vivianne's review against another edition
2.0
Actual rating: 2.25
Spoiler free mini review.
Overall this book was quick, entertaining (on a certain level), it held my attention and at times it was even somewhat tense. However if I delve deeper into it, this book is quite unbelievable, the characters were annoying and the book did not live up to its potential.
I could have overlooked all my other complaints if this book would have been incredibly tense. If it would have got me on the edge of my seat, but it didn’t. The plot just greatly disappointed me. It was just… boring. Super slow and not much was going on while reading. I had just expected more. Something like The Hunger Games or Ramsay Bolting (GoT) style. The climax just never came. The Huntin’ , Shootin’ and Fishin’ thing was in my opinion super weird and boring. I liked the idea of choosing someone every day but it just wasn’t executed well enough. Half the book you don’t realize what’s going on and then the fishin’ is over in a heartbeat and the last 100 pages are once again boring. The pacing was just very off.
And I think the author created these expectations herself. I mean starting a book with the sentence: “I think I am a murderer” and continuing dropping bombs like “Shafeen was a murderer”, “Chanel is a murderer” or other things like “but what would happen the next day would be so much worse”. These things create a certain expectation and get my mind rattling with all these crazy possibilities. And in the end I was just very disappointed with what happened and how things ended.
The writing wasn’t really for me. It was quite juvenile, sentences like: “ Tonight i was seated between Esme (meh) and Cookson (yuck).” As a writer, you don’t need to hold my hand while I am reading, it’s already very clear Greer doesn’t like these people. And then the thing that made want to throw this book across the room: THE MOVIE REFERENCES. There is literally one on every single page! And I have seen 2 of the 300? movies in this book. So I didn’t get them. E.g. “I watched him. Feeling a bit like Genevere in First Knight watching Lancelot go.” Uhmm what?!
Besides that I didn’t get 95% of the references, use your own imagination to sketch scenes don’t use other people’s work. There are also huge spoilers in this book for a few of the movies referenced like e.g. The Fault in Our Stars. Every time a sentence would be in italic and I knew there would be one on a page I just wanted to skip the whole paragraph. I get she likes movies, I get her dad is a camera man and they have this thing, but NOPE!
And then let’s get to how unrealistic and unbelievable this book is. I mean books don’t have to be believable, hell I read a lot of fantasy that isn’t believable, but if you write a contemporary book in a modern day setting I need it to be realistic so I can immerse myself in the story. And this just wasn’t the case and it kept dragging me out of the book. A few examples that I found hard to believe; I mean I could probably sum up a page more but I will stop here.
Everything was underdeveloped. And then I mean everything. The plot, the world building, the school, the main character, the side character, the romance. EVERYTHING! I can’t tell you a single thing about anything, besides what was directly related to the plot.
The main character was not my type of main character. Besides that she didn’t have a spine and drowned in Henry’s eyes every time she got a fraction of attention, she was jealous (at things she isn’t entitled to), annoying and extremely naïve. Not to forget the strange scenes she talked to a cut of head of a STAG, she even gave it a name.
Well let’s conclude this review with some positivity. I liked how it addressed the social media problem of our today society. I liked the element of the food and how that was involved in this book and the hunt. I also liked the setting. I overall liked the ending with how open it is. And it’s a very quick read.
Won’t continue with the sequel!
Spoiler free mini review.
Overall this book was quick, entertaining (on a certain level), it held my attention and at times it was even somewhat tense. However if I delve deeper into it, this book is quite unbelievable, the characters were annoying and the book did not live up to its potential.
I could have overlooked all my other complaints if this book would have been incredibly tense. If it would have got me on the edge of my seat, but it didn’t. The plot just greatly disappointed me. It was just… boring. Super slow and not much was going on while reading. I had just expected more. Something like The Hunger Games or Ramsay Bolting (GoT) style. The climax just never came. The Huntin’ , Shootin’ and Fishin’ thing was in my opinion super weird and boring. I liked the idea of choosing someone every day but it just wasn’t executed well enough. Half the book you don’t realize what’s going on and then the fishin’ is over in a heartbeat and the last 100 pages are once again boring. The pacing was just very off.
