Scan barcode
kbranfield's review
4.0
4.5 stars.
All of Us by A. F. Carter is a riveting mystery with a delightfully unique premise.
Carolyn Grand's horrific child abuse at the hands of her father, Hank, and her first foster parents was too much for her shattered mind to endure. Her body is now host to six distinctive people with very different personalities. Martha and Victoria take care of the day to day tasks of living. Kirk is the family muscle who loves to play video games and watch ballgames. Eleni basks in her sexuality and much to the others' dismay, she indulges in indiscriminate one night stands. Serena is a bit of a hippy who enjoys art. Tina is the keeper of the memories of their abuse and she mainly resides in the background. Their once stable home-life is threatened after Eleni propositions the wrong man. "Carolyn" must now attend counseling sessions with a psychologist who is pursuing his own agenda. And after Hank's early release from prison, it quickly becomes clear he won't leave his daughter alone. After he is murdered, the police zero in on Carolyn but did one of her personalities kill her father?
With each of the chapters altering between the six personalities, All of Us is fast-paced and gripping. The personalities are well-developed with interesting quirks, strengths and weaknesses. The storyline is well-developed and quite intriguing. The psychologist is odious but the personalities aptly turn the tables on him. The investigation into Hank's murder is fascinating but the unexpected relationship between one of the detectives and Carolyn crosses an ethical boundary. With an unanticipated plot twist, A. F. Carter brings this clever mystery to a bit of an abrupt and ambiguous conclusion that is satisfyingly true to the uncertainty surrounding the personalities' future(s). An outstanding debut that I found impossible to put down and highly recommend to fans of the genre.
All of Us by A. F. Carter is a riveting mystery with a delightfully unique premise.
Carolyn Grand's horrific child abuse at the hands of her father, Hank, and her first foster parents was too much for her shattered mind to endure. Her body is now host to six distinctive people with very different personalities. Martha and Victoria take care of the day to day tasks of living. Kirk is the family muscle who loves to play video games and watch ballgames. Eleni basks in her sexuality and much to the others' dismay, she indulges in indiscriminate one night stands. Serena is a bit of a hippy who enjoys art. Tina is the keeper of the memories of their abuse and she mainly resides in the background. Their once stable home-life is threatened after Eleni propositions the wrong man. "Carolyn" must now attend counseling sessions with a psychologist who is pursuing his own agenda. And after Hank's early release from prison, it quickly becomes clear he won't leave his daughter alone. After he is murdered, the police zero in on Carolyn but did one of her personalities kill her father?
With each of the chapters altering between the six personalities, All of Us is fast-paced and gripping. The personalities are well-developed with interesting quirks, strengths and weaknesses. The storyline is well-developed and quite intriguing. The psychologist is odious but the personalities aptly turn the tables on him. The investigation into Hank's murder is fascinating but the unexpected relationship between one of the detectives and Carolyn crosses an ethical boundary. With an unanticipated plot twist, A. F. Carter brings this clever mystery to a bit of an abrupt and ambiguous conclusion that is satisfyingly true to the uncertainty surrounding the personalities' future(s). An outstanding debut that I found impossible to put down and highly recommend to fans of the genre.
pipmam's review
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
debhep0's review
3.0
Not exactly a work of literary fiction but I am surprised by the poor reviews. I liked the multiple narratives and the premise of exploring dissociative personality disorder. It was a quick, easy and reasonably satisfying read.
lucsbooks's review
4.0
Lisbeth Salander meets The Silent Patient meets Emma Jaye's Taken series. In summary, one of the few good surprises of 2020.
I wanted to read this book not only because of the murder-mystery but to see the way the author would write about gender and identity when dealing with several people sharing the same body. I was not disappointed.
I loved all five personalities ferally and I loved the way they interacted even more not because they were a family or because I cared or feared for them (which I did) but because of their interactions and how varied and often negative their opinions of each other were. Seeing such different people forced to inhabit the same body creating alliances and be in the way or each other's desires was endlessly entertaining. Not only that each one of those personalities was completely fleshed out and we got to see them from so many different sides and see everyone's blind spots because of it.
