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A review by thatdecembergirl
Hidden Pictures: ‘The boldest double twist of the year' The Times by Jason Rekulak
4.0
The storytelling is AMAZING. The narrative flows almost flawlessly and I found myself just keep on reading and reading and suddenly the book is finished. Mallory Quinn is a sympathetic protagonist, the kind that I like the most, because she's not the "bAdas$ giRL no tEarS" cold bitch bullshit but she's clearly strong, level-headed, and yet still has her vulnerable moments where she makes poor judgments or acts unwise. She's a female protagonist written by a man, yeah, but this is how you write believable female protagonist.
The earlier half of the book is VERY nice. The suspense is there, and the small missteps that Mallory made seem to lead to a big consequence. The drawings included almost feel like cheating because it truly gives me the heebie-jeebies. Stick figures can be very creepy. There are other books that use the same device (weird drawing) like Jac Jemc's [b:The Grip of It|31574739|The Grip of It|Jac Jemc|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1497915798l/31574739._SY75_.jpg|52264815] but I think Rekulak manages to weave things better.
I saw other people's reviews that's downright mad about "right-wing propaganda" and I'm sooooooo confused because there's no propaganda in this book if only you have the capacity to process an information. Depiction does not automatically mean endorsement. Yes we have characters who are racist AND friendly, fatphobic parents, and other stuff but ISN'T THE WORLD LIKE THAT? That you might think someone is nice but then they say something that makes you go, "Ewwwwww no, that is wrong and you shouldn't be like that"? That someone might think they're better than others but actually don't? These things exist and I think it adds layer to the characters in this book. You just can't demand people to be squeaky clean.
But then the big revelation that's supposed to be the twist feels so convenient and weak, and leaning towards questionable (if not problematic). That's my sole reason for not giving this book a five star, even if my reading experience for the most part is so positive.
*P.S.: god I want my own Adrian.
The earlier half of the book is VERY nice. The suspense is there, and the small missteps that Mallory made seem to lead to a big consequence. The drawings included almost feel like cheating because it truly gives me the heebie-jeebies. Stick figures can be very creepy. There are other books that use the same device (weird drawing) like Jac Jemc's [b:The Grip of It|31574739|The Grip of It|Jac Jemc|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1497915798l/31574739._SY75_.jpg|52264815] but I think Rekulak manages to weave things better.
I saw other people's reviews that's downright mad about "right-wing propaganda" and I'm sooooooo confused because there's no propaganda in this book if only you have the capacity to process an information. Depiction does not automatically mean endorsement. Yes we have characters who are racist AND friendly, fatphobic parents, and other stuff but ISN'T THE WORLD LIKE THAT? That you might think someone is nice but then they say something that makes you go, "Ewwwwww no, that is wrong and you shouldn't be like that"? That someone might think they're better than others but actually don't? These things exist and I think it adds layer to the characters in this book. You just can't demand people to be squeaky clean.
But then the big revelation that's supposed to be the twist feels so convenient and weak, and leaning towards questionable (if not problematic). That's my sole reason for not giving this book a five star, even if my reading experience for the most part is so positive.
*P.S.: god I want my own Adrian.