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keraw07's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, Blood, Murder, and Toxic friendship
shane_the_reading_rat's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
r0bin_05's review
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
liralen's review
3.0
My kind of YA thriller—the sort that is actually dark and does not get derailed in the interest of instalove and summer romance and so on.
The timeline here is a bit fussy: Nora's sections are, effectively, before, while Sophie's sections are after. They're not labelled as such, and although the voices are distinctly different I found myself flipping back to confirm whose chapter was whose and thus what time frame we were in. It makes sense—they're both hiding things, and a purely chronological narrative would be difficult if not impossible to pull off in the same way.
Overall I found this gripping but a bit convoluted. I love how different Nora and Sophie are, that in some ways they don't understand each other at all but in other ways they get each other in ways that nobody else can. I love that things get messy, and not everything ends happily. At the same time, I'm pretty sure I'd have to draw myself a diagram to fully understand what happens over the course of the book, and why everyone is involved in the ways that they are.
Hopefully Contos keeps it up, because it's nice to see this level of grim in YA.
The timeline here is a bit fussy: Nora's sections are, effectively, before, while Sophie's sections are after. They're not labelled as such, and although the voices are distinctly different I found myself flipping back to confirm whose chapter was whose and thus what time frame we were in. It makes sense—they're both hiding things, and a purely chronological narrative would be difficult if not impossible to pull off in the same way.
Overall I found this gripping but a bit convoluted. I love how different Nora and Sophie are, that in some ways they don't understand each other at all but in other ways they get each other in ways that nobody else can. I love that things get messy, and not everything ends happily. At the same time, I'm pretty sure I'd have to draw myself a diagram to fully understand what happens over the course of the book, and why everyone is involved in the ways that they are.
Hopefully Contos keeps it up, because it's nice to see this level of grim in YA.
kmrummelhoff's review
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
luveloise3's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Suicide and Violence
avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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 liked how this book approached privilege, especially in a thriller, instead of normalizing it, it challenged it. And showed how it can negatively affect everyone.
I wish one of the POC could have had a bit more depth. I would have liked to have gotten into a bit more of Jude who did have a good bit of depth.
Overall an enjoyable and twisty thriller. But I think more insight into the men of the story would have been good.
I wish one of the POC could have had a bit more depth. I would have liked to have gotten into a bit more of Jude who did have a good bit of depth.
Overall an enjoyable and twisty thriller. But I think more insight into the men of the story would have been good.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Moderate: Suicide, Vomit, and Murder
Minor: Drug use