nicksalex's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Car accident, Bullying, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Cancer, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Violence, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Alcohol, Suicide, Pedophilia, and Death of parent
vj_thompson's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Megan Goldin is an auto-buy author. The first book I read by her was Stay Awake. She does an amazing job at character building and touching on subjects matters like sexual assaults or mental health conditions. These topics are normalized in Megan’s stories. I found myself both times rooting for the main characters, and the side characters, wishing them all a happy and successful outcome.
I am looking forward to reading the sequel, and I hope our main character Rachel continues to fight the good fight.
Graphic: Sexual violence, Child abuse, Grief, Bullying, Violence, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Death, Alcohol, and Murder
Moderate: Car accident, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Alcoholism, Cancer, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Terminal illness, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Pedophilia, Animal cruelty, Stalking, and Gun violence
bookedandbusy's review against another edition
- 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? No
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Stalking, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual assault, Murder, Blood, Violence, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Rape
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, Cancer, Suicide attempt, and Vomit
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders
the_pink_pharmacist's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
Graphic: Cancer, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Death, Domestic abuse, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Child abuse
reneeschauer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Suicide, Cancer, Sexual assault, Murder, Bullying, Rape, Physical abuse, and Child abuse
bitsyreads_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Bullying, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Cancer
lottiebrooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
- The author uses the word niggling no less than 6 times. Surely there’s a better option that doesn’t sound adjacent to a slur?
- A #1 true crime podcaster simply wouldn’t post in real time about where she is staying, where she’s going, and that she’s doing it alone. That’s like safety 101. She also wouldn’t be #1 if her episodes were 2 minutes long. Also most true crime podcasts who post about active cases like this get sued.
- Nearly everyone is blond(e).
- The author referred to a “vagrant” selling cans to make money in North Carolina, which is not a state that offers that program. She also calls it a small town, then says there are 98,000 residents - This would make it the 7th largest town in the state.
- We are simultaneously told that the judge of the case has never had a decision reversed and had one reversed 7 years ago.
- The author used the phrase “jelly and peanut butter” sandwich. It really rocked my world.
Graphic: Rape, Car accident, and Cancer
minimicropup's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
🇺🇸 Set in a fictional coastal town in North Carolina, USA
- Realistic in how survivors of sexual crimes are re-traumatized by the black-and-white approach to legal proceedings.
- Simplistic, robotic writing style. The dialogue is flat because we have no context. Did someone say "no comment" angrily, smirking, begrudgingly etc? It reads like a script with a textbook, flat writing style.
- Potentially lacklustre commentary on sexual crimes. We get the worst-case scenario (obvious evidence of rape occurring + legal loopholes that entirely depend on what the jury believes). This story isn't new to you if you are a regular true crime consumer. The legal system is broken, but how can we fix it? This isn't touched on in this novel. Instead, everything that could go wrong does. That is okay and a meaningful, realistic narrative. Still, it was diluted because our MC was so distracted to avoid the depth of the issue. We are just told that it's awful instead of experiencing it for ourselves.
- The podcast trope fails for me. Given in snippets that were anecdotes of the MC's life and not related at all to the case she was covering. But it's not like the case she covered was told to us from her POV earlier, either. She barely paid attention, and we didn't get much in the way of testimony; we were just told someone did well or didn't do well (lawyers, witnesses etc).
- Frustrating MC. She has a critical job giving her listeners the details of crucial evidence in the trial. Still, she walks out of the court when a NURSE WHO EXAMINED THE VICTIM IS TESTIFYING to take a call on a side case instead of letting it go to voicemail.
- Maybe just me, but it seemed like Rachel was trying to find a way to be as traumatized as the victims instead of reporting their stories.
- Frustrating stalker. Hannah - who invested so much time and energy to get Rachel (our MC) to cover her sister's mishandled case - suddenly disappears and becomes uninterested once Rachel is willing to cover it. Hannah sends her self-centred memoir to Rachel instead of the evidence and background on why she believes her sister was murdered.
- Direct commentary about the problems with the court and legal systems handling sexual crimes
- Contemporary fiction with touches of courtroom attendance
- Journalism (podcaster) investigation drama
Graphic: Cancer, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Bullying and Alcohol
shellyb's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.5
Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, and Sexual violence
Minor: Cancer and Death of parent
aperrie26's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Rape, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Death, Cancer, and Child abuse