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ikloskin13's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
I wanted to like this book, I loved Firefly Lane... But this book was trying too hard to be too many things and it failed in all of them.
The story opens on Julia, a renowned child psychologist, during a trial in which the victims of one of her patients are suing her for not stopping a tragedy. We don't ever really find out if it was justified or not, because we never get solid details about this case aside from the case being dismissed. This case was so terribly traumatizing Julia never talks about it except to say it ruined her career and put her under media fire.
Then Julia's sister, Ellie, a police chief in their small hometown, finds a child who was "raised by wolves." Obviously the only psychologist she can call for help for this horrifically abused and neglected child is her little sister. I begin to suspect she might be crappy as a psychologist when she immediately, without seeing this abused kid, assumes she's "an autistic" and actually has to Google the symptoms of autism in order to be sure. She regularly refers to people on the spectrum as "autistics."
Julia also happens to be very judgemental about literally everyone she comes across. She dismisses the entire town as gossips and assumes that the handsome doctor (oh this is also a romance in addition to psychological thriller and small town heart-healing) is a terrible player for the terrible sin of owning a hot tub and being attractive. She feels awfully slighted, being a beautiful woman who just didn't look like her big sister, the homecoming queen 20 years ago- apparently all that anyone remembers in this town. She was too smart for their small town life and she feels like no one ever understood her.
The horrifically abused child who appears with a wolf as a pet and leaping out of trees, growling and howling, somehow doesn't retain media attention stacked against Julia's lawsuit? No one brings in higher authorities. No other psychologists are brought in. The sisters whisk her into their own home to care for her full-time for months and finally try to adopt her and oh! Instantly, her father arrives on their doorstep after months of her being here, the second they post a request for termination of parental rights.
Who did these terrible things to the little girl? Some random guy who killed multiple other people, but conveniently he's already dead. No trial, no investigation aside from the initial description of how awful her former living space was, etc...
There were so many storylines and plots and they all just fell flat for me. I got halfway in and wanted to stop, but decided not to be a quitter... I should have given up. There wasn't really a payoff, just more fluff.
The story opens on Julia, a renowned child psychologist, during a trial in which the victims of one of her patients are suing her for not stopping a tragedy. We don't ever really find out if it was justified or not, because we never get solid details about this case aside from the case being dismissed. This case was so terribly traumatizing Julia never talks about it except to say it ruined her career and put her under media fire.
Then Julia's sister, Ellie, a police chief in their small hometown, finds a child who was "raised by wolves." Obviously the only psychologist she can call for help for this horrifically abused and neglected child is her little sister. I begin to suspect she might be crappy as a psychologist when she immediately, without seeing this abused kid, assumes she's "an autistic" and actually has to Google the symptoms of autism in order to be sure. She regularly refers to people on the spectrum as "autistics."
Julia also happens to be very judgemental about literally everyone she comes across. She dismisses the entire town as gossips and assumes that the handsome doctor (oh this is also a romance in addition to psychological thriller and small town heart-healing) is a terrible player for the terrible sin of owning a hot tub and being attractive. She feels awfully slighted, being a beautiful woman who just didn't look like her big sister, the homecoming queen 20 years ago- apparently all that anyone remembers in this town. She was too smart for their small town life and she feels like no one ever understood her.
The horrifically abused child who appears with a wolf as a pet and leaping out of trees, growling and howling, somehow doesn't retain media attention stacked against Julia's lawsuit? No one brings in higher authorities. No other psychologists are brought in. The sisters whisk her into their own home to care for her full-time for months and finally try to adopt her and oh! Instantly, her father arrives on their doorstep after months of her being here, the second they post a request for termination of parental rights.
Who did these terrible things to the little girl? Some random guy who killed multiple other people, but conveniently he's already dead. No trial, no investigation aside from the initial description of how awful her former living space was, etc...
There were so many storylines and plots and they all just fell flat for me. I got halfway in and wanted to stop, but decided not to be a quitter... I should have given up. There wasn't really a payoff, just more fluff.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse
Moderate: Ableism, Death, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, and Grief
courtneyroth's review against another edition
Couldn’t handle the ableism. Really? “The autistics”?! Come on.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism
mandi4886's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Sexual content, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Body horror, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Infertility, Infidelity, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Excrement
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