Reviews with content warning for Sexual harassment - The It Girl

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The It Girl by Ruth Ware

24 reviews

gracenicole912's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.25

Good mystery, compelling writing. Didn’t guess the twist. Not the main storyline but captures the maddening, sad feeling of being a woman made uncomfortable by men and not being taken seriously or listened to.

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greatexpectations77's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

The thriller mystery of this was fine, but oh my god the main character just felt so incredibly clueless. I also wonder how much Ware had actually researched on PTSD because it didn't feel like the MC's reactions to the trauma, so many years later, made that much sense. She had already been through therapy, but she couldn't handle her mental health or seemed to have processed the event. And that makes me feel bad because healing isn't linear and everyone has their own schedule, but she's also fictional, so. I'm not sure if it's actually worse that the MC said over and over how stupid she'd been or if I would have had more sympathy if she was just incredibly clueless. May not try reading this author again.

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bessadams's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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skinnerj1267's review against another edition

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dark 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

3.75

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lindsayerin's review against another edition

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dark 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? It's complicated

4.25

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minimicropup's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective relaxing tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Narration 👌: Perfection. Character voicing wasn’t over-the-top, emotions of the characters were captured (which breaks up the more repetitive parts in the writing). Easily listenable at different speeds.

Atmosphere 👍: Created through thought and dialogue. Tone and writing style are direct, descriptive, and sentimental.

Set in Oxford, UK for the “Before” chapters. Mainly in dorms, halls, and pubs so over time I developed familiarity for certain places along with the MC. The “After” chapters are set in Edinburgh, Scotland.
People, places, and things are well described so don’t have to work overtime on the imaginings, but there’s still room for creativity (and no imagination smashing later in the book).

Main POV 👍: Limited third party narration of one MC while attending Oxford (“Before”), and ~10 years later as a married adult expecting a child (“After”). We are deep in their mind and only their mind…prepare to hear every thought they have.

Our “Before” MC is considerate, humble, loyal, forgiving, naïve, self-doubting…and a little “dense”! They are in their first year at Oxford University assigned to a charming, spontaneous roommate they admire and bond with quickly.
Our “After” MC has the same personality but is now cautious (bordering on avoidant) of anyone beyond their spouse, co-workers, and friend. They are expecting a child and struggling with some health issues related to the pregnancy and stress.

Cred Rating 👍👩‍🎓🧑‍💻: Plausible to Plausible-ish.

Realistic touch of true crime journalism putting pressure on witnesses. Accurate portrayal of toxic friendship dynamics and how they can form.
The whole situation relied on our MC being blind to HUGE red flags near the end (girl, have you ever heard of the police?!)…but that is pretty consistent with her throughout the story!

Growls and Howls 🐺:

The more atmospheric (and interesting) parts are the “Before” chapters. The “After” chapters drag on and become repetitive about Hannah’s pregnancy experience (dizzy, sweaty, sore…we get it!)
Unsupportive spouse trope is overdone in the “After” chapters. Hannah’s husband is acting controlling, dismissive, and does that “pat-pat you’re just pregnant-hysterical, honey” thing. I imagine this was done to create tension and suspense. It just didn’t have to be done SO often.
After the villain reveal I felt like we were reading a totally different character in a way that broke the story (the sudden evil-grin-rubbing-hands-together-cackling energy was a total 180 and a bit OTT).
The villain may range from aha-validation to twist for you, but I enjoyed it because there was a sprinkling of small, justifiable red flags throughout the book. I would alternatively suspect and dismiss certain characters and it had me starting to feel as confused and dense as Hannah (🤭).

Reading Journey 😊🫠: European road-trip. Sometimes you’re enjoying the drive and scenery at a leisurely pace. Other times you just wanna get to your destination; screw the scenery and leisurely pace when you’re stuck in slow-moving traffic while exhausted.

Mood Reading Match-Up:

Slow-paced narratives based on dialogue, thoughts, and monologue
Dark academia vibes (death of a roommate, academics behaving badly)
A tiny touch of “Good for Them” (villainous victim/bullying revenge)
Light commentary on classism, access to education based on generational wealth rather than merit, familial $$ control and pressure on College students
Whodunnits and red herrings
Slightly ambiguous endings…we get the who, where, how, for all the crimes, but why is less clear

Vibes: 🤓🤔😬

Content Heads-Up: Numerous descriptions of pregnancy, panic attacks, and anxiety.

Format: Audible

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dganaway's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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katharina90's review against another edition

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mysterious tense medium-paced

Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No

2.0

Below average thriller with a whole host of unlikeable characters.

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cpratreads's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

I liked this book! Ruth Ware is my vacation go-to author and she didn't dissapoint with this one either.

This is the first book of hers (I've read 2 others) where I didn't guess the outcome so that was fun! It did feel like it went a little quickly once the reveal happened but it was a fun ride.

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katiejohns's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-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? It's complicated

2.0

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