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A review by adamsbookshelf
That Weekend by Kara Thomas
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
It truly hurts me to rate a Kara Thomas book below 5 stars. The Cheerleaders was the first book I read when I got back into reading and it blew my mind. As soon as this book was announced I pre-ordered the audiobook, and then forgot about it for almost 2 years.
So we follow Claire as she wakes up stranded in the forest. She is able to get help and winds up in the emergency room, the catch being she can't remember anything past friday night (the story starts on Sunday). Part 1 follows Claire and her quest for answers. I was so invested and devoured this first part of the story. Part 1 ends after a body is found. The body being a local who hit kat's dad with a car and police presume he killed Kat and Jesse later tossing their bodies into the river. This felt like a very natural ending but since we still have 3 parts let I knew something more was happening.
Part 2 follows Claire after police have closed the investigation. Watching Claire grow and cope with her best friends death was so depressing. She then finds a missing piece of information that could open the investigation back up.
Part 3 & 4 were a pretty big let down. This follows the same plot that "Suicide Notes from beautiful Girls" by Lynn Weingarten. However I was really liking this take on it. Claire finds out that her friends did in fact survive and planned the whole thing. At this point we follow Kat's perspective and find that her dad was abusive. This led to them faking her and Jesse's kidnapping to escape the abuse and get her families money. At this point Kat and Claire are now mortal enemies because they love the same boy, ignoring the last 10-15 years of friendship. Claire tracks down their location and finally finds out the truth. I was pretty over it at this point. Like there wasn't a moment where Claire was just happy that her bestfriend Kat was alive. It felt like the emotional growth we watched Claire have was just thrown out the window. I also HATE the ending twist of Jesse and Kat being siblings. I'm sick of that twist and have never once liked it. Also why would the grandma say "don't date him" instead of "He's your half-brother"? And the fact that Jesse knew before all of this happened was fucking disgusting.
One thing I was missing in this book was the secretiveness of the story. In The Cheerleaders there was a mystery that was never solved. We as the audience were told in the last pages but none of the characters knew. I was really hoping that would be a common theme across the authors novels. I am still so excited for "Out of the Ashes" and can't wait to read it.
So we follow Claire as she wakes up stranded in the forest. She is able to get help and winds up in the emergency room, the catch being she can't remember anything past friday night (the story starts on Sunday). Part 1 follows Claire and her quest for answers. I was so invested and devoured this first part of the story.
Part 2 follows Claire after police have closed the investigation. Watching Claire grow and cope with her best friends death was so depressing. She then finds a missing piece of information that could open the investigation back up.
Part 3 & 4 were a pretty big let down. This follows the same plot that "Suicide Notes from beautiful Girls" by Lynn Weingarten. However I was really liking this take on it.
One thing I was missing in this book was the secretiveness of the story. In The Cheerleaders there was a mystery that was never solved. We as the audience were told in the last pages but none of the characters knew. I was really hoping that would be a common theme across the authors novels. I am still so excited for "Out of the Ashes" and can't wait to read it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Murder