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tacochelle's review
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
3 girls and a teacher from an Australian private academy disappear after climbing up to the titular Hanging Rock during their school picnic. No bodies are ever found, and the event haunts everyone remotely connected to it, some more tragically than others. There's a hint of something supernatural about the whole thing, but it's never confirmed. While the truth of the mystery was published decades later, I don't thinks it's needed. It'd less about the mystery and more about how their absence affects their world. A little slow, but really interesting, and weird enough to be right up my alley.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Suicide, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body shaming, Fatphobia, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Rape, Blood, and Vomit
sarah984's review
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
This book is a tale of the unsolved disappearance of a group of schoolgirls on a picnic trip and how that shock reverberates through their community and changes other characters’ lives forever.
The points of view are all well done in terms of having different voices and showing which aspects of what had happened mattered to them. I understand from the introduction that there were originally supernatural elements that were toned down for publication and I think that was a good call.
Due to the setting and the publication date, there are a few things that seem pretty dated, including racially insensitive language and a weird obsession with bullying one of the children for being fat.
The points of view are all well done in terms of having different voices and showing which aspects of what had happened mattered to them. I understand from the introduction that there were originally supernatural elements that were toned down for publication and I think that was a good call.
Due to the setting and the publication date, there are a few things that seem pretty dated, including racially insensitive language and a weird obsession with bullying one of the children for being fat.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Suicide, and Grief
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Fatphobia, and Blood
Minor: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Vomit, Medical content, Death of parent, and Murder