Reviews

Everyone Dies Famous in a Small Town by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock

thebookberrie's review against another edition

Everyone Dies Famous in a Small Town is a collection of stories that take place in small towns. While it seems like nothing ever happens, so much drama happens in the lives of the people who live there.

This was okay, it was so short and went by fast and I was interested enough. While there was a lot of drama, honestly most of it bored me. There were all these stories and I liked how they eventually intertwined but besides the one with the girl seeking revenge, I could have slept. There were so many characters and stories and it was hard for me to ever get a grasp for anyone because then it moved on to someone else and their drama.

The story with the girl seeking revenge against the priest though was so hard hitting and absolutely slapped. I wanted more with that energy, not just petty drama between neighbors and someone trying to find their cat in a forest fire.

lblue19's review against another edition

hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

jade314's review against another edition

mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

besp00ked's review against another edition

3.0

This is a well written collection of short stories that highlights how our life’s intertwine with others that we don’t think we even know. I enjoyed trying to figure out how the stories link with each other before it’s even revealed (I mainly failed XD). Rating 3/5. My 3 star meaning: it’s good but I would personally borrow it from someone. I just found the amount of characters slightly difficult to keep up with and some stories don’t feel completely finished ( I suppose that’s the point though because it shows how their life’s are just continuing)

bdsongbird8's review against another edition

hopeful inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes

3.5

billielentz's review against another edition

5.0

Wow. A short read that was a page turner! If you like stories where everything connects at the end and makes you think “it’s a small world” - this is for you! I do advise checking trigger warnings if you are sensitive to SA

nina_rod's review against another edition

5.0

I really enjoyed the author’s first book The Smell of Other People’s Houses. She tied in all the characters of the book together in a neat little bow. So when this book came out in 2020, I excitedly preordered it and went to her author Zoom. Covid, yeah?

Anyway, it sat on my shelf for years. Until the 2024 Tacoma Library Extreme Reader challenge. One of the categories was author with a hyphenated name. This book by Bonnie-Sue worked! The category allowed for hyphenated first names too. 

I thought it would be about Alaska, like her previous book.  However, it included small towns in Alaska as well as Wyoming, Washington and Colorado. The book has the subcategories of stories, so I thought it would be an anthology. But the characters were somehow interconnected, so it made the books seem less like a collection of stories. Imma need to read this book again to get a flow chart going of how characters in small towns in different states know each other. And like all small town life, there was an element of horror to it. The author writes, in a small town you are known by the worst thing that happened to you. 

And I’m sad to say the book sat unopened on my shelf. I didn’t feel like reading it and downloaded the audiobook from the library. The book will remain on my shelf next to the author’s first book so I can eventually get that flow chart done! 

piggygerbils's review against another edition

4.0

Beautiful collection of stories that link together in such an unexpected way.

nyxie_'s review

emotional fast-paced

3.75

caryslibrary's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0