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acmoyer1's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
twylapeabody's review
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
A quick, enjoyable read. The real standout are the main characters. I loved Lydia and Brystal (and both their moms) and their dynamic together. I will say, this is a very low stakes/tension read. The mysteries the girls are trying to solve took place thirty years ago and rarely lead to present day danger for the characters. Although they faced some social pressure I only felt they were in danger, of either dying or going to prison (the normal mystery/thriller stakes) twice and one of those was the climax of the book! This book is both extremely readable and pretty easy to put down and take breaks from, due to those low stakes and very short chapters, but overall I had a good time.
librarian_lisa's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
sarahh14's review
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
Mindy McGinnis is always good for kickass young women stories.
smartinez9's review
4.0
McGinnis is very skilled at creating a compelling mystery that follows a tough female protagonist mired in small-town corruption. While this one was not quite as eventful as The Initial Insult (by which I mean no one got mauled by a tiger), it was intriguing, moved fast, and points about morality and privilege were made.
chuskeyreads's review
5.0
This is one of those rare books that made me sad that it ended. How does McGinnis make murder hilarious?
Lydia Chass was a descent character, and, despite her family’s legacy of being well-to-do, has a lot of skeletons. She’s trying to get into an Ivy League school, and discovers that she’s a history credit shy from graduating - no fault of her own. She strikes a deal with the principal to change her podcast a little to incorporate some history to fulfill the missing credit. Lydia decides to create a series about the Long Stretch of Bad Days - tornado, flooding, and murder.
Turns out, Lydia isn’t the only one in need of an extra history credit.
Enter Bristal Jamison. Hot-tempered and foul-mouthed, Bristal also has a legacy - historically, Jamisons reside in Ash trailer park and become pregnant, juvenile delinquents, felons, or all of the above.
This mismatched duo set out to solve a 30-year old cold case but uncover a much darker history of their small town.
Bristal is my favorite character. She’s hardened on the outside, but has a soft spot for animals. Her sarcasm and raunchy humor make for many hilarious moments, especially her podcast episodes.
The twisty, murdery suspense kept me fully vested in the outcome, and I have to say the ending was quite satisfying.
I think this book has just ruined me for anything else.
Lydia Chass was a descent character, and, despite her family’s legacy of being well-to-do, has a lot of skeletons. She’s trying to get into an Ivy League school, and discovers that she’s a history credit shy from graduating - no fault of her own. She strikes a deal with the principal to change her podcast a little to incorporate some history to fulfill the missing credit. Lydia decides to create a series about the Long Stretch of Bad Days - tornado, flooding, and murder.
Turns out, Lydia isn’t the only one in need of an extra history credit.
Enter Bristal Jamison. Hot-tempered and foul-mouthed, Bristal also has a legacy - historically, Jamisons reside in Ash trailer park and become pregnant, juvenile delinquents, felons, or all of the above.
This mismatched duo set out to solve a 30-year old cold case but uncover a much darker history of their small town.
Bristal is my favorite character. She’s hardened on the outside, but has a soft spot for animals. Her sarcasm and raunchy humor make for many hilarious moments, especially her podcast episodes.
The twisty, murdery suspense kept me fully vested in the outcome, and I have to say the ending was quite satisfying.
I think this book has just ruined me for anything else.
laelyn's review
3.0
I was super intrigued by the premise of this book and I heard great things about the author, Mindy McGinnis, even though I've never actually read one of her works. And I can see why she's popular: "A Long Stretch of Bad Days" is a very well-written book with a complex mystery and interesting characters. I really enjoyed Lydia as a protagonist - daughter of rich parents whose family more or less built the town and made it into what it is today. She struggles more and more with the pressure that comes with being part of such a family and dealing with the expectations of them, though I admit that her struggles felt very surface-level at times and I wished for a little more. She does get outshined by Bristal, the second big character, once she is introduced. She's a loud, unapologetic girl from the "bad side" of town, her family mostly known for being poor and criminals. I adored her and felt like her issues were handled in a deeper way. The development of their relationship once they start working on a podcast together really makes the book.
Said podcast is supposed to be an accounting of the titular long stretch of bad days, a week in the past of the town where not only a tornado destroyed huge parts of it but also a yet to be solved murder took place. It's an intriguing mystery, and Lydia and Bristal primarily want to find out the truth about the unsolved murder.
That they do actually find new information was a bit of a stretch considering they came by them very easily, as in, it's surprising that noone else seems to have found it before these two teenage girls, even with forces actively working against them. It also becomes more and more obvious what happened as the story goes on, and the final twist is very, very obvious so I was actually hoping it wouldn't happen. I read the exact same twist many times before.
Still, it's an engaging, fast-paced read that shines mostly through its characters and its commentary on class, wealth inequality and privilege. I admittedly was more invested in these themes than the actual mystery in the end.
Many thanks to HarperCollins and Netgalley for the arc!
Said podcast is supposed to be an accounting of the titular long stretch of bad days, a week in the past of the town where not only a tornado destroyed huge parts of it but also a yet to be solved murder took place. It's an intriguing mystery, and Lydia and Bristal primarily want to find out the truth about the unsolved murder.
That they do actually find new information was a bit of a stretch considering they came by them very easily, as in, it's surprising that noone else seems to have found it before these two teenage girls, even with forces actively working against them. It also becomes more and more obvious what happened as the story goes on, and the final twist is very, very obvious so I was actually hoping it wouldn't happen. I read the exact same twist many times before.
Still, it's an engaging, fast-paced read that shines mostly through its characters and its commentary on class, wealth inequality and privilege. I admittedly was more invested in these themes than the actual mystery in the end.
Many thanks to HarperCollins and Netgalley for the arc!
haylisreading's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.25
I love Mindy McGinnis and her books. This one was a little slow to start out (and put me into a bit of a slump for April). I love the darker elements this author always uses in her stories. Though, this book took me a little longer to get through.