl. Using charm and smarts, Kate O'Brien plans to get into Olivia's good graces and take advantage of all of the perks that come along with being her friend. After weaseling her way into Olivia's life and home, the friendship begins to be tested by Olivia's secret romance with an older man. Something doesn't seem right and if Kate can't get to the bottom of it, there will be deadly consequences.
I am not a fan of the unfortunate social climbers, who seem to have no ethics. The amount of intense psychological issues found in this novel seem unrealistic. Not everyone is a psychopath. Also, I think that by relying on this heavy psychological issues, the author takes the easy way out and doesn't work to develop the villains as well.
ellaghiem's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Most of the book was pretty good and kept me engaged. However, I didn't like the ending because it didn't line up with how the characters acted throughout the whole novel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Drug abuse, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Toxic friendship
Minor: Suicide
pikasqueaks's review against another edition
This book wanted to be something different, but the author's writing isn't skilled enough to get there. It's not ~Gossip Girl meets Gone Girl~ or anything of the sort.