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mckmillican's review against another edition
4.0
3.5, rounded up. Read this on a flight - great plane book. I went in assuming it would be a fairly typical “girl gets consumed by mysterious family tragedy” kind of plot, but I was pleasantly surprised by how clever and well structured it ended up being. I do feel like the protagonist’s perspective was the weakest part of the book, and I was disappointed that we didn’t follow the book’s secondary perspective to the end, as that was the richest and most rewarding part of the story. The author’s notes on why she decided to construct a fictional setting instead of use one of the real islands that the island was based on were interesting to read, but I’m not fully convinced by her choice. Good beach/plane/train read if you want something easily digestible but with an excellent vocabulary.
elysareadsitall's review against another edition
5.0
"Saint X" was a gripping mystery that centered on the grief and confusion of a girl after her sister is murdered on vacation. I liked how the author explored consequences and ripples of the victim's death over time. While I was invested in and satisfied with the answer to the mystery, I was much more fascinated by Clare and how this tragedy changed and shaped her life. The cast of audio actors was phenomenal. I'd read more from this author.
sarahh87's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
3.5
jdmcn's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
fishwithcorners's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
3.75
It was a very interesting way to write a mystery. It was hypnotic and reflective. It told the story of the mystery as an assemblage of stories where her death influence others in some way. It showed how in death, you have no agency any more and you become a “deus ex machina in everyone else’s story.” So the book was very kaleidoscopic in how we are looking at this single event for every possible angle and how it just gets twisted and morphed and distorted and twisted again.
genthebookworm's review against another edition
3.0
I had a lot of anticipation about Saint X by Alexis Schaitkin and it was just one of the 2020 books I was the most excited about. Unfortunately, after a really great start, it ended up being a reading letdown for me.
I think my lack of connection with this book has to do a lot with what my expectations were when I read the book summary compared to my actual reading experience. I was just expecting something very different!
I love a slow burn with highly detailed characters but this one totally threw me off with the fast-paced beginning. I think if I knew it was going to be less plot-driven I would have had very different expectations for it.
I don’t need twists and turns but this was ending up being so wordy and after a dramatic beginning just lacked any oompf for me after the beginning set me up with so many questions I needed answers for.
Because the characters weren’t likable and even though it was rich with text, I never ended up feeling like I “knew them” which just made me feel uninvested in the storyline. I think this book did have some powerful messages regarding race, class, and privilege, but these fell flat for me with the particularly wordy writing style.
I think Saint X is going to be one of those books that there are strong feelings about. Even just reading the initial ARC reviews on Goodreads, there is a whole range of reactions, some that are very positive. I think, all in all, this just was a case of being the wrong timing and expectations for me as a reader.
Thank you to Celadon Books, NetGalley and LibroFM for advanced copies. All opinions are my own.
*You can read my full review at genthebookworm.com
Merged review:
I had a lot of anticipation about Saint X by Alexis Schaitkin and it was just one of my 2020 books I was the most excited about. Unfortunately, after a really great start, it ended up being a reading letdown for me. I think my lack of connection with this book has to do a lot with what my expectations were when I read the book summary compared to my actual reading experience. I was just expecting something very different!
I love a slow burn with highly detailed characters but this one totally threw me off with the fast-paced beginning. I think if I knew it was going to be less plot-driven I would have had a very different expectations for it. I don't need twists and turns but this was ending up being so wordy and after a dramatic beginning just lacked any oompf for me after the beginning set me up with so many questions I needed answers for.
Because the characters weren't likable and even though it was rich with text, I never ended up feeling like I "knew them" which just made me feel uninvested in the storyline. I think this book did have some powerful messages regarding race, class, and privilege, but these fell flat for me with the particularly wordy writing style.
I think this is going to be one of those books that there are strong feelings about. Even just reading the initial ARC reviews on Goodreads, there is a whole range of reactions, some that are very positive. I think, all in all, this just was a case of being the wrong timing and expectations for me.
Thank you to Celadon Books, NetGalley and LibroFM for advanced copies. All opinions are my own.
I think my lack of connection with this book has to do a lot with what my expectations were when I read the book summary compared to my actual reading experience. I was just expecting something very different!
I love a slow burn with highly detailed characters but this one totally threw me off with the fast-paced beginning. I think if I knew it was going to be less plot-driven I would have had very different expectations for it.
I don’t need twists and turns but this was ending up being so wordy and after a dramatic beginning just lacked any oompf for me after the beginning set me up with so many questions I needed answers for.
Because the characters weren’t likable and even though it was rich with text, I never ended up feeling like I “knew them” which just made me feel uninvested in the storyline. I think this book did have some powerful messages regarding race, class, and privilege, but these fell flat for me with the particularly wordy writing style.
I think Saint X is going to be one of those books that there are strong feelings about. Even just reading the initial ARC reviews on Goodreads, there is a whole range of reactions, some that are very positive. I think, all in all, this just was a case of being the wrong timing and expectations for me as a reader.
Thank you to Celadon Books, NetGalley and LibroFM for advanced copies. All opinions are my own.
*You can read my full review at genthebookworm.com
Merged review:
I had a lot of anticipation about Saint X by Alexis Schaitkin and it was just one of my 2020 books I was the most excited about. Unfortunately, after a really great start, it ended up being a reading letdown for me. I think my lack of connection with this book has to do a lot with what my expectations were when I read the book summary compared to my actual reading experience. I was just expecting something very different!
I love a slow burn with highly detailed characters but this one totally threw me off with the fast-paced beginning. I think if I knew it was going to be less plot-driven I would have had a very different expectations for it. I don't need twists and turns but this was ending up being so wordy and after a dramatic beginning just lacked any oompf for me after the beginning set me up with so many questions I needed answers for.
Because the characters weren't likable and even though it was rich with text, I never ended up feeling like I "knew them" which just made me feel uninvested in the storyline. I think this book did have some powerful messages regarding race, class, and privilege, but these fell flat for me with the particularly wordy writing style.
I think this is going to be one of those books that there are strong feelings about. Even just reading the initial ARC reviews on Goodreads, there is a whole range of reactions, some that are very positive. I think, all in all, this just was a case of being the wrong timing and expectations for me.
Thank you to Celadon Books, NetGalley and LibroFM for advanced copies. All opinions are my own.
alx7p's review against another edition
2.0
Che dire. Prima metà molto intrigante ma poi....uno strazio! Non finiva mai!