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mandi_lea's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
jpfortmiller's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Miscarriage and Gaslighting
Minor: Animal cruelty
noladawnreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Racial slurs, and Racism
Moderate: Miscarriage and Xenophobia
Minor: Injury/Injury detail
aharper's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Miscarriage, Racism, and Xenophobia
onemorepagecrew's review
4.0
Graphic: Racism, Violence, and Xenophobia
starklinqs's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
I went back and forth a lot on this rating, to be honest. I loved so much of this book, and was flying through it, so the ending felt like such a bummer.
I don’t need happy endings nor do I expect them - especially with thrillers, you certainly don’t read thrillers expecting a “and they lived happily ever after.” The ending was just SO wildly depressing to me though that I wondered why I had stuck through. If it was just that it would have been okay - probably not the 4 or 5 I wanted to give it but different people like different things, and for the most part I really enjoyed the book, the ending just wasn’t for me - but the plot twist really threw me off.
I think as with every thriller, everyone has their own idea of who is culpable (and sidenote, imo this book did a great job in showing complexities and writing the characters as feeling real, not black and white villains or heroes). You’re going to be wrong sometimes and that’s okay, but the book didn’t really give out any actual plot twists until the final act of the book, and it was just completely random and convoluted. It felt like a plot twist meant to shock readers, not where you could reread the book and see the hints.
This didn’t really feel like a thriller, which isn’t really good or bad for me. At times I felt like characters had either underreactions or overreactions that kind of baffled me, but maybe that’s just my own expectations in that scenario.
I think if you can move past the plot twist and you like bleak endings this will be a fine book. I don’t want to completely disparage it, because I really did enjoy it for the most part and appreciated the commentary, but the ending just really was not for me.
Moderate: Racism, Violence, and Xenophobia
Minor: Miscarriage and Vomit
swalk's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Salma’s fears are undermined as other neighbours imply she is being over the top and minimise their plight. More and more incidents spiral out of control, whilst they try to get to the bottom of why this is happening. A tense and highly believable thriller with some great twists, I found it a little slow to start, but overall a great book.
The narrator was also good.
Moderate: Violence and Xenophobia