A review by bbrewer14
Into the Water by Paula Hawkins

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Difficult start due to constant skipping between characters. Once you grasp the characters and their relation to the story and each other, the book smooths out and carries well. Overall, the story has a good premise and an interesting twist of a conclusion. The issue is the number of voices given to the story makes it difficult to care about what happened or happens to any of the characters. A solid story, but one I had to push myself to finish reading. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Suicide, and Murder

Moderate: Rape, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, and Physical abuse

This book touches on several controversial and somewhat difficult topics. None of them is expounded on so fully that they became completely uncomfortable, but the subject matter may be difficult for some readers.