alexabookish's review against another edition
2.0
uhhhhhh. first, let me just say i was so excited for this book. i just KNEW i was going to love it. well i thought i would. so this book is comped to a good girl’s guide to murder, and let me just say: i strongly disagree. agggtm is perfect in every way. this was not a similar reading experience for me. the main problem i had was: i predicted the ending about fifty pages into this, give it take a couple of pages ofc. it literally might’ve even been before that, i just know it was around that area. FIFTY. PAGES. i’m talking perpetrator AND motive. EVERYTHING. the reader is basically hit on the head with the amount of foreshadowing. i mean to write a good mystery, you need to plant those seeds, but they can’t be so obvious, or used too much. or else it’s just too easy to predict! it was just sooo disappointing when everything turned out the way i predicted.
also i had a couple issues with the writing. i’m assuming that since this is coauthored, one author wrote each pov. and one of the pov’s writing was just not working for me. they overused italics (for the purpose of emphasizing) to the point that it would genuinely annoy me every time i came across another, and it would just completely take me out of the story. i literally ended up switching to the audiobook in hopes that not seeing them would help me enjoy the book more. i counted TEN times they were used on one page. it was just so excessive. also, i really think authors who are writing a realistic high school environment need to figure out how teenagers actually talk to each other. because there were a couple interactions that made me literally cringe because it was so obvious it was written by an adult tying to sound like a teenager. example: *said dramatically* “spoiler alert iris: if anyone [redacted bc spoilers]. you’re nobody … i’ll see you around, loser.” (loser was in italics for emphasis) and that example even includes a trusty italic word. and another example, yelled from a random passerby in the hallway to a crying girl: “freak. go cry in the bathroom.” i’m sorry, what? so random and so unnecessarily dramatic and unrealistic. people did not act like this my entire four years of high school lmao.and that was only a couple years ago, i don’t think it’s changed that much.
i think all of this just really really bothered/annoyed me because i saw a lot of people love and hype this up during early reviews and it was just suuuuch a letdown for me. i really wanted to love it. especially since agggtm is like one of the best books ever written, and this was compared to it (which again, hard disagree.)
also i had a couple issues with the writing. i’m assuming that since this is coauthored, one author wrote each pov. and one of the pov’s writing was just not working for me. they overused italics (for the purpose of emphasizing) to the point that it would genuinely annoy me every time i came across another, and it would just completely take me out of the story. i literally ended up switching to the audiobook in hopes that not seeing them would help me enjoy the book more. i counted TEN times they were used on one page. it was just so excessive. also, i really think authors who are writing a realistic high school environment need to figure out how teenagers actually talk to each other. because there were a couple interactions that made me literally cringe because it was so obvious it was written by an adult tying to sound like a teenager. example: *said dramatically* “spoiler alert iris: if anyone [redacted bc spoilers]. you’re nobody … i’ll see you around, loser.” (loser was in italics for emphasis) and that example even includes a trusty italic word. and another example, yelled from a random passerby in the hallway to a crying girl: “freak. go cry in the bathroom.” i’m sorry, what? so random and so unnecessarily dramatic and unrealistic. people did not act like this my entire four years of high school lmao.and that was only a couple years ago, i don’t think it’s changed that much.
i think all of this just really really bothered/annoyed me because i saw a lot of people love and hype this up during early reviews and it was just suuuuch a letdown for me. i really wanted to love it. especially since agggtm is like one of the best books ever written, and this was compared to it (which again, hard disagree.)
sarahelizab's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
bookkissth's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
masagtjazulesen's review
adventurous
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
A nice, surprisingly quick read that, despite being about a murder, was fairly lighthearted to me. It definitely didn't alter my worldview or challenge me in any way, but then again not every book has to do that. Over all I can recommend giving it a read but it just didn't do enough for me to get a higher rating I guess?
bluebird_5's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
3.5
The Agathas is a fun YA murder mystery set along the CA coast in a wealthy enclave. Each chapter includes a quote from an Agatha Christie novel because of the main character’s infatuation with AC mysteries.
Consider this an updated Nancy Drew series with several teen detectives from varying social economic backgrounds engaging in “who dunnit” sleuthing.
I’d slate it for older YA readers because of the amount of drinking, drugs, and sexual references. None of these are overdone or distasteful - in fact I think they are very realistic. However, I avoid handing these books off to younger YA readers who may romanticize these activities.
I’m already working my way through the second book in the series and finding it equally enjoyable.
Consider this an updated Nancy Drew series with several teen detectives from varying social economic backgrounds engaging in “who dunnit” sleuthing.
I’d slate it for older YA readers because of the amount of drinking, drugs, and sexual references. None of these are overdone or distasteful - in fact I think they are very realistic. However, I avoid handing these books off to younger YA readers who may romanticize these activities.
