kitsunebi_reads's review
5.0
The Stranger Game from the start is a familiar formula, seen over and over again. Still very enjoyable, but like the others. The big reveal is given away fairly early in the story. however it earns it's five stars for not only being a great read, but for the WTF ending twist. So disturbing.
cami19's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
maryam162424's review
4.0
*3.75 stars* this totally went somewhere I didn’t even think of and I loved it! That’s why I’m listing it as 4 stars. I thought it’d be a similar book to the few others I’ve read that had the same plot. BUT IT WASNT. damn. I really liked the concept of family I just feel so wrong for living this book a little bit.
hiii_ris's review
3.0
It was fine and entertaining. But I think I need to give up these "atmospheric thriller mysteries" for a while because the plots just seems so contrived and convoluted. This is not this book's fault, it's just I've read too many of the same in too short a period.
rae1019's review
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
meaganmart's review
3.0
When Sarah Walker disappears her parents and friends are devastated. They spend countless hours, offer exorbitant rewards, and visit morgue after morgue trying to find any information related to Sarah's disappearance or whereabouts. As the years pass Sarah's sister, Nico, is able to quietly admit to herself that she's glad to be free from the daily abuse rained down on her by a cruel and vindictive big sister. Just as she's grown into the role of the "only child" and found her stride in her high school her family gets a call that Sarah has been found.
Nico can't help but compare the Sarah that comes home after four years away with the Sarah of before. She's shy and withdrawn whereas the old Sarah was loud and brash. Her feet are bigger, she seems to excel at advanced math and science that the old Sarah never mastered, and perhaps, most damaging of all, she claims to be unable to remember a single detail of her life before or during her captivity.
Nico can't help but wonder if the "new Sarah" is really Sarah at all, and it becomes increasingly clear that she's not the only one with doubts or the only one who really knows what happened the day that Sarah disappeared.
I thought the dual narration provided by Nico and Sarah was very interesting and helped add tension to the plot. I was particularly interested in Sarah's chapters and was very interested to piece together the backstory provided by her POV.
Nico can't help but compare the Sarah that comes home after four years away with the Sarah of before. She's shy and withdrawn whereas the old Sarah was loud and brash. Her feet are bigger, she seems to excel at advanced math and science that the old Sarah never mastered, and perhaps, most damaging of all, she claims to be unable to remember a single detail of her life before or during her captivity.
Nico can't help but wonder if the "new Sarah" is really Sarah at all, and it becomes increasingly clear that she's not the only one with doubts or the only one who really knows what happened the day that Sarah disappeared.
I thought the dual narration provided by Nico and Sarah was very interesting and helped add tension to the plot. I was particularly interested in Sarah's chapters and was very interested to piece together the backstory provided by her POV.
nikki_maple's review
3.0
The Stranger Game as to me, is a thriller mystery/novel filled with plot twists, talks about dealing with family trauma, dealing with the loss and reappearance of a loved one, the relationship between sisters, discusses the way of investigation by the detectives, the impact it has on the victim’s family.
“There are secrets no one knows about Sarah. No one except Nico. But that is not so. Someone else knows and they are coming.”
The prologue describes a day of Nico after the disappearance of Sarah. Then it starts off with Nico working part time at the local helpline call centre for teens. It seems like she hopes her sister will call her one day. The story then goes around to her parents, how they are dealing with the loss of Sarah. Her mother has helped parents of other missing children, started a small committee/ a club to deal with the loss of her beloved daughter. She is at the same time worried that Nico might disappear one day just like Sarah. There are two people narrating the story, Sarah and Nico.From Nico’s view, we understand that things were not good with the old Sarah, but the new Sarah seems all nice and kind.
The narration of the story was easily understandable.It gave me a clear depiction of what a family would undergo in such circumstances, the scrutiny they would be under because of the overwhelming presence of the media. It satirizes the way people, both acquainted or not, tend to ask questions about the latest hot news without thinking about the feelings of the victim or her family. It depicts the degrading of humanity in this world.
The writing was at times a bit confusing for me, but it was overall a good read. The book is not extraordinary, but is not a bad one either. The author didn’t manage to get my attention during the parts nearing the conclusion because I wasn’t able to follow the viewpoint of the narrator.
Overall rating :⭐️⭐️⭐️
“There are secrets no one knows about Sarah. No one except Nico. But that is not so. Someone else knows and they are coming.”
The prologue describes a day of Nico after the disappearance of Sarah. Then it starts off with Nico working part time at the local helpline call centre for teens. It seems like she hopes her sister will call her one day. The story then goes around to her parents, how they are dealing with the loss of Sarah. Her mother has helped parents of other missing children, started a small committee/ a club to deal with the loss of her beloved daughter. She is at the same time worried that Nico might disappear one day just like Sarah. There are two people narrating the story, Sarah and Nico.From Nico’s view, we understand that things were not good with the old Sarah, but the new Sarah seems all nice and kind.
The narration of the story was easily understandable.It gave me a clear depiction of what a family would undergo in such circumstances, the scrutiny they would be under because of the overwhelming presence of the media. It satirizes the way people, both acquainted or not, tend to ask questions about the latest hot news without thinking about the feelings of the victim or her family. It depicts the degrading of humanity in this world.
The writing was at times a bit confusing for me, but it was overall a good read. The book is not extraordinary, but is not a bad one either. The author didn’t manage to get my attention during the parts nearing the conclusion because I wasn’t able to follow the viewpoint of the narrator.
Overall rating :⭐️⭐️⭐️
sarz's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0