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c0d3nam3qt's review against another edition
2.0
I really dislike the marketing of these two books. They don’t lead on to the type of content within and I think it is inappropriate to not make the reader at least somewhat aware. These two books deal with very dark and disturbing content. From looking into this author’s backlist, it seems that the majority deal with the same few incredibly dark and triggering subjects, but no where is it warned. The front of this book has this kitschy whimsical drawn map, but there is no whimsy here.
Following spoilers also spoil “None of this is true”.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Alcohol
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Violence, Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Eating disorder, Misogyny, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, and Medical content
madisonrose1519's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Likeable characters. Weird to read a book from the perspective of so many young teens now that I’m an adult. But it was done very well. The perspective shifts were exceptionally written. Pip’s point of view sounded exactly like my own early teen diary entries. Skillful writing for sure.
I wasn’t blown away by the ending. The “red herrings” referred to by some reviews were quite obvious to me. I was not particularly shocked by the whodunnit. I would say the ending was satisfying and everything was tied up into a neat little bow. Personally, I like to be left a little mind-blown and frustrated by the ending of a mystery, but I can’t say I hated this ending. It just felt a smidge lackluster.
Overall glad I read it, but I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it to a friend unless I was asked about it.
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Fire/Fire injury
esv_'s review against another edition
- 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? No
2.5
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
chloejane13's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail
bookwormofinsta's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Drug abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
Minor: Self harm and Medical trauma
bookthief's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
The first half of the book was getting to know the characters and what life was like living in the garden. In the second half of the book was were the action began with Grace being found unconscious. I thought the book could have been shorter since both parts of the story dragged on for a bit to long.
I thought the Howees were a weird but nice family and I did initially have concerns about Leo, as did Pip, but it turns out he was an all right dude. I thought Pips family scenario was sad and rare with her dad having schizophrenia causing him to go mad but I was glad they were all reunited at the end. Dylan gave mixed signals but he was a good lad in the end. Tyler was quite a questionable character from the beginning with her aunt’s history and her mum neglecting her and her jealousy issues with Grace and Dylan.
Overall I thought the actual plot of Grace being unconscious and everyone trying to figure out what happened and who did it was quite anticlimactic since it was obvious Tyler had something against Grace and the investigation was pretty slow.
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
booksbytheglass's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
lisa jewell has such a capability of drawing the reader in from the first chapter and keeping them there throughout the twists and turns. her characterization in this one revolves around a group of teenagers in a communal park, and their mothers who are always ten steps behind - and boy was it captivating!!!
by starting out the first chapter with a big event, it allowed the reader to try and figure out what happened in the days leading up to it - however, the conclusion was a bit of a letdown for me. by allowing the reader to form their own conclusion about what really happened, it took away from the depth and justice of the entire book (which was kind of the point) …
for me, I’m a clean cut ending type of reader, so I hope that others will love how lisa jewell did this one! that being said, I felt there was no satisfaction or justice at the end - and gave me the feeling that the entire story was for nothing.
I will continue to read lisa jewell’s books until the day I die, but this one falls on the short list for me! 🥴
rating: 3 stars
wine pairing: spanish albariño
Graphic: Drug abuse and Fire/Fire injury
hanne_chummy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Moderate: Drug abuse
Minor: Rape
teaofleaves's review against another edition
2.0
Graphic: Child death, Mental illness, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, and Sexual assault
Minor: Infidelity, Pedophilia, and Sexual content
gemin1reader's review against another edition
2.75
Graphic: Medical content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Sexual content, and Alcohol
Minor: Infidelity and Sexual assault