And I think the author created these expectations herself. I mean starting a book with the sentence: “I think I am a murderer” and continuing dropping bombs like “Shafeen was a murderer”, “Chanel is a murderer” or other things like “but what would happen the next day would be so much worse”. These things create a certain expectation and get my mind rattling with all these crazy possibilities. And in the end I was just very disappointed with what happened and how things ended.
The writing wasn’t really for me. It was quite juvenile, sentences like: “ Tonight i was seated between Esme (meh) and Cookson (yuck).” As a writer, you don’t need to hold my hand while I am reading, it’s already very clear Greer doesn’t like these people. And then the thing that made want to throw this book across the room: THE MOVIE REFERENCES. There is literally one on every single page! And I have seen 2 of the 300? movies in this book. So I didn’t get them. E.g. “I watched him. Feeling a bit like Genevere in First Knight watching Lancelot go.” Uhmm what?!
Besides that I didn’t get 95% of the references, use your own imagination to sketch scenes don’t use other people’s work. There are also huge spoilers in this book for a few of the movies referenced like e.g. The Fault in Our Stars. Every time a sentence would be in italic and I knew there would be one on a page I just wanted to skip the whole paragraph. I get she likes movies, I get her dad is a camera man and they have this thing, but NOPE!
And then let’s get to how unrealistic and unbelievable this book is. I mean books don’t have to be believable, hell I read a lot of fantasy that isn’t believable, but if you write a contemporary book in a modern day setting I need it to be realistic so I can immerse myself in the story. And this just wasn’t the case and it kept dragging me out of the book. A few examples that I found hard to believe;
Spoiler
“Greer even going on this weekend when there where a million red flags, Shafeen’s father never telling him what happened to him (and therefore deeming his son to the same fate, Hell I don’t even understand sending him to the same freaking school), them staying at the mansion after what happened, them staying at this school after what happened, the whole freaking plot with the cult getting away with murders etc. for centuries! Them believing the abbot and that he wasn’t a part of the cult when he was the head of the school when even the first years were involved! That no one in these centuries of the school ever went to the police. That the whole school stopped using cellphones because 6 “popular” people said they were ‘savage’.Everything was underdeveloped. And then I mean everything. The plot, the world building, the school, the main character, the side character, the romance. EVERYTHING! I can’t tell you a single thing about anything, besides what was directly related to the plot.
The main character was not my type of main character. Besides that she didn’t have a spine and drowned in Henry’s eyes every time she got a fraction of attention, she was jealous (at things she isn’t entitled to), annoying and extremely naïve. Not to forget the strange scenes she talked to a cut of head of a STAG, she even gave it a name.
Well let’s conclude this review with some positivity.
Spoiler
I did like the twist with the seeds Chanel found in Henry’s pocket, I liked the cult vibe, and even though it wasn’t worked out into detail very well, the idea was interesting. I liked the fact that we found out later that that even the roommates where in on it.Won’t continue with the sequel!
caitminch's review
5.0
completely underrated as a YA thriller and easily one of my favourites. i'm immediately attracted to any "working class protagonist discovers the fucked up lives of the rich" plot, and pairing that with a clever dramatic reveal feels perfect. the writing is also really witty - there's a few lines that i always find myself laughing at. we as a society need to put more respect on the S.T.A.G.S name.
scrollsofdragons's review
2.0
2.5 Kids can be dumb, that's all I'm saying.
Before that to be seduced by Henry, there was nothing seducing about him at all. Even when she knows what is going on and is about to stop it, he's suddenly nice to her and bam, she wants to change her mind. I just don't get it. But really if you're the unpopular kid invited to the popular table all of a sudden, you should know something is up and you should never get into a situation that has them with all the power. It's just common sense and self preservation.
