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alisarae's review against another edition
Just the right amount of dysfunction, but conveyed so delicately that it makes the characters likable. Maybe the resolution was a bit too Brady-Bunch-perfect for some, but I liked it.
jenpaul13's review against another edition
4.0
Everyone has secrets in their lives that they keep hidden away. A murdered girl, a stalker who sketches, a rebellious girl hoping for revenge, and a cop struggling with his past comprise the main ensemble of characters in Girl in Snow by Danya Kukafka, and the secret lives of these characters become connected to solve the mystery of murder.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
The murder of Lucinda Hayes brings together three unlikely people to solve her death. Cameron Whitley has watched and loved Lucinda from afar, sketching her from his memory. Jade Dixon-Burns despises Lucinda because she appears to be perfect and she took her lucrative babysitting job. Russ Fletcher is a cop investigating Lucinda's death, who feels the need to protect two suspects, Cameron, the son of his former partner, and Ivan, the brother of his wife. In order to uncover the truth of who killed Lucinda, Cameron, Jade, and Russ must piece together bits of their lives to complete the picture of what happened to Lucinda.
The alternating points of view of the three characters helped to slowly reveal the details leading to the resolution of who killed Lucinda, pulling the mystery out to a length necessary to incorporate the unique insights of the main three characters without dragging it out to the point of being frustrating. As each of the three perspectives rely much upon observation and recollection rather than actual interaction, the intricacies of human relationships and communities come into play. The story is written quite well and thoughtfully with the shifting perspectives well managed, presenting Cameron, Jade, and Russ with both their likable and unlikable characteristics.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
The murder of Lucinda Hayes brings together three unlikely people to solve her death. Cameron Whitley has watched and loved Lucinda from afar, sketching her from his memory. Jade Dixon-Burns despises Lucinda because she appears to be perfect and she took her lucrative babysitting job. Russ Fletcher is a cop investigating Lucinda's death, who feels the need to protect two suspects, Cameron, the son of his former partner, and Ivan, the brother of his wife. In order to uncover the truth of who killed Lucinda, Cameron, Jade, and Russ must piece together bits of their lives to complete the picture of what happened to Lucinda.
The alternating points of view of the three characters helped to slowly reveal the details leading to the resolution of who killed Lucinda, pulling the mystery out to a length necessary to incorporate the unique insights of the main three characters without dragging it out to the point of being frustrating. As each of the three perspectives rely much upon observation and recollection rather than actual interaction, the intricacies of human relationships and communities come into play. The story is written quite well and thoughtfully with the shifting perspectives well managed, presenting Cameron, Jade, and Russ with both their likable and unlikable characteristics.
lilbiskie's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.5
lee_readsbooks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
lakediver's review against another edition
4.0
This book is not a thriller. It is not a whodunit. I've glanced over some of the reviews, and this seems to be most people's primary complaint with it. This book is about identity. It's about the impact that Lucinda's death has on three people in this small town. It's about loneliness and isolation. More than anything, it's about the complicated nature of love, in all it's messy glory. Love that isn't movie perfect, with people that aren't movie perfect. Unrequited love and dying love. Love that used to be and love that never really was. Lucinda's death merely gives us the lens with which to examine these people.
The prose in this novel is absolutely outstanding. I found it to be a very compelling, fast read. However, I didn't feel like we really needed Russ's point of view. I found that chapters written from Cameron's and Jade's perspectives to be very enjoyable, but Russ's kind of dragged for me.
The prose in this novel is absolutely outstanding. I found it to be a very compelling, fast read. However, I didn't feel like we really needed Russ's point of view. I found that chapters written from Cameron's and Jade's perspectives to be very enjoyable, but Russ's kind of dragged for me.
aaaaaash's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
finch_26's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
THIS IS NOT A THRILLER. That is a marketing error but does not take anything from the book. Instead think about it as a character study about fucked up people and how they grieve in the wake of a murder.
With amazing prose and overlapping stories this is an amazing novel and thrives I’m the character based plot it creates I could get lost, happily hate, like, sympathize, and empathize with that characters and is a interesting view on how people view a dead girl and how they are desperate to stop the killer even if it just means pointing fingers.
With amazing prose and overlapping stories this is an amazing novel and thrives I’m the character based plot it creates I could get lost, happily hate, like, sympathize, and empathize with that characters and is a interesting view on how people view a dead girl and how they are desperate to stop the killer even if it just means pointing fingers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Self harm, Sexual content, Stalking, Suicide attempt, and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse, Homophobia, Pedophilia, and Physical abuse
rachelselene's review against another edition
3.0
my curse is broken!! i am so happy!!! after five meh/bad books in a row, i was starting to think that i would never read a good story again. girl in snow was like a warm house on a cold day: a true relief.
i admit, it took me a long time to really get invested in this. (i was probably still suspicious due to the aforementioned bad books.) things picked up around the 1/3 mark, and i sped-read the last 150 pages in one sitting, the kind of compulsive reading where you just can't stop. it's true that this is a character study more than a narrative-driven novel, and the actual mystery plot moves along very slowly. this is balanced out by the incredible attention that kukafka dedicates to each of her three narrators - we spend so much time inside their heads that they feel like truly fleshed-out people. i think russ got the short end of the stick in this regard, since most of his time is spent reminiscing about the past rather than the present. i enjoyed cameron's and jade's chapters far more; they both had such unique voices and perspectives of the world, and they both were easy to sympathize with. the prose in this book is beautiful, but what really sold it for me was the way kukafka treated the murder aspect. it wasn't violent, it wasn't overwhelming, it wasn't even the main focus of the novel. this is just how i like my thrillers: soft, a slow burn.
At night, he imagined telling the janitor each day's small lesson. Today: Untangling wasn't always the answer. Your insides were a labyrinth, and there was no use trying to unfurl it all. Tangled was a natural way to be, and you could only try to understand that knot inside--how it had formed, and where it was loosest, those inches of slack where you could find some relief.
i admit, it took me a long time to really get invested in this. (i was probably still suspicious due to the aforementioned bad books.) things picked up around the 1/3 mark, and i sped-read the last 150 pages in one sitting, the kind of compulsive reading where you just can't stop. it's true that this is a character study more than a narrative-driven novel, and the actual mystery plot moves along very slowly. this is balanced out by the incredible attention that kukafka dedicates to each of her three narrators - we spend so much time inside their heads that they feel like truly fleshed-out people. i think russ got the short end of the stick in this regard, since most of his time is spent reminiscing about the past rather than the present. i enjoyed cameron's and jade's chapters far more; they both had such unique voices and perspectives of the world, and they both were easy to sympathize with. the prose in this book is beautiful, but what really sold it for me was the way kukafka treated the murder aspect. it wasn't violent, it wasn't overwhelming, it wasn't even the main focus of the novel. this is just how i like my thrillers: soft, a slow burn.
At night, he imagined telling the janitor each day's small lesson. Today: Untangling wasn't always the answer. Your insides were a labyrinth, and there was no use trying to unfurl it all. Tangled was a natural way to be, and you could only try to understand that knot inside--how it had formed, and where it was loosest, those inches of slack where you could find some relief.
posydee's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0