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A review by vc7
Bad Things Happen Here by Rebecca Barrow
2.5
Parris Island is an exclusive, idyllic escape to the outside world, a place where the ultra-rich live. What they do not know is that the island is cursed with the many unsolved deaths of young girls.
Luca, our protagonist, lost her best friend Polly three years ago to the curse, or so the locals say. The police department has however brushed off her death as an accident. Just when Luca was getting her life back to normalcy, the curse claimed its next victim- Luca’s sister, Whitney. Fearing that the police would write off her sister’s death as an accident too, Luca starts investigating her death with the help of her new neighbour Naomi, for whom she develops feelings.
Luca believes that it was the curse that took the life of her sister and her best friend. Determined not to lose another or herself to the curse, she aims to decipher how the curse works or whom it chooses as its next victim. Pretty soon Luca discovered that no one was who she thought they were. Everyone had secrets-her sister, who she believed she knew everything about, their friends and ever her new love interest, Naomi.
While the setup was great, I felt as if the book did not deliver. It did not hook me and I almost DNF the book. It is only after 20-21 chapters that the book gets mildly interesting. The characters neither had any depth to them nor were they likeable. While the ending does seem logical, it feels as though it is incomplete. The book also leaves many questions unanswered.
The only positive aspect of the book was the representation, the protagonist being of mixed-race black girl, plus-sized, queer and dealing with mental health issues.
This book clearly was not meant for me, though readers of YA Mystery can give it a try.
Luca, our protagonist, lost her best friend Polly three years ago to the curse, or so the locals say. The police department has however brushed off her death as an accident. Just when Luca was getting her life back to normalcy, the curse claimed its next victim- Luca’s sister, Whitney. Fearing that the police would write off her sister’s death as an accident too, Luca starts investigating her death with the help of her new neighbour Naomi, for whom she develops feelings.
Luca believes that it was the curse that took the life of her sister and her best friend. Determined not to lose another or herself to the curse, she aims to decipher how the curse works or whom it chooses as its next victim. Pretty soon Luca discovered that no one was who she thought they were. Everyone had secrets-her sister, who she believed she knew everything about, their friends and ever her new love interest, Naomi.
While the setup was great, I felt as if the book did not deliver. It did not hook me and I almost DNF the book. It is only after 20-21 chapters that the book gets mildly interesting. The characters neither had any depth to them nor were they likeable. While the ending does seem logical, it feels as though it is incomplete. The book also leaves many questions unanswered.
The only positive aspect of the book was the representation, the protagonist being of mixed-race black girl, plus-sized, queer and dealing with mental health issues.
This book clearly was not meant for me, though readers of YA Mystery can give it a try.