Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

#murdertrending by Gretchen McNeil

4 reviews

mels_reading_log's review

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dark mysterious 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

4.25

I don’t normally read horror books but this one was the perfect amount of scary for me. No jump scares, a really creepy premise and a lot of mystery. The main premise is that the US has decided to turn Alcatraz into a town where death row inmates live until they are theatrically murdered by masked seri killers. The whole thing is filmed and shown to the country as the ultimate reality show. The main character, Dee, is convicted of murdering her step sister and sent there to live out her sentence. But she says she didn’t do it, and so do all the other young, beautiful people there. Is something weird going on?

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lovelymisanthrope's review

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I have had this book on my shelves for YEARS and finally picked it up.
"#Murdertrending" follows a cast of young characters, people who have been convicted of various crimes, and all sentenced to serve out their prison sentences on an island. This island was created by the newly elected President of the United States who is also a huge internet celebrity. He created this island of games as entertainment for the world. There are cameras everywhere and murder is encouraged, and in fact there are people who have been hired to murder the prisoners in over-the-top ways. These criminals are faced with their greatest challenges yet: surviving. But the island is much more sinister than it seems, because everyone imprisoned might not be guilty of the crimes they were convicted of.
I think this story was good in theory, and I might have enjoyed it more if I had read it when I originally got a copy, but it was kind of a flop for me in the present. The whole social media craze has always been a bit odd to me but seeing it in this context really makes me question us as a society and the value we place on internet fame.
I think this book has an audience, but unfortunately this series is not for me. 

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gabgon2597's review

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adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-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? No

4.5


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paperbackparker's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

This was not a good book by any means but it was definitely entertaining! I’m intrigued to pick up the next one.

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