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goose401's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
booksandlemonsquash's review against another edition
4.0
I feel like this is one of those books that will continue to linger with me long after I have finished. There’s just so much to decompress.
Lena is an unreliable narrator because you don’t know exactly what terrible thing she did at first, and she’s medicated. But even with all that, she’s a strangely powerful lead. She’s strong enough to be trying to cope on her own, and to solve the mysteries around her and protect her friends. But she’s also so vulnerable as we see. I love her best right at the end, when she’s settling between the two.
Her backstory is hard to read, and not helped by her mental health complications - the schizophrenia isn’t mentioned til quite far through, but it explains a lot (and is why I marked this for mild spoilers). But her privileged and rich upbringing is shown in relief against how she views her past self and her actions, which I really enjoyed. The time in the mental ward I enjoyed less - I sort of get what she did there, but it feels a little abstracted from the rest of the story, and not really necessary.
Bo is the cutest, purest boy and I love him. And Rob made me iffy - he’s just so keen! I like how both play out, and I did see bits of it coming, but there were small twists that I didn’t see that really added to it overall.
A very enjoyable thriller / mystery, with great rep for schizophrenia. It felt pretty raw throughout, which is why I’m definitely going to end up thinking back on it!
Lena is an unreliable narrator because you don’t know exactly what terrible thing she did at first, and she’s medicated. But even with all that, she’s a strangely powerful lead. She’s strong enough to be trying to cope on her own, and to solve the mysteries around her and protect her friends. But she’s also so vulnerable as we see. I love her best right at the end, when she’s settling between the two.
Her backstory is hard to read, and not helped by her mental health complications - the schizophrenia isn’t mentioned til quite far through, but it explains a lot (and is why I marked this for mild spoilers). But her privileged and rich upbringing is shown in relief against how she views her past self and her actions, which I really enjoyed. The time in the mental ward I enjoyed less - I sort of get what she did there, but it feels a little abstracted from the rest of the story, and not really necessary.
Bo is the cutest, purest boy and I love him. And Rob made me iffy - he’s just so keen! I like how both play out, and I did see bits of it coming, but there were small twists that I didn’t see that really added to it overall.
A very enjoyable thriller / mystery, with great rep for schizophrenia. It felt pretty raw throughout, which is why I’m definitely going to end up thinking back on it!
cgoldenberg's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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
3.5
dextersonntag's review against another edition
4.0
Twists
I loved this book! I thought I had it figured out but did not and that’s hard to do! Worth the read
I loved this book! I thought I had it figured out but did not and that’s hard to do! Worth the read
flygirl_01's review against another edition
5.0
Note: please check the content warnings at the beginning of the book (updated one). Content warnings are:
. mental and physical abuse
. drug abuse
. racism
. eating disorders
. self-harm/suicide
It's hard to say much about this novel without giving everything away. All I can say is what follows in this review. Magdalena (who goes by Magda or Lena) did something awful, to the point where she needed to live with her grandparents for the summer. While living with her grandparents, she meets a mysterious boy named Bo. However, not all is as it seems in the town.
The novel tackles difficult subjects, such as drug overdosing, mental health, and making horrible mistakes. The main character has done bad things, and she's not the most reliable narrator. All of this adds to a sense of mystery behind what exactly Magdalena has done to get herself into trouble. I'm still not entirely sure how to feel about Magdalena after finding out what she's done. Along with this mystery, another issue is occurring, one that involves death/murder.
If you're in the right headspace, then I urge you to pick up this book. It's high on the suspense, fast-paced (of course), and you'll second-guess your thoughts with every new piece of information given.
. mental and physical abuse
. drug abuse
. racism
. eating disorders
. self-harm/suicide
It's hard to say much about this novel without giving everything away. All I can say is what follows in this review. Magdalena (who goes by Magda or Lena) did something awful, to the point where she needed to live with her grandparents for the summer. While living with her grandparents, she meets a mysterious boy named Bo. However, not all is as it seems in the town.
The novel tackles difficult subjects, such as drug overdosing, mental health, and making horrible mistakes. The main character has done bad things, and she's not the most reliable narrator. All of this adds to a sense of mystery behind what exactly Magdalena has done to get herself into trouble. I'm still not entirely sure how to feel about Magdalena after finding out what she's done. Along with this mystery, another issue is occurring, one that involves death/murder.
If you're in the right headspace, then I urge you to pick up this book. It's high on the suspense, fast-paced (of course), and you'll second-guess your thoughts with every new piece of information given.
kanaan's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
libraryjen's review against another edition
challenging
medium-paced
4.0
Twists and turns and some crazy family dynamics; I did guess the final twist before the reveal, but it kept me up past bedtime. If you enjoy a good thriller and an unreliable narrator, give this one a try!