The way gender and class were discussed in the context of mental health was also very interesting particularly when it came to the way both the professionals and the research which they produce and are taught from is incredibly gendered, often to the detriment of women. The scariest part of this book wasn't the murder of the main character's past (that was so horrific that at times felt too much and allowed me to distance) but how ineffective and often knowingly malignant or uninterested the police, social services, and medical professionals are. At the same time, it also shows the difference and good one single person can make what is probably the only hopeful thing in this book.
The plot was tight enough to keep me interested but didn't hold a candle to how much I liked the characters with the exception of the love interest. I was suspicious by how little I understood the love interest motivations and how easily he found his place in the main characters' lives, bending rule, and morality to serve his own purposes.
Thank you to Head of Zeus for this amazing read.
I wanted to read this book not only because of the murder-mystery but to see the way the author would write about gender and identity when dealing with several people sharing the same body. I was not disappointed.
I loved all five personalities ferally and I loved the way they interacted even more not because they were a family or because I cared or feared for them (which I did) but because of their interactions and how varied and often negative their opinions of each other were. Seeing such different people forced to inhabit the same body creating alliances and be in the way or each other's desires was endlessly entertaining. Not only that each one of those personalities was completely fleshed out and we got to see them from so many different sides and see everyone's blind spots because of it.
The way gender and class were discussed in the context of mental health was also very interesting particularly when it came to the way both the professionals and the research which they produce and are taught from is incredibly gendered, often to the detriment of women. The scariest part of this book wasn't the murder of the main character's past (that was so horrific that at times felt too much and allowed me to distance) but how ineffective and often knowingly malignant or uninterested the police, social services, and medical professionals are. At the same time, it also shows the difference and good one single person can make what is probably the only hopeful thing in this book.
The plot was tight enough to keep me interested but didn't hold a candle to how much I liked the characters with the exception of the love interest. I was suspicious by how little I understood the love interest motivations and how easily he found his place in the main characters' lives, bending rule, and morality to serve his own purposes.
Thank you to Head of Zeus for this amazing read.
mawatson817's review
4.0
I was curious to read this book because of its interesting premise: our narrator suffers from multiple personalities. This is a concept that could easily have gone off the rails but the author does a great job of letting the reader inside Carolyn’s mind. The narration shifts between the personalities so we are able to get to know them and get inside her head.
scarlettg12's review
4.0
Thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for an ARC of this book! Release date - June 12, 2020
This was a really weird, really unique, but really cool and intriguing book. It's very short but really packs a punch. I oddly found this book about multiple personalities and murder to be pretty realistic. The amount of trauma that Carolyn went through as a child, I honestly can see her splitting into all of these different personalities as a coping mechanism, especially when it's explained that each personality has a very specific role in her life - one who takes care of the household, one who presents a put-together face to the public, one who is promiscuous, one tasked with remembering the childhood abuse so that the others can forget, etc. I loved how the different personalities took turns narrating the different chapters and how different they all were from each other. I thought this was really well done. Some of the chapters that talked about what Carolyn went through at the hands of her father were absolutely terrible and gut-wrenching.
If I have one complaint it's that I feel like almost the entire plot is revealed in the blurb. Next to nothing happens beyond what is in the blurb. I really enjoyed the entire storyline, getting to know the different personalities, the therapist, the father being released, the murder investigation. It was a fully developed plot. But nothing surprised me at all. There were no twists or shocking moments. Everything played out exactly the way I expected it to. Which I guess not every book is going to have twists or surprises, but I was a little disappointed that this book didn't. I also found the ending a little weird and abrupt, like maybe there should have been a few more chapters or an epilogue or something. It was kind of anticlimactic.
So there were definitely things I loved about this book and definitely things that disappointed me. Because of this I'd give it a strong 3.5 stars, almost 4. All in all I would recommend it. It isn't twisty or suspenseful but it was a really interesting look into the mind of a truly disturbed person.
