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emilywiltzius's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ocios's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
5.0
effaly's review against another edition
1.0
Was haben die ersten vier (vielleicht auch mehr, aber ich habe erst die ersten vier Bücher von ihr gelesen) Bücher gemeinsam? Die Idee ist gut, aber die Charaktere können einen auf die Palme treiben. Oh, und alle haben ein super Verhältnis zu ihren Vätern, während ihre Mütter teils recht fragwürdig bis hin zu kriminell sind.
In Chevy Stevens viertem Roman begleiten wir die Toni Murphy, die wohl die anstrengendste Protagonistin ist, die ich je erlebt habe. Die Geschichte wird abwechselnd zu der Zeit als sie noch ein Teenager war, und in der Zeit in der sie im Gefängnis sitzt erzählt, bis sich gegen Ende hin beide Zeitlinien treffen.
Bis dahin kann man aber erst einmal das volle Teenie-Drama genießen, das voller Klischee ist. Ich behaupte mal jeder kennt mindestens einen amerikanischen Teenager Film/Serie, der in einer Highschool spielt, mit der armen Hauptcharakterin die einen kleinen Fehler begangen hat, und seitdem von den „coolen Kids“ gemobbt wird. Und nicht nur das, die bösen obercoolen Tussen verwenden ihre ganze Energie und Freizeit um ihr das Leben zur Hölle zu machen. Ja, das haben wir hier auch. Das Buch ist voll davon.
Wobei Toni nicht so ganz unschuldig ist. Aber hier kommen wir zum ersten Faktor, der Toni so unerträglich teilweise macht. Sie lernt einfach nicht aus ihren Fehlern. Weder als Teenager, noch als Erwachsene. Stattdessen provoziert sie fröhlich vor sich hin, und jammert zum Schluss das sie das Opfer ist. Provokation ist keine Ausrede für das was mache ihrer „Feindinnen“ getan haben, aber muss man sich wirklich mit alles und jedem anlegen, vor allem wenn man weiß das die Person aggressiv ist?
Das ganze hat auch dazu geführt dass sich die zwei Zeitlinien sehr ähnelten, und das ganze Buch nochmal eine Ecke langweiliger machten. Zu beiden Zeiten ist da die „arme“ Toni, die Stress mit einem anderen Mädel hatte. Beim einen hat man halt zusätzlich noch ein bisschen Teenie-Drama, beim andere hatte man Knast-Drama.
Generell fand ich das Buch sehr langatmig, und voller Wiederholungen. Erst zur Hälfte des Buches bekommt wir neue Informationen. Bis dahin darf man sich mit alltags Situationen und flachen, klischeehaften Charakteren rumschlagen.
Nachdem man zur Hälfte hin kurz die Hoffnung hatte das es nun endlich losgeht, bekommt man aber wieder erst einmal Alltagssituationen aufgetischt, die so voller bei den Haaren herbeigezogenen Drama sind, und wieder einmal voll mit „Toni vs. Feindin“ sind.
Erst auf den letzten 60 Seiten – von rund 460!!! – geht es dann wirklich los.
Das Ende selber… nun ja, ich denk es ist irgendwie „schockierend“ und hatte einen guten „Twist“, wenn man es überhaupt so nennen kann, aber ich war einfach nur noch froh das Buch zu beenden.
In Chevy Stevens viertem Roman begleiten wir die Toni Murphy, die wohl die anstrengendste Protagonistin ist, die ich je erlebt habe. Die Geschichte wird abwechselnd zu der Zeit als sie noch ein Teenager war, und in der Zeit in der sie im Gefängnis sitzt erzählt, bis sich gegen Ende hin beide Zeitlinien treffen.
Bis dahin kann man aber erst einmal das volle Teenie-Drama genießen, das voller Klischee ist. Ich behaupte mal jeder kennt mindestens einen amerikanischen Teenager Film/Serie, der in einer Highschool spielt, mit der armen Hauptcharakterin die einen kleinen Fehler begangen hat, und seitdem von den „coolen Kids“ gemobbt wird. Und nicht nur das, die bösen obercoolen Tussen verwenden ihre ganze Energie und Freizeit um ihr das Leben zur Hölle zu machen. Ja, das haben wir hier auch. Das Buch ist voll davon.
