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secre's review against another edition
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Ugh. I was all set to give this a full five star rating. And yet by the last page, I’m at a two star rating. What is it with authors and the stupid, ‘sensational’ twists? This was a stunning book for the vast majority, delving into the tragic consequences of a forgotten baby in a hot car. It’s a rare but well known phenomenon and claims the lives of 38 children a year on average in the USA. It’s even more rare in the UK as our weather is more changeable, and we have far fewer really hot days. But it happens. And if this novel had just stuck to the damn brief, it would have been powerful and thought provoking. Instead I’m just annoyed.
I really, really hate it when authors take a solid premise and stick in a wildly unlikely twist to jazz up the conclusion. And that’s what happened here. Strangely enough, I had my suspicions fairly early on that all wasn’t as it seemed. There were elements that didn’t quite sit right. But I ignored my suspicions and figured it was just the author’s style. Well, it was the author’s style, I guess. Just the style in question is ludicrous twists.
Maybe two stars is harsh, but I’m rarely quite so peeved on finishing a novel. And I think it’s the wasted damn potential that gets me. You’ve taken a serious, tragic and catastrophic series of events - forgotten baby syndrome - and deliberately made it tawdry, tacky and sordid. With 33 families in 2022 left shell shocked and grieving because that one moment of inattention leading to the death of their child, Abdullah has taken their story and made it less. In the face how much judgement and anguish is experienced, the guilt and shame of forgetting your own child and causing their death, it doesn’t seem like too much to ask for the topic to be dealt with sensitively. And for 80% of this, that would seem to be the case. But it’s thrown away and discarded in the final chapters. Left to the side for the sake of the sensationalist twist.
So yeah, maybe the two stars is harsh. But I can’t justify going any higher considering my gut wrenching disgust at how this was handled by the end. It would have been better finishing abruptly at the 80% mark instead of this … charade of tragedy.
I really, really hate it when authors take a solid premise and stick in a wildly unlikely twist to jazz up the conclusion. And that’s what happened here. Strangely enough, I had my suspicions fairly early on that all wasn’t as it seemed. There were elements that didn’t quite sit right. But I ignored my suspicions and figured it was just the author’s style. Well, it was the author’s style, I guess. Just the style in question is ludicrous twists.
Maybe two stars is harsh, but I’m rarely quite so peeved on finishing a novel. And I think it’s the wasted damn potential that gets me. You’ve taken a serious, tragic and catastrophic series of events - forgotten baby syndrome - and deliberately made it tawdry, tacky and sordid. With 33 families in 2022 left shell shocked and grieving because that one moment of inattention leading to the death of their child, Abdullah has taken their story and made it less. In the face how much judgement and anguish is experienced, the guilt and shame of forgetting your own child and causing their death, it doesn’t seem like too much to ask for the topic to be dealt with sensitively. And for 80% of this, that would seem to be the case. But it’s thrown away and discarded in the final chapters. Left to the side for the sake of the sensationalist twist.
So yeah, maybe the two stars is harsh. But I can’t justify going any higher considering my gut wrenching disgust at how this was handled by the end. It would have been better finishing abruptly at the 80% mark instead of this … charade of tragedy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
Moderate: Chronic illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Suicide
patienceholmes's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Infertility, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
oceanwriter's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A dark and twisty thriller centered around family drama? I'm in.
Leila adores her nephew Max... so what happens when he's found dead on her watch? Next thing she knows she's put in front of a jury to decide if this was a terrible accident or intentional. Through the trial, a lot of things that have gone unsaid between her and her sister Yasmin come to light. This along with flashbacks to other difficult times in their lives makes for an emotional journey. But it doesn't end there. There are more secrets being kept that threaten to change everything.
The book is broken up into three parts, each one following a different moment surrounding Max's death and the trial. The writing is immersive, though it jumps around from character to character mid-chapter which I found to be distracting at times. Nevertheless, I was hooked and finished the book in under twenty-four hours. There were some other things about it I didn't care for, however, I can't be specific what as they could be considered spoilers.
A huge thanks to HarperCollins/Harper360 for sending me a free ARC to read and review!
Leila adores her nephew Max... so what happens when he's found dead on her watch? Next thing she knows she's put in front of a jury to decide if this was a terrible accident or intentional. Through the trial, a lot of things that have gone unsaid between her and her sister Yasmin come to light. This along with flashbacks to other difficult times in their lives makes for an emotional journey. But it doesn't end there. There are more secrets being kept that threaten to change everything.
The book is broken up into three parts, each one following a different moment surrounding Max's death and the trial. The writing is immersive, though it jumps around from character to character mid-chapter which I found to be distracting at times. Nevertheless, I was hooked and finished the book in under twenty-four hours. There were some other things about it I didn't care for, however, I can't be specific what as they could be considered spoilers.
A huge thanks to HarperCollins/Harper360 for sending me a free ARC to read and review!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, and Miscarriage
Moderate: Infertility, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Mental illness, Death of parent, and Abandonment
jen1804's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The final 50 pages of this book gave me twist after twist after twist!
Overall I enjoyed this read, not an easy read by any means, quite harrowing at times given it’s nature - exploring the death of a child, and the grief and the familial fall out that comes with it. But it’s really well written and as I said the ending was unpredictable in a multitude of ways which I really liked!
Satisfactory ending? Yes.
Overall I enjoyed this read, not an easy read by any means, quite harrowing at times given it’s nature - exploring the death of a child, and the grief and the familial fall out that comes with it. But it’s really well written and as I said the ending was unpredictable in a multitude of ways which I really liked!
Satisfactory ending? Yes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Miscarriage, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Infidelity, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Abandonment
mikki_9's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book made me feel so paranoid tbh It felt like it took a while (after the initial incident) for it to get interesting again. But the ending twists...
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Murder
Moderate: Mental illness, Suicide, Medical content, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail