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allthings's review against another edition
3.0
This gets 3.5 from me.
Rather than a horror story, this is more a tale of one girl's abusive childhood that culminates in her literally running and hiding in fear of her life.
The whole novel is spent with Lissa, in her head and her life, so we get to know her really well. From the outside her decisions might not make sense, but because we know her thought processes, tainted as they are by years of emotional (and later physical) abuse, we can empathize and understand. This is what excellent characterization is all about. The other character worth mentioning is Bird, who managed to find a place in my heart through Lissa's lovely and touching relationship with the little fellow.
The technique of flip-flopping between Lissa's past and present may be confusing for some, but I really appreciated this technique and the way it helped to reveal the situation little by little, keeping me reading to find out the secrets Lissa was holding back. However, I found it very obvious from the beginning who is stalking Lissa, and the lines thrown in there to try and make us wonder seem incredibly forced. It's almost like these parts were added in afterwards in order to shoehorn this into the 'horror' genre, when it really should have belonged elsewhere.
All in all this was a surprisingly sensitive look at an abusive and dysfunctional upbringing, mental illness, and having the courage to escape and move on; however, I don't think it's PH material.
Rather than a horror story, this is more a tale of one girl's abusive childhood that culminates in her literally running and hiding in fear of her life.
The whole novel is spent with Lissa, in her head and her life, so we get to know her really well. From the outside her decisions might not make sense, but because we know her thought processes, tainted as they are by years of emotional (and later physical) abuse, we can empathize and understand. This is what excellent characterization is all about. The other character worth mentioning is Bird, who managed to find a place in my heart through Lissa's lovely and touching relationship with the little fellow.
The technique of flip-flopping between Lissa's past and present may be confusing for some, but I really appreciated this technique and the way it helped to reveal the situation little by little, keeping me reading to find out the secrets Lissa was holding back. However, I found it very obvious from the beginning who is stalking Lissa, and the lines thrown in there to try and make us wonder seem incredibly forced. It's almost like these parts were added in afterwards in order to shoehorn this into the 'horror' genre, when it really should have belonged elsewhere.
All in all this was a surprisingly sensitive look at an abusive and dysfunctional upbringing, mental illness, and having the courage to escape and move on; however, I don't think it's PH material.
bookish_bobbin's review against another edition
4.0
Jane McFann has a completely different style of story telling. And tells us a tale that is worthy of Point Horror.
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