This was a really weird, really unique, but really cool and intriguing book. It's very short but really packs a punch. I oddly found this book about multiple personalities and murder to be pretty realistic. The amount of trauma that Carolyn went through as a child, I honestly can see her splitting into all of these different personalities as a coping mechanism, especially when it's explained that each personality has a very specific role in her life - one who takes care of the household, one who presents a put-together face to the public, one who is promiscuous, one tasked with remembering the childhood abuse so that the others can forget, etc. I loved how the different personalities took turns narrating the different chapters and how different they all were from each other. I thought this was really well done. Some of the chapters that talked about what Carolyn went through at the hands of her father were absolutely terrible and gut-wrenching.
If I have one complaint it's that I feel like almost the entire plot is revealed in the blurb. Next to nothing happens beyond what is in the blurb. I really enjoyed the entire storyline, getting to know the different personalities, the therapist, the father being released, the murder investigation. It was a fully developed plot. But nothing surprised me at all. There were no twists or shocking moments. Everything played out exactly the way I expected it to. Which I guess not every book is going to have twists or surprises, but I was a little disappointed that this book didn't. I also found the ending a little weird and abrupt, like maybe there should have been a few more chapters or an epilogue or something. It was kind of anticlimactic.
So there were definitely things I loved about this book and definitely things that disappointed me. Because of this I'd give it a strong 3.5 stars, almost 4. All in all I would recommend it. It isn't twisty or suspenseful but it was a really interesting look into the mind of a truly disturbed person.
cindyann62's review
3.0
Audio 3.5
(TRIGGER WARNING-child abuse. Not detailed but it's pretty much the reason behind the core of the story.) This was up-and-down for me. Parts felt thin but other parts had me almost in tears. I loved the book 'Sybil' when I read it in middle school (if 'loved' is the correct word to use about such a disturbing story??) and this was similar. I did find the love story a bit stretched, until the reason behind it came out. There was a nice balance of people to not like and people to cheer on. The ending was also satisfying.
(TRIGGER WARNING-child abuse. Not detailed but it's pretty much the reason behind the core of the story.) This was up-and-down for me. Parts felt thin but other parts had me almost in tears. I loved the book 'Sybil' when I read it in middle school (if 'loved' is the correct word to use about such a disturbing story??) and this was similar. I did find the love story a bit stretched, until the reason behind it came out. There was a nice balance of people to not like and people to cheer on. The ending was also satisfying.
suspensethrill's review
3.0
I think this was an interesting premise, but ultimately the execution didn't 100% work for me. This could easily be turned into a an engrossing film, and I think fans of Split will really be intrigued by how the multiple personalities interact with each other. Full review to come.
bookally's review
2.0
This one is a hard review to write and rate mostly because there were a few off comments in there I felt to be racist. I re read both the sentences i thought to be racist and saw no reason as to why they needed to be in the book which put me off which was sad because until that point I was enjoying the book.
Also had some interesting content revolving around the police which is pretty fitting and most probably highly accurate in reflection of what is going on in the world at the moment in regards to the police.
So you are following Carolyn grand who has dissociative identity disorder aka multiple personalities. There are 7 different personalities all vastly different. Carolyn grew up being abused by her father then went into the foster system. After an incident happens that involves the police she is ordered to see a psychiatrist. Drama ensues.
The premise, very different and very intriguing. I enjoyed the writing and the cast of characters. Like other reviewers have said I think this would be a great movie. The ending was a bit eh, could see it coming. I could see people with or who know people with DID might not like that ending and the portrayal but that is merely a guess on part.
Could have been a 3 star but had to bump it down to 2 purely because of the questionable racial comments
Also had some interesting content revolving around the police which is pretty fitting and most probably highly accurate in reflection of what is going on in the world at the moment in regards to the police.
So you are following Carolyn grand who has dissociative identity disorder aka multiple personalities. There are 7 different personalities all vastly different. Carolyn grew up being abused by her father then went into the foster system. After an incident happens that involves the police she is ordered to see a psychiatrist. Drama ensues.
The premise, very different and very intriguing. I enjoyed the writing and the cast of characters. Like other reviewers have said I think this would be a great movie. The ending was a bit eh, could see it coming. I could see people with or who know people with DID might not like that ending and the portrayal but that is merely a guess on part.
Could have been a 3 star but had to bump it down to 2 purely because of the questionable racial comments