A review by brittany_tellefsen
Bonfire by Krysten Ritter
3.0
Rating: 3.5/5
Ten years ago, Abby Williams left her hometown of Barrens, Indiana and never looked back. Now an environmental lawyer in Chicago, Abby is being dragged back to Barrens to investigate Optimal Plastics, the largest corporation in the city, and one that has encouraged a lot of growth in the town, but one that may be polluting the town's water supply.
But as Abby begins to investigate their environmental infractions, she starts to find connections between Optimal Plastics and a scandal that occurred over 10 years ago involving Kaycee Mitchell, the leading mean girl in high school, along with her pack of hyenas.
Soon, Abby becomes certain that Kaycee didn't simply just run away after the scandal, but that something more sinister happened...and she is obsessed with finding out. But as she pokes at the town's weak spots, she starts to uncover dangerous secrets that will put reputations on the line and herself at risk
Okay, so we all know that Krysten Ritter is first and foremost an actress and I won't be shy in admitting that clouds my ability to review this 100% objectively. This is primarily because I can't help but picture her as the main character of this story, and because I feel as though I may be overly harsh in my criticisms since I know she is an actress stepping outside of her typical expertise.
With that being said, I did not find this to be a disappointing read at all.Was it fairly average? Yes. Was the plot remarkably unique and shock inducing? No. But it was well written and showed a great-deal of potential.
Overall, I found the story-line to be simple. It was not a complex narrative that weaves multiple different threads into one elaborate portrait. And overall, there was little to no character development. Abby herself can often be unlikable at times, and she is the only character perspective so all other characters are being seen through her eyes. This is definitely not going to be a story for those who need to connect to characters and care about them to enjoy the story as it was very plot driven and on the shorter side.
But again, I found this to be a pretty solid debut and I will likely pick up more from Krysten in the future should she decide to write more books.
Ten years ago, Abby Williams left her hometown of Barrens, Indiana and never looked back. Now an environmental lawyer in Chicago, Abby is being dragged back to Barrens to investigate Optimal Plastics, the largest corporation in the city, and one that has encouraged a lot of growth in the town, but one that may be polluting the town's water supply.
But as Abby begins to investigate their environmental infractions, she starts to find connections between Optimal Plastics and a scandal that occurred over 10 years ago involving Kaycee Mitchell, the leading mean girl in high school, along with her pack of hyenas.
Soon, Abby becomes certain that Kaycee didn't simply just run away after the scandal, but that something more sinister happened...and she is obsessed with finding out. But as she pokes at the town's weak spots, she starts to uncover dangerous secrets that will put reputations on the line and herself at risk
Okay, so we all know that Krysten Ritter is first and foremost an actress and I won't be shy in admitting that clouds my ability to review this 100% objectively. This is primarily because I can't help but picture her as the main character of this story, and because I feel as though I may be overly harsh in my criticisms since I know she is an actress stepping outside of her typical expertise.
With that being said, I did not find this to be a disappointing read at all.Was it fairly average? Yes. Was the plot remarkably unique and shock inducing? No. But it was well written and showed a great-deal of potential.
Overall, I found the story-line to be simple. It was not a complex narrative that weaves multiple different threads into one elaborate portrait. And overall, there was little to no character development. Abby herself can often be unlikable at times, and she is the only character perspective so all other characters are being seen through her eyes. This is definitely not going to be a story for those who need to connect to characters and care about them to enjoy the story as it was very plot driven and on the shorter side.
But again, I found this to be a pretty solid debut and I will likely pick up more from Krysten in the future should she decide to write more books.