So I did like it but the characters were just some of the dumbest-plus not that interesting-kids ever and I can't get over their stupidity.
Spoiler
You're literally like the man has a wedding ring with no wife yet you still go to him, you don't think the head of the school wouldn't know what was going on? He's running the place. And you tell him about all the murders and him not even pushing you towards the police doesn't ring alarm bells? They should have gone straight to the police/media with the video, Henry committed suicide how the hell can they say it's some kind of murder, there is no reason for them not to show the video. They were idiots for not telling the truth and deserve to find out at the end that the headmaster was in on it because they were that dumb to not take this public. Also because they kinda felt sorry for the guy who is now dead who is a murderer, like why? And you honestly think a bunch of murderers can change just because one is dead? Hell no. How stupid can a bunch of kids get?Before that to be seduced by Henry, there was nothing seducing about him at all. Even when she knows what is going on and is about to stop it, he's suddenly nice to her and bam, she wants to change her mind. I just don't get it. But really if you're the unpopular kid invited to the popular table all of a sudden, you should know something is up and you should never get into a situation that has them with all the power. It's just common sense and self preservation.
So I did like it but the characters were just some of the dumbest-plus not that interesting-kids ever and I can't get over their stupidity.
caitlinxx05's review
3.0
This was one of those books that really grabbed me with the summary and the first few sentences, had me have high hopes and then.. just didn’t quite meet them.
Overall the book was o.k.
At first around page 80 or so, I was considering quitting because ugh. But then I continued, because really, I had to know how they’d get to the ending, and yeah, I’m glad I finished it in the end.
It got better after a while anyway, the part “Shooting”, that’s when things really picked up and the story became far more clear and exciting.
A thing that could’ve improved this book was reducing the amount of movie references. It felt like basically every page there was a “you know [movie]? Like that..”, while no, I do not know that movie or not well enough, and I really don’t care for every single reference.
Sure it was funny when she did a small reference like “we’re not in Kansas anymore, Jeffrey” but the continuous “do you know [movie]..”, “like in [movie]” and so on was so frustrating and took away some fun and tension for sure. Just describe it in your own words Greer, and let us make the movie connection.
She also makes some really stupid comments about “this makes me a bad feminist but..” like no? The reason you just gave has NOTHING to do with feminism?? But if you skip those & many of the movie references, the book is a nice read in between.
Won’t be reading any of the follow ups though.
Overall the book was o.k.
At first around page 80 or so, I was considering quitting because ugh. But then I continued, because really, I had to know how they’d get to the ending, and yeah, I’m glad I finished it in the end.
It got better after a while anyway, the part “Shooting”, that’s when things really picked up and the story became far more clear and exciting.
A thing that could’ve improved this book was reducing the amount of movie references. It felt like basically every page there was a “you know [movie]? Like that..”, while no, I do not know that movie or not well enough, and I really don’t care for every single reference.
Sure it was funny when she did a small reference like “we’re not in Kansas anymore, Jeffrey” but the continuous “do you know [movie]..”, “like in [movie]” and so on was so frustrating and took away some fun and tension for sure. Just describe it in your own words Greer, and let us make the movie connection.
She also makes some really stupid comments about “this makes me a bad feminist but..” like no? The reason you just gave has NOTHING to do with feminism?? But if you skip those & many of the movie references, the book is a nice read in between.
Won’t be reading any of the follow ups though.
readabookorfive's review
1.0
This book was absolutely incredible. It had me hooked from the very start and I was questioning everything from the start to the end. It was very enjoyable and honestly I've been left very shook.
arabellasbooks's review
3.0
I had hoped for more from this book so I was, unfortunately, quite disappointed at how little I loved this book. Don't get me wrong, it was fast paced and easy to read I just found it to be quite cringe at times. Let's just say I liked the concept but am not a fan of the execution.
spiceinvaders's review
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
yourlocalpsiamac's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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