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cxmxrxnm's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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
pause_theframe's review
5.0
It is no wonder this book is so highly acclaimed by a variety of media sources. I can honestly imagine it becoming the next Girl on the Train, in its popularity among adult and later aged young adult readers. It is gritty, raw, honest and completely and utterly addicting. I honestly haven't read a book this hit so many 5* points in quite some time. It was truly one I could not bring myself to put down. From start to finish, the girls were in my head and I needed to know where everything in their young, grunge styled lives would lead, especially with the disconnect they had with most people, especially those there age.
Having been a youngster who had a similar disconnect, was bullied and had a regrettable home life, I found this book resonated with me on a whole new level. It reached right in and squeezed my heart, had me shaking my head and even brought laughter or a wee tear to my eye at points.
The characters are perfection. Wasserman got the girls lives, personalities and even clothing down to a T. It almost made me feel as if she knew them, was like them or at the very least did her in depth research to create whole, believeable people. This meant I was connected to them and invested in their outcome, from the very first page.
The pace was excellent. When something happened that needed a swiftness to it, to show the urgency of the outcome or the buildup, we were given it. Most of the time the pace matched their young, grunge life. It was laid back, just flowing by and happening, but when they took action it flew and it really sped right to the result. They we quick, excitable and wanted things to come to a head, and they did.
Overall, this book is dark. Be prepared. However, it is one that teenagers and above will love and need to read. It shows life from so many angles, for so many people, all at different places and stages in life. It has good lessons and is one that will truly touch you.
**I received this book for free and voluntarily provided my honest and unbiased review.
Having been a youngster who had a similar disconnect, was bullied and had a regrettable home life, I found this book resonated with me on a whole new level. It reached right in and squeezed my heart, had me shaking my head and even brought laughter or a wee tear to my eye at points.
The characters are perfection. Wasserman got the girls lives, personalities and even clothing down to a T. It almost made me feel as if she knew them, was like them or at the very least did her in depth research to create whole, believeable people. This meant I was connected to them and invested in their outcome, from the very first page.
The pace was excellent. When something happened that needed a swiftness to it, to show the urgency of the outcome or the buildup, we were given it. Most of the time the pace matched their young, grunge life. It was laid back, just flowing by and happening, but when they took action it flew and it really sped right to the result. They we quick, excitable and wanted things to come to a head, and they did.
Overall, this book is dark. Be prepared. However, it is one that teenagers and above will love and need to read. It shows life from so many angles, for so many people, all at different places and stages in life. It has good lessons and is one that will truly touch you.
**I received this book for free and voluntarily provided my honest and unbiased review.
rayasmth's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
skcoe's review
4.0
“This is not a story of bad things happening to bad girls.”
I will always love a story about obsessive friendship and girlhood. This book gives me that and something i’ve been desperate for in all other iterations of the toxic friendship narratives: both perspectives - that alone pushed this book to a four.
Teenage girls have a habit of seeing themselves as doomed protagonists, sometimes forgetting that the people in their lives exist outside of the role they play in theirs, and the relationship between Lacey and Dex explores that phenomenon beautifully.
I felt wholeheartedly connected to the the main characters, even when i hated them a little, especially with some of the feelings and experiences Lacey endured. The things that feel like the end of the world to one person can seem entirely trivial compared to the horrors of someone living a different life.
“Of course she turned out the way she did; she couldn’t have been any other way”
Girlhood is lying, love so intense it’s a string of enemies to friends to enemies to friends i hate you i love you never leave me fuck off i can’t live without you, and this book sets it to early 90s America, the rise of satanism and grunge. I honestly think this book might’ve been made for me.
“it was always another thing, being a girl”
I think most girls have felt like a Dex, or a Lacey, or a Nikki, and/or had one or multiple of them in their lives. These types of friendships delve into the obsession and devotion granted to each other in a space where you see each other 5+ times a week, in a boring town full of boring parents (who are never as oblivious as you think) and boring peers, convinced you’re the only ones who can see through it. The dangers that can come in a friendship like that, where someone is both life raft and ocean, is heart-wrenching and familiar and telling it through the lens of this unfolding tragedy packs a mean punch.
“you can love something and still understand it had ruined your life”
I will always love a story about obsessive friendship and girlhood. This book gives me that and something i’ve been desperate for in all other iterations of the toxic friendship narratives: both perspectives - that alone pushed this book to a four.
Teenage girls have a habit of seeing themselves as doomed protagonists, sometimes forgetting that the people in their lives exist outside of the role they play in theirs, and the relationship between Lacey and Dex explores that phenomenon beautifully.
I felt wholeheartedly connected to the the main characters, even when i hated them a little, especially with some of the feelings and experiences Lacey endured. The things that feel like the end of the world to one person can seem entirely trivial compared to the horrors of someone living a different life.
“Of course she turned out the way she did; she couldn’t have been any other way”
Girlhood is lying, love so intense it’s a string of enemies to friends to enemies to friends i hate you i love you never leave me fuck off i can’t live without you, and this book sets it to early 90s America, the rise of satanism and grunge. I honestly think this book might’ve been made for me.
“it was always another thing, being a girl”
I think most girls have felt like a Dex, or a Lacey, or a Nikki, and/or had one or multiple of them in their lives. These types of friendships delve into the obsession and devotion granted to each other in a space where you see each other 5+ times a week, in a boring town full of boring parents (who are never as oblivious as you think) and boring peers, convinced you’re the only ones who can see through it. The dangers that can come in a friendship like that, where someone is both life raft and ocean, is heart-wrenching and familiar and telling it through the lens of this unfolding tragedy packs a mean punch.
“you can love something and still understand it had ruined your life”
muhuhu's review
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5