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shnizzze's review against another edition
tense
medium-paced
- 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? Yes
4.0
toebean5's review against another edition
3.0
Update: whoa, the book club really liked this! Two of them even voted it their favorite read of the year! O-O I was not expecting that. They all thought it was pretty creepy and they had so much to contribute about friendships, unreliable narrators, truth relativity, etc. I say it often, but I just never know with them.
I actually read this again, although I had planned to skim (and I admit, there were parts I glossed over). And... yeah, I think it's alright. I still found the sister angle to be kind of odd, but the discussion helped me come to better terms with that. I think that it has some really great writing about grief, that maybe I didn't appreciate the first time around.
---2020---I read this pretty quickly and over a week ago, so I may be forgetting some parts. I thought this was a really fascinating study of a codependent friendship, and aside from the psychopathic parts, I found myself able to relate to Jane (yes, it's troubling- I know). Are Jane and I the only ones who didn't know how to make or keep friends, so the ones we had we latched onto with everything we had? No? You're all normal? Okay.
As usual with unreliable narrators, I'm still not totally convinced of what was real and what wasn't. It took me all the way until the Christmas party to realize that Jane's sister was real- I was convinced she was dead. Which... was a weird choice for the author to make- I'm still not sure how I felt about her inclusion or what her eating disorder meant. And I'm not totally convinced that Jane wasn't romantically in love with Marnie- there were some really strong homoerotic undertones. But the friendship itself was very realistic- someone who loves to be worshiped, until she doesn't; and someone who happily steps into the role of worshiper, but doesn't realize they're expendable. It was interesting and held my attention- a nice change of pace.
I actually read this again, although I had planned to skim (and I admit, there were parts I glossed over). And... yeah, I think it's alright. I still found the sister angle to be kind of odd, but the discussion helped me come to better terms with that. I think that it has some really great writing about grief, that maybe I didn't appreciate the first time around.
---2020---I read this pretty quickly and over a week ago, so I may be forgetting some parts. I thought this was a really fascinating study of a codependent friendship, and aside from the psychopathic parts, I found myself able to relate to Jane (yes, it's troubling- I know). Are Jane and I the only ones who didn't know how to make or keep friends, so the ones we had we latched onto with everything we had? No? You're all normal? Okay.
As usual with unreliable narrators, I'm still not totally convinced of what was real and what wasn't. It took me all the way until the Christmas party to realize that Jane's sister was real- I was convinced she was dead. Which... was a weird choice for the author to make- I'm still not sure how I felt about her inclusion or what her eating disorder meant. And I'm not totally convinced that Jane wasn't romantically in love with Marnie- there were some really strong homoerotic undertones. But the friendship itself was very realistic- someone who loves to be worshiped, until she doesn't; and someone who happily steps into the role of worshiper, but doesn't realize they're expendable. It was interesting and held my attention- a nice change of pace.
readeando's review against another edition
4.0
Muy entretenido. El final es muy acertado, en mi opinión.
Aunque en algunos momentos me ha resultado un poco deprimente a causa de Jane que, como ella misma se describe, es “la oscuridad”.
Recomendable.
Aunque en algunos momentos me ha resultado un poco deprimente a causa de Jane que, como ella misma se describe, es “la oscuridad”.
Recomendable.
jdoh415's review against another edition
4.0
Spoiler
This was entertaining but very intense. Literal psychopathic behavior.discostell's review against another edition
I just do not care about straight people
dgrahlman's review against another edition
2.0
Felt padded with plot lines that went nowhere. The best thing I can say about this book is that I skimmed the last 1/4 rather that not finishing it. Not exactly a ringing endorsement.
hayley_henderson22's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
3.5
challe232's review against another edition
3.0
I really liked the pacing of this novel, and the voice the protagonist had, It sounded very conversational.
I had low expectations that became quite high expectations as I really enjoyed it, but as soon as the tone changed - it no longer sounded like she was talking to me - the book fell apart some. But the ride there was fun, and most novels of this genre have a hard time with endings so I wouldn't fault the novel too much for that.
3/5
I had low expectations that became quite high expectations as I really enjoyed it, but as soon as the tone changed - it no longer sounded like she was talking to me - the book fell apart some. But the ride there was fun, and most novels of this genre have a hard time with endings so I wouldn't fault the novel too much for that.
3/5