Wobei Toni nicht so ganz unschuldig ist. Aber hier kommen wir zum ersten Faktor, der Toni so unerträglich teilweise macht. Sie lernt einfach nicht aus ihren Fehlern. Weder als Teenager, noch als Erwachsene. Stattdessen provoziert sie fröhlich vor sich hin, und jammert zum Schluss das sie das Opfer ist. Provokation ist keine Ausrede für das was mache ihrer „Feindinnen“ getan haben, aber muss man sich wirklich mit alles und jedem anlegen, vor allem wenn man weiß das die Person aggressiv ist?
Das ganze hat auch dazu geführt dass sich die zwei Zeitlinien sehr ähnelten, und das ganze Buch nochmal eine Ecke langweiliger machten. Zu beiden Zeiten ist da die „arme“ Toni, die Stress mit einem anderen Mädel hatte. Beim einen hat man halt zusätzlich noch ein bisschen Teenie-Drama, beim andere hatte man Knast-Drama.
Generell fand ich das Buch sehr langatmig, und voller Wiederholungen. Erst zur Hälfte des Buches bekommt wir neue Informationen. Bis dahin darf man sich mit alltags Situationen und flachen, klischeehaften Charakteren rumschlagen.
Nachdem man zur Hälfte hin kurz die Hoffnung hatte das es nun endlich losgeht, bekommt man aber wieder erst einmal Alltagssituationen aufgetischt, die so voller bei den Haaren herbeigezogenen Drama sind, und wieder einmal voll mit „Toni vs. Feindin“ sind.
Erst auf den letzten 60 Seiten – von rund 460!!! – geht es dann wirklich los.
Das Ende selber… nun ja, ich denk es ist irgendwie „schockierend“ und hatte einen guten „Twist“, wenn man es überhaupt so nennen kann, aber ich war einfach nur noch froh das Buch zu beenden.
mamaaabearrr's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
helandy86's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
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
4.5
aabdou's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
bookph1le's review against another edition
3.0
I liked it, but it took me an incredibly long time to get into it because it started off so slow. More complete review to come.
Full review:
After devouring Stevens' first two novels and being disappointed in her third, I find myself underwhelmed by this one. I think I liked it better than Always Watching, but I didn't like it anywhere near as much as her first two. Some spoilers to follow.
This book's biggest flaw is the main character, Toni. The book is told in alternating chapters, moving from Toni's experiences in high school to her adult struggles. Problem is, I could barely stomach the teenage Toni. She comes across as very whiny, and time and again my reaction was "DUH!" when she was wounded by the way the adults in her life treated her. Several of her classmates wage a Mean Girls-style campaign of bullying and harassment against her, but she doesn't tell an adult about it--with the exception of her confiding in her boss during one incident at the restaurant where she worked. She knows the other girls do a good job of conveying an image of themselves that masks their treatment of her, but she never stops to consider that maybe she ought to confide in her parents or a teacher or anyone about what the girls are up to. Meanwhile, Toni makes a lot of bad decisions and does a lot of stupid things teenagers are wont to due, but at every turn fails to realize that, because she comes across as irresponsible and immature, that's precisely how everyone sees her. Her lack of self-reflection really got to me. I had sympathy for her suffering at the hands of the vicious girl gang, but most of her problems were of her own making, and it made it difficult for me to really root for her.
When the book transitions to the adult Toni, however, I did feel more sympathy for her. She has undergone a lot of growth and change, and that made her easier to like. Her experiences in prison were very harrowing, and her post-prison struggles to make it inspired a lot of sympathy on my part. Stevens does a good job of showing how stacked the deck is against ex-cons, despite that they've paid their debt to society. That coupled with Toni's actual innocence raises an interesting fundamental question: how can we as a society ever hope to compensate the wrongly accused? Once society has taken away decades of a person's life and destroyed their reputation, is it even possible to somehow make up for that? While I'm certainly not advocating for a porous system that lets the guilty go free, this book does illuminate the importance of ensuring that the legal system strives to be as meticulous as possible in order to prevent the innocent from being imprisoned.
The book would have been much stronger had it focused on this aspect. Instead, the stark contrast between teenage Toni and adult Toni makes the book very uneven. Had Toni not come across as so self-indulgent as a teenager, I would have been left with a much different impression of the book. I'm not sure she was meant to be an entirely sympathetic character. If that is the case, inspiring a reader to root for an unsympathetic character is difficult to pull off, and it simply doesn't work in this book.
