heather3879's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Murder, Child death, and Child abuse
Moderate: Domestic abuse
Minor: Addiction and Alcoholism
david_slack110507's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The premise of this book is really unique/original in not only having the book be from the killer's perspective but also having said killer be a child is very fascinating aa it opens for many discussions on the topic of nature vs nurture and in this case whether 8-year old Chrissie's murder of fellow child Steven was something that she was simply born to do or whether it was her surrounding environment such as a lack of attention, care (Both emotional and physical), and food at home that shaped her into a child capable of such a crime. It was really fascinating to read through especially as you see it through Chrissie's perspective as one part of the two perspectives, we follow throughout this book with the other being Julia, Chrissie grown up with a new identity and a daughter of her own named Molly who she fights to ensure does not end up like her.
Chrissie's perspective is purposely childlike and shows the harsh realities of life and how they are received by a child such as thinking that death is not permanent and not fully understanding the consequences of her actions and how they affected other until much later in her life. It's interesting to read through as while we get reasoning as to what drives Chrissie to do these things such as an emotionally abusive and toxic household, Chrissie is never absolved of her crimes and is fairly judged for the horrible things she did. Meanwhile, Julia is left picking up the pieces of her past actions as a new woman with a daughter who she fears will turn out just like her, I will admit that at the start of Julia's storyline, it was pretty boring to me as it was very exposition heavy as to how she got to this place in her life but after the exposition is placed on the backburner, the story becomes a lot more intriguing and we get to see Chrissie's growth as Julia such as when she recognises how good of a friend Linda was to her despite how horrible she was to Linda as a means of getting power in a life where it was scarcely at her disposal.
My only issues with the book is that the start is quite slow and does feel like it's being done simply to set up the second half and the main events of the book, but it does pay off eventually just acts as a potential discouragement to continue on if the reader finds it too boring. Also, on the blurb it states that there is a storyline featuring Julia being afraid to answer phone calls that come from someone who knows her past and going in I assumed that this would be a driving factor of conflict, yet this ends quite anticlimactically and so too does other parts of the book which could affect some reading experiences but i think the handling of the books themes more than make up for it.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Toxic relationship, Grief, Murder, Emotional abuse, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Child abuse, Fatphobia, Cursing, Vomit, Body shaming, Bullying, Abandonment, and Violence
Minor: Addiction, Alcohol, and Sexual content
megan_bbender's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Chrissie is absolutely terrifying inside and out. She's nightmare-fuelling, even as an adult. I always felt tense when Chrissie was doing something, like an accident just waiting to happen all of the time. It's hard to see a young child as scary or as a villain, Nancy Tucker created an amazing portrayal of young evil.
This book loves to toys with your emotions and morals, I found myself warming up to Chrissie towards the end which disturbed me just as much as the book.
I one hundred percent recommend this book to anyone who is considering reading it and I will definitely be keeping up with Nancy Tucker and her other books.
Graphic: Child abuse, Murder, Child death, and Death
Moderate: Alcoholism, Addiction, Blood, and Alcohol
Minor: Animal death and Infertility
eve0094's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Infertility, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, and Mental illness
emsprobablyreading's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Violence, Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, and Child death