A review by hannchilada
Broken Things by Lauren Oliver
3.0
Broken Things is another story that hits close to home. At its heart, it's about our prejudices, and the effect of judgment. It's also about the way our childhood shapes and changes us.
For a thriller, it's got a fun concept. As someone so immersed in the literary community, I love how central their book is to their childhood, and how central it is to the story.
As for the story itself…there isn't a lot to it. The murderer is…a good choice. But it's not as if you're blindsided by it. I read this about a week before I've reviewed it, and I can't really remember anything about what I liked about it. Much less the chain of events.
The story was mostly bogged down by a lot of internal dialogue and ache. Which I think speaks to Oliver's important message, but still…it's not my favorite thing to read.
The characters are alright. One of the characters is stereotypically messed up, can't open up to others, pushing them away in brusque fashion instead, etc. etc. etc. The other is…normal. Definitely readable. I like the idea of the three side characters, but they felt like caricatures to me as well.
I don't have a lot to say. It wasn't a bad book. I think it's well written enough that I really wanted to get to the end,no, not in the bad way. Its biggest asset is, again, the context of the murder. It's a suspense novel written for YA book enthusiasts. Hurrah, I guess.
For a thriller, it's got a fun concept. As someone so immersed in the literary community, I love how central their book is to their childhood, and how central it is to the story.
As for the story itself…there isn't a lot to it. The murderer is…a good choice. But it's not as if you're blindsided by it. I read this about a week before I've reviewed it, and I can't really remember anything about what I liked about it. Much less the chain of events.
The story was mostly bogged down by a lot of internal dialogue and ache. Which I think speaks to Oliver's important message, but still…it's not my favorite thing to read.
The characters are alright. One of the characters is stereotypically messed up, can't open up to others, pushing them away in brusque fashion instead, etc. etc. etc. The other is…normal. Definitely readable. I like the idea of the three side characters, but they felt like caricatures to me as well.
I don't have a lot to say. It wasn't a bad book. I think it's well written enough that I really wanted to get to the end,