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travelseatsreads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I went into The Eight Girl expecting a really dark psychological 5 star read and while it was good unfortunately I think I had my expectations set too high.
The story centres around Alexa Wu and her struggles with DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder). Quite early on we're introduced quite openly to some of her personalities. There's Runner who seems quite brutish but will always have Alexa's back, there's Dolly an adorable childlike persona who exudes pure innocence, Oneiroi the only voice of reason and The Fowls who are there to wreak havoc. This is where the book flourishes as it's fascinating to see how the personalities interact and the impact that they have, both positive and negative, on her everyday life.
Parts of the book are also told from the POV of Alex's psychiatrist Daniel Rosenstein and to be honest this is where it starts to get messy and unrealistic. It's incredibly hard to see his character as a plausible medical professional due to a host of issues including gross breaches in patient confidentiality and huge multiple crossings of many boundaries. If this was part of the storyline fair enough but this is passed off as pretty normal behaviour and not really addressed.
Overall, an interesting read but I think I would have enjoyed it so much more if it concentrated mainly on Alexa, her personalities and their origins, interactions and impacts.
The story centres around Alexa Wu and her struggles with DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder). Quite early on we're introduced quite openly to some of her personalities. There's Runner who seems quite brutish but will always have Alexa's back, there's Dolly an adorable childlike persona who exudes pure innocence, Oneiroi the only voice of reason and The Fowls who are there to wreak havoc. This is where the book flourishes as it's fascinating to see how the personalities interact and the impact that they have, both positive and negative, on her everyday life.
Parts of the book are also told from the POV of Alex's psychiatrist Daniel Rosenstein and to be honest this is where it starts to get messy and unrealistic. It's incredibly hard to see his character as a plausible medical professional due to a host of issues including gross breaches in patient confidentiality and huge multiple crossings of many boundaries. If this was part of the storyline fair enough but this is passed off as pretty normal behaviour and not really addressed.
Overall, an interesting read but I think I would have enjoyed it so much more if it concentrated mainly on Alexa, her personalities and their origins, interactions and impacts.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death