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A review by lovelymisanthrope
She Started It by Sian Gilbert
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I first heard about this book when it was announced as a Book of The Month selection.
"She Started It" is an island thriller that is hellbent on exposing everyone's secrets. Annabel, Esther, Tanya, and Chloe were all best friends when they were in school together, but they have lost touch in their adult years. But, when Poppy, a classmate they bullied mercilessly, invites them all to a private island for her bachelorette party, they decide this is too good an opportunity to pass up. Unfortunately, Poppy has more sinister motives for getting them to this island, and everyone ends up with their darkest secrets exposed.
I did not have super high expectations for this book, and I think my expectations were adequately met. I was neither blown away by this plot, nor was I was disappointed. This book does discuss bullying and suicidal thoughts, so please read with care.
All of these characters are horrible. I really despised every one of these girls for all different reasons. Annabel, Esther, Tanya, and Chloe were all so horrible when they were young, and they are still making horrible decisions in their adult years. They are selfish, catty, and narcissistic, with some worse than others. Throughout the book, we jump around between everyone's perspectives, and honestly, I did not enjoy one person's perspective over the others. Sure, some were "less bad" than the others, but they are all just bad people who kept making detrimental mistakes.
My favorite part of this book was reading the journal entries from when they were young written by Poppy. Having this technique of writing did give away the ending for me, but those were the chapters that I was most invested in. I wish we could have seen more from Poppy, and I wish her ending could have been better. Poppy's story and journal entries are the only parts of this book that I have continued to think about.
The ultimate thrilling aspects of this book, and the "twists" I did see coming, but for the most part I was entertained. Everything made sense, and everyone's motives seemed plausible, but the plot twists just felt unoriginal to me.
I do think this book is pretty atmospheric. The bulk of the story takes place on this remote island in which they are cut off from the entire world, and I felt like the writing adequately described that. I felt the tension when the characters learned how remote they actually were, but I felt the sunshine when they got to enjoy the island.
Overall, this book was fine. I probably will not think too much about it, but I would recommend it to someone looking for an island thriller.
"She Started It" is an island thriller that is hellbent on exposing everyone's secrets. Annabel, Esther, Tanya, and Chloe were all best friends when they were in school together, but they have lost touch in their adult years. But, when Poppy, a classmate they bullied mercilessly, invites them all to a private island for her bachelorette party, they decide this is too good an opportunity to pass up. Unfortunately, Poppy has more sinister motives for getting them to this island, and everyone ends up with their darkest secrets exposed.
I did not have super high expectations for this book, and I think my expectations were adequately met. I was neither blown away by this plot, nor was I was disappointed. This book does discuss bullying and suicidal thoughts, so please read with care.
My favorite part of this book was reading the journal entries from when they were young written by Poppy. Having this technique of writing did give away the ending for me, but those were the chapters that I was most invested in. I wish we could have seen more from Poppy, and I wish her ending could have been better. Poppy's story and journal entries are the only parts of this book that I have continued to think about.
The ultimate thrilling aspects of this book, and the "twists" I did see coming, but for the most part I was entertained. Everything made sense, and everyone's motives seemed plausible, but the plot twists just felt unoriginal to me.
I do think this book is pretty atmospheric. The bulk of the story takes place on this remote island in which they are cut off from the entire world, and I felt like the writing adequately described that. I felt the tension when the characters learned how remote they actually were, but I felt the sunshine when they got to enjoy the island.
Overall, this book was fine. I probably will not think too much about it, but I would recommend it to someone looking for an island thriller.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Suicide attempt, and Murder
Moderate: Homophobia