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A review by davidb71
Haven't They Grown by Sophie Hannah
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
2.5
This book fell short for me. The premise is interesting - but the problem is when you set up a seemingly impossible scenario, you have to resolve it some way, and the explanation for what was going on did ultimately feel a little underwhelming. I enjoyed the protagonist, and her actions felt motivated and rational. The same can't be said for the people involved in the 'mystery' she was investigating - nothing they did made any sense to me, and the 'villain' of the piece ultimately felt like a ridiculous, implausible human being. The ending left a lot to be desired - it just didn't feel very well executed to me.
However, all that being said, there was still enough in this book to make me think that Sophie Hannah is a writer whom I might want to explore further. I enjoyed the protagonist, and the portrayal of her family life felt somewhat authentic and enjoyable to read. I like the way she involved her family in trying to solve the mystery, and I enjoyed the family dynamics. There's a certain warmth and charm here - but the book itself just didn't really work for me.
There's a strange part in the middle of the book where the main character goes to her daughter's school to resolve an issue there. It's strange because it bears no relation to anything - it's a scene that needn't exist because it doesn't connect to anything else. My suspicion - and I could be completely wrong here - is that something that happens in that scene was meant to tie in with the ending, but that Hannah changed the ending, but still decided to keep that scene in the school in anyway. The actual ending in the book - a shooting, a confession - felt like a bit of a mess to me, and my gut feeling is that this was not the original ending that Hannah had in mind. I could be wrong about all of this, of course!
So, not a terrible book, but one that didn't really work for me. But I will give Sophie Hannah another go, because I have a feeling that I might enjoy some of her other work more than I enjoyed this.
However, all that being said, there was still enough in this book to make me think that Sophie Hannah is a writer whom I might want to explore further. I enjoyed the protagonist, and the portrayal of her family life felt somewhat authentic and enjoyable to read. I like the way she involved her family in trying to solve the mystery, and I enjoyed the family dynamics. There's a certain warmth and charm here - but the book itself just didn't really work for me.
There's a strange part in the middle of the book where the main character goes to her daughter's school to resolve an issue there. It's strange because it bears no relation to anything - it's a scene that needn't exist because it doesn't connect to anything else. My suspicion - and I could be completely wrong here - is that something that happens in that scene was meant to tie in with the ending, but that Hannah changed the ending, but still decided to keep that scene in the school in anyway. The actual ending in the book - a shooting, a confession - felt like a bit of a mess to me, and my gut feeling is that this was not the original ending that Hannah had in mind. I could be wrong about all of this, of course!
So, not a terrible book, but one that didn't really work for me. But I will give Sophie Hannah another go, because I have a feeling that I might enjoy some of her other work more than I enjoyed this.