I’m already working my way through the second book in the series and finding it equally enjoyable.
rachel_anne_krauz95's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
tigger89's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I can see why some people would really like this book, but it didn't hold a lot of appeal to me. I thought the mystery was well done, particularly some of the reveals leading into the climax. I wasn't really a fan of the wealthy community setting, but I think it was used well even though I didn't personally like it. The fact that we had two narrators was used to great dramatic effect plot-wise, though I did find their narrative voices difficult to tell apart. The chapters are labeled with their names, but sometimes if I got distracted I'd forget partway through a chapter who I was following, and I'd have to flip back until I found a clue to remember, oh yeah, this is Iris or this is Alice.
I was somewhat disappointed that the involvement of Christie was limited mostly to literary quotes at the beginning of chapters and the fact that the main characters like her books. This might have been an unfair expectation on my part, based on the marketing for the book, but I was expecting something where specific scenes or twists would be referenced from Christie's canon to apply to the situation at hand. That didn't really happen, apart from the most general inspirations. But this really is kind of a quibble. If I'd read a different blurb that didn't stress Christie's importance so much, I don't think I would have complained about this at all. Blame it on the marketing!
The other thing that I couldn't help but laugh at is the chase at the climax. If you know, you know. The whole time I was like, that's not how horses work! None of this is realistic for your relationship/trust level with thispanic machine horse! It's a silly horse girl fantasy moment in an otherwise serious title, which sticks out. But again it's not a major complaint, and the unrealistic nature of the climax doesn't really affect the mystery itself, just the drama surrounding it.
All in all, I didn't like the book, but I think that's more down to us not being for each other than any significant fault in the book itself. There is definitely a kind of person out there who would be very into this story. In fact, if I'd had this book in my hands 20 years ago, I know exactly which girl in my scout troop I would've handed it to. It's just not my thing, and that's okay.
I was somewhat disappointed that the involvement of Christie was limited mostly to literary quotes at the beginning of chapters and the fact that the main characters like her books. This might have been an unfair expectation on my part, based on the marketing for the book, but I was expecting something where specific scenes or twists would be referenced from Christie's canon to apply to the situation at hand. That didn't really happen, apart from the most general inspirations. But this really is kind of a quibble. If I'd read a different blurb that didn't stress Christie's importance so much, I don't think I would have complained about this at all. Blame it on the marketing!
The other thing that I couldn't help but laugh at is the chase at the climax. If you know, you know. The whole time I was like, that's not how horses work! None of this is realistic for your relationship/trust level with this
All in all, I didn't like the book, but I think that's more down to us not being for each other than any significant fault in the book itself. There is definitely a kind of person out there who would be very into this story. In fact, if I'd had this book in my hands 20 years ago, I know exactly which girl in my scout troop I would've handed it to. It's just not my thing, and that's okay.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Child abuse, Death, Stalking, Violence, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Classism, and Car accident
marissadahmer's review against another edition
mysterious
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? No
3.0
bookishlibrarian's review against another edition
3.0
Alice is a rich but neglected teen, fond of Agatha Christie novels, who is now ostracized after having disappeared for a few days last summer. Iris is her tutor, from the wrong side of the tracks and hiding a secret of her own. When Alice's former best friend is found dead and her ex the main suspect, the two team up to try and figure out what happened.
The beginning of the book gave off major Veronica Mars vibes, with the ostracized former popular girl turned sleuth, and I really wish the book dug more into Alice's story and the class dynamics. The mystery was fairly predictable (I guessed pretty early, and the duo hone in on one suspect extensively to the point you know it has to be someone else). I enjoyed the dynamics between the two leads--with the addition of Iris's Zoner friends, the most. I also liked the slow teasing out of the story of Alice's own disappearance (Iris's secret is more obviously telegraphed). An enjoyable start to a series, but not sure I loved it enough to continue, but I'm also not the target audience!
The beginning of the book gave off major Veronica Mars vibes, with the ostracized former popular girl turned sleuth, and I really wish the book dug more into Alice's story and the class dynamics. The mystery was fairly predictable (I guessed pretty early, and the duo hone in on one suspect extensively to the point you know it has to be someone else). I enjoyed the dynamics between the two leads--with the addition of Iris's Zoner friends, the most. I also liked the slow teasing out of the story of Alice's own disappearance (Iris's secret is more obviously telegraphed). An enjoyable start to a series, but not sure I loved it enough to continue, but I'm also not the target audience!
melissakate96's review against another edition
3.0
this is a YA mystery that I actually didn’t mind! definitely wasn’t life changing or anything like that but it was a fun time and I loved the friendship between our two main female characters. 3/5 ⭐️