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A review by emmabeckman
Watching You by Lisa Jewell
3.0
Ok. There were a lot of parts of this book that I really really liked. I liked Jenna a lot. I thought Freddie's parts were pretty interesting. I didn't totally hate Joey (though I was a little disappointed in her).
But I knew who did it half way through.
Now, I kind of have this feeling that the reader was supposed to know quite a while before the characters did. But I really didn't enjoy spending half of the book going, "Ok ok, let's pick up the pace here, come on just figure it out already we all know who did it, it's very obvious." So. I would have liked this one better if I hadn't guessed it so early. If I had actually kind of realized it at the same time as the characters, I think I would have enjoyed it. I liked the writing and I'd give another book by this author a shot (but if I guess it so early again, I probably wouldn't pick up another one).
ETA: I realized I forgot this in my original review... I noticed that this book included a LOT of references to technology, mainly apps that are popular with young people such as Snapchat and Whatsapp. The references weren't always the MOST accurate, but it wasn't distracting. I got what the author meant was happening. Personally, I liked these references because it really brought the book into the 21st century in a way that other books sometimes lack. However, I could definitely see that some older people who might read this book would be really annoyed by those references. WHile I thought they were generally done well, if you didn't know what these apps did based on your personal knowledge, this book doesn't really explain how they were and if you were unfamiliar, I could see that being detrimental to your enjoyment of the book. These references weren't really necessary to understand in order to get the plot and the action of the book, but I could see that they might be distracting.
But I knew who did it half way through.
Now, I kind of have this feeling that the reader was supposed to know quite a while before the characters did. But I really didn't enjoy spending half of the book going, "Ok ok, let's pick up the pace here, come on just figure it out already we all know who did it, it's very obvious." So. I would have liked this one better if I hadn't guessed it so early. If I had actually kind of realized it at the same time as the characters, I think I would have enjoyed it. I liked the writing and I'd give another book by this author a shot (but if I guess it so early again, I probably wouldn't pick up another one).
ETA: I realized I forgot this in my original review... I noticed that this book included a LOT of references to technology, mainly apps that are popular with young people such as Snapchat and Whatsapp. The references weren't always the MOST accurate, but it wasn't distracting. I got what the author meant was happening. Personally, I liked these references because it really brought the book into the 21st century in a way that other books sometimes lack. However, I could definitely see that some older people who might read this book would be really annoyed by those references. WHile I thought they were generally done well, if you didn't know what these apps did based on your personal knowledge, this book doesn't really explain how they were and if you were unfamiliar, I could see that being detrimental to your enjoyment of the book. These references weren't really necessary to understand in order to get the plot and the action of the book, but I could see that they might be distracting.