As for Ryan, there's not much to say about him. I neither liked nor disliked him. He comes from a difficult home life, which is supposed to make the reader feel sympathetic toward him, but he's also prone to making idiotic decisions. While I did appreciate that he was very sympathetic toward and supportive of Toni, I kept wishing he would have grown up and done something to make the adults around him see that he wasn't the loser they decided he was. Like Toni, he seems determined to do whatever he can to confirm people's bad opinions about him.
The mystery itself was interesting, and this is where Stevens shines. She has a knack for spinning convincing tales about the dark side of the human soul. The pacing of the revelations was good, and I was intrigued as layer after layer was peeled back and the truth was gradually revealed. I can't say the revelation entirely surprised me, but the book did grab me about halfway through, and I found myself turning pages, eager to know what was going to happen next.
At best, I'd say this book is a decent beach read, but if you're looking for a complex, well-structured mystery with compelling characters, I can't recommend this one. It has its merits, but I'm hoping Stevens' next effort will be better.
Full review:
After devouring Stevens' first two novels and being disappointed in her third, I find myself underwhelmed by this one. I think I liked it better than Always Watching, but I didn't like it anywhere near as much as her first two. Some spoilers to follow.
This book's biggest flaw is the main character, Toni. The book is told in alternating chapters, moving from Toni's experiences in high school to her adult struggles. Problem is, I could barely stomach the teenage Toni. She comes across as very whiny, and time and again my reaction was "DUH!" when she was wounded by the way the adults in her life treated her. Several of her classmates wage a Mean Girls-style campaign of bullying and harassment against her, but she doesn't tell an adult about it--with the exception of her confiding in her boss during one incident at the restaurant where she worked. She knows the other girls do a good job of conveying an image of themselves that masks their treatment of her, but she never stops to consider that maybe she ought to confide in her parents or a teacher or anyone about what the girls are up to. Meanwhile, Toni makes a lot of bad decisions and does a lot of stupid things teenagers are wont to due, but at every turn fails to realize that, because she comes across as irresponsible and immature, that's precisely how everyone sees her. Her lack of self-reflection really got to me. I had sympathy for her suffering at the hands of the vicious girl gang, but most of her problems were of her own making, and it made it difficult for me to really root for her.
When the book transitions to the adult Toni, however, I did feel more sympathy for her. She has undergone a lot of growth and change, and that made her easier to like. Her experiences in prison were very harrowing, and her post-prison struggles to make it inspired a lot of sympathy on my part. Stevens does a good job of showing how stacked the deck is against ex-cons, despite that they've paid their debt to society. That coupled with Toni's actual innocence raises an interesting fundamental question: how can we as a society ever hope to compensate the wrongly accused? Once society has taken away decades of a person's life and destroyed their reputation, is it even possible to somehow make up for that? While I'm certainly not advocating for a porous system that lets the guilty go free, this book does illuminate the importance of ensuring that the legal system strives to be as meticulous as possible in order to prevent the innocent from being imprisoned.
The book would have been much stronger had it focused on this aspect. Instead, the stark contrast between teenage Toni and adult Toni makes the book very uneven. Had Toni not come across as so self-indulgent as a teenager, I would have been left with a much different impression of the book. I'm not sure she was meant to be an entirely sympathetic character. If that is the case, inspiring a reader to root for an unsympathetic character is difficult to pull off, and it simply doesn't work in this book.
As for Ryan, there's not much to say about him. I neither liked nor disliked him. He comes from a difficult home life, which is supposed to make the reader feel sympathetic toward him, but he's also prone to making idiotic decisions. While I did appreciate that he was very sympathetic toward and supportive of Toni, I kept wishing he would have grown up and done something to make the adults around him see that he wasn't the loser they decided he was. Like Toni, he seems determined to do whatever he can to confirm people's bad opinions about him.
The mystery itself was interesting, and this is where Stevens shines. She has a knack for spinning convincing tales about the dark side of the human soul. The pacing of the revelations was good, and I was intrigued as layer after layer was peeled back and the truth was gradually revealed. I can't say the revelation entirely surprised me, but the book did grab me about halfway through, and I found myself turning pages, eager to know what was going to happen next.
At best, I'd say this book is a decent beach read, but if you're looking for a complex, well-structured mystery with compelling characters, I can't recommend this one. It has its merits, but I'm hoping Stevens' next effort will be better.
connieneu's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.75
britribby13's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0