wanderonwards's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Thank you to Macmillan/St. Martin’s Press for sending me an ARC of this title. I received this copy for free and this review contains my honest opinions.
The Block Party is a domestic thriller that takes place over the course of a year in a fictional affluent suburban neighborhood. The novel is broken up into seasons, which was a good thing: the passage of time within each section was difficult for me to follow, with some chapters skipping months ahead without any indication and I needed those breaks to reorientate myself.
This isn’t my usual genre, but I did enjoy the writing style. However, I think this would have been a more successful read if it hadn’t been limited to only two POVs (plus the occasional online community board gossip). I think the entire plot would have benefited from rotating POVs throughout all the characters, especially when I was more interested in characters other than the two POVs. Thank you again to the publisher for sending me a free ARC.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Addiction, Drug use, Alcohol, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Murder, Pedophilia, Gun violence, Alcoholism, and Suicide attempt
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