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shelleyann01's review against another edition
3.0
"Let me see, some eleven-year old Carrie White calls you late at night to say she can see a man chasing a girl in her head and you feel the need to rush over to her house?"
🌟🌟🌟1/2 STARS
As a reader, I love books with a lot of tension and a bit of an edge and The Foster Child provided that in spades. The family dynamics were well written and the guilt felt by everyone came through clearly. Everything about this story is clearly definded - there is excellent characterization and an amazing plot that kept me on the edge of my seat. I think Ellie's temperament and actions were explained very well from her point of view. I found the book hard to put down as I squirmed through the building tension. The Foster Child is definitely one of the most twisted books I have had the pleasure of reading. This is my third Jenny Blackhurst novel and she never seems to disappoint!
🌟🌟🌟1/2 STARS
As a reader, I love books with a lot of tension and a bit of an edge and The Foster Child provided that in spades. The family dynamics were well written and the guilt felt by everyone came through clearly. Everything about this story is clearly definded - there is excellent characterization and an amazing plot that kept me on the edge of my seat. I think Ellie's temperament and actions were explained very well from her point of view. I found the book hard to put down as I squirmed through the building tension. The Foster Child is definitely one of the most twisted books I have had the pleasure of reading. This is my third Jenny Blackhurst novel and she never seems to disappoint!
vickleanne's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
kdalach's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
leona_omahony's review against another edition
3.0
For some reason I really struggled with this book. Can't quite put my finger on why this was but many times I felt like giving up on it . I persevered with it and although I loved the ending I struggled with the most part of it . I found it difficult to like any of the characters and found myself skimming through a good
part of the book .
part of the book .
janpd24's review against another edition
4.0
Just the creepy little thriller to curl up with on a lazy weekend. It took me a while to get into the book, but once I got an idea of the protagonists, it was pretty gripping. The story mostly keeps you guessing as to whether you're reading a supernatural thriller or a plain old psyho thriller. I won't spoil the suspense.
There were parts that were predictable, but that twist at the end makes you forget everything. The only thing I didn't particularly like was Imogen Reid, one of the protagonists. While it's true that she's a complex character with a back story, the part where she seems to be pressurised into having a child (I won't say if she was or not) felt uncomfortable to me. I wish this could have been a stronger pro-adoption story, but of course, it's not my decision.
I received a review copy from NetGalley.
There were parts that were predictable, but that twist at the end makes you forget everything. The only thing I didn't particularly like was Imogen Reid, one of the protagonists. While it's true that she's a complex character with a back story, the part where she seems to be pressurised into having a child (I won't say if she was or not) felt uncomfortable to me. I wish this could have been a stronger pro-adoption story, but of course, it's not my decision.
I received a review copy from NetGalley.
megan_alice's review against another edition
3.0
Holy moly, this is a twisty book. It's all about the way people can manipulate others and I think it does an excellent job of manipulating the reader too. It makes us believe things, and then it goes in a completely different direction and has us scrambling to keep up (in a good way). I did predict one of the twists before it happened, but even so it was still a super satisfying reveal. The very end, I did not see coming at all. Once again I was made to believe one thing and then suddenly a new twist was thrown in. Brilliant! This had me hooked all the way through. It was slow, taking its time to lead us down a winding path but I enjoyed following Imogen from start to finish.
esha_juni's review against another edition
3.0
This book is my first book of Jenny Blackhurst and i have some mixed feelings about this book. This story is creepy and intriguing but somewhere i felt a bit confused also. The last revelations clashed with some mentions in the first half of the book. And the ending is , though shocking but a bit vague.
fionayule's review against another edition
2.0
I just didn’t get this book.
It sold itself as a spooky mystery surrounding a girl Ellie who, after the death of her parents and baby brother in a fire, comes to live with a foster family in a small town Gaunt.
Child Psychologist Imogen comes back to her family home to restart her career and her paths cross with the mysterious child Ellie.
Gaunt is cold, dreary and very typical of its name. And its full of the small town fear of strangers mentality.
As an example of dysfunctional people and families, and how some people are just horrible to children it is a good one. However, it is not a supernatural spooky tale, even if it hints that it might go down this road.
Ellie is no Carrie White (Stephen King), with Imogen’s husband even saying this, which did make me chuckle.
I came away from this seriously underwhelmed, and strong desire to re-read Carrie again; after 25 years her tale still sits in my memory. I suspect Imogen and Ellie are not going to stay in my memory that long.
It sold itself as a spooky mystery surrounding a girl Ellie who, after the death of her parents and baby brother in a fire, comes to live with a foster family in a small town Gaunt.
Child Psychologist Imogen comes back to her family home to restart her career and her paths cross with the mysterious child Ellie.
Gaunt is cold, dreary and very typical of its name. And its full of the small town fear of strangers mentality.
As an example of dysfunctional people and families, and how some people are just horrible to children it is a good one. However, it is not a supernatural spooky tale, even if it hints that it might go down this road.
Ellie is no Carrie White (Stephen King), with Imogen’s husband even saying this, which did make me chuckle.
I came away from this seriously underwhelmed, and strong desire to re-read Carrie again; after 25 years her tale still sits in my memory. I suspect Imogen and Ellie are not going to stay in my memory that long.
booklady72's review against another edition
4.0
Imogen Reid is a psychologist who returns to Gaunt after an incident in her previous job. She is called in by the school to help Ellie, an eleven year old child who was the sole survivor of a fire which killed her whole family, she is with a foster family but is constantly bullied at school because bad things seem to happen around her when she gets upset.
A creepy story with a good plot line, a few twists and turns along the way, I did work out one of the twists along the way but that didn’t stop me from enjoying the book. However, On the last page I did have to re-read it to make sure wheat is read was correct.
A creepy story with a good plot line, a few twists and turns along the way, I did work out one of the twists along the way but that didn’t stop me from enjoying the book. However, On the last page I did have to re-read it to make sure wheat is read was correct.