A review by saranelson316
Other People's Clothes by Calla Henkel
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
If you are a plot-driven reader…run. I nearly DNF’d after about 100 pages, but was sucked in by many positive reviews about the twists.
The book is incredibly slow paced, only picking up in the last 50 pages or so. Much of the book is endless exposition that seems to go nowhere or is loosely tied to the plot. It read like the author was trying to reach a word count and was just throwing random sentences together.
The description of the book itself is about two girls who develop an elaborate night club, when in reality, very little of the book involves the night club. Many pages are dedicated to Zoe developing bulimia, just to have it disappear with no real effort in the next chapter. To me it seemed like much of the plot just served to barely prop up the twists.
One twist is predictable, and just falls flat after the long exposition. The final twist is out of nowhere and doesn’t leave any room for Zoe or the reader to have any kind of closure. I even had to Google if the twist was actually what I thought it was because it was so random.
If you are a vibes person, you will likely love this. I am a plot person and really struggled. Even when the plot picked up it was still covered in random exposition.
I gave the book 2.5 stars because it does an excellent job at creating a vibe. The author also does a great job in making you question each character and their motive. This is part of what makes the twists so disappointing, the author sets up that the twists could really be anything, only to pick obvious or random options.
The book is incredibly slow paced, only picking up in the last 50 pages or so. Much of the book is endless exposition that seems to go nowhere or is loosely tied to the plot. It read like the author was trying to reach a word count and was just throwing random sentences together.
The description of the book itself is about two girls who develop an elaborate night club, when in reality, very little of the book involves the night club. Many pages are dedicated to Zoe developing bulimia, just to have it disappear with no real effort in the next chapter. To me it seemed like much of the plot just served to barely prop up the twists.
One twist is predictable, and just falls flat after the long exposition. The final twist is out of nowhere and doesn’t leave any room for Zoe or the reader to have any kind of closure. I even had to Google if the twist was actually what I thought it was because it was so random.
If you are a vibes person, you will likely love this. I am a plot person and really struggled. Even when the plot picked up it was still covered in random exposition.
I gave the book 2.5 stars because it does an excellent job at creating a vibe. The author also does a great job in making you question each character and their motive. This is part of what makes the twists so disappointing, the author sets up that the twists could really be anything, only to pick obvious or random options.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Sexual content, Eating disorder, Mental illness, and Toxic friendship