A review by professorbadger
The Turnout by Megan Abbott

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

I’m fairly new to the whole reviewing thing, and this one is a challenge: How do you review a book by one of your favorite authors that you didn’t particularly enjoy?

I love Megan Abbott’s books, and most particularly her books about young women and sports. (Recommend Dare Me and You Will Know Me, if you haven’t read them.) She has a uniquely sharp eye for describing Byzantine, sometimes emotionally violent, teen-girl emotional relationships, and the addition of mystery elements adds enough plot progression to balance out the purely emotional aspects. So I was particularly excited when I learned that her next boom would take on the world of ballet. It seemed like a perfect fit. 

Unfortunately, I was underwhelmed. The characters live in an unusually insulated world. (Between the isolation and the graphic descriptions of crumbling physical spaces, it was almost more Gothic Horror than Noir.) But the isolation worked so well that the whole thing felt dense and cramped and uncomfortable. I found it unpleasant and couldn’t wait to be done. 

With those huge warnings, though, Megan Abbott is still a great writer so it wasn’t a total loss. If you like complex, dark emotional tales, you might genuinely enjoy this. 
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