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suneaters's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I enjoyed much of the story, but the humor infused in the writing sapped much of the tension. How am I supposed to feel real fear for the characters when the story is telling me to not take anything seriously? And my suspension of disbelief kept being broken. It's like the author couldn't decide between realism or something more akin to Lemony Snicket's absurdist writing. It's just not the right tone for a psychological thriller. Even so, I did enjoy the characters and the overall mystery was satisfying (I mean, the story within a story mystery since Anne's death really....wasn't. "And she was crazy" isn't really satisfying nor creative plus it makes the school seem even LESS believable) . I loved some of the subtler clues left like that Malachay is a dog and not a thirteen year old boy and that the parents are the ones who killed Perrine (so Allisande tried to ignore this while Lisette left in horror).
I’d give it a better rating if not for the one chapter containing the word “transmisogynistically” as an adverb. That single-handedly (or single word-edly) dropped the book a rating point. The most charitable interpretation of this section of the story is that it’s a cautionary tale against mob mentality, but seeing as the author has a Twitter, I’m sure the true message is that women are evil, lying bitches who ruin the lives of innocent men (less funny of an accusation after Depp DARVO’d the internet and a jury full of idiots) and that women who DARE to divorce autogynephiles are the worst of all as opposed to, I don't know, victims of their husbands' misogyny. Sorry, the one gay boy in your book who doesn’t have internet isn’t gonna know what the fuck “cis” means and neither will the other adolescent girl who seems normal (so she probably doesn’t know unless she’s been booted from a female sports team or harassed in the locker room/bathroom by men in wigs).
Ah well. I liked the mother-daughter relationship at the center of the novel.
Ah well. I liked the mother-daughter relationship at the center of the novel.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Child death, Mental illness, Child abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Misogyny
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