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junefish'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Death
Moderate: Murder, Child death, Classism, Biphobia, Alcohol, Addiction, and Gun violence
Minor: Confinement, Infidelity, Adult/minor relationship, and Sexual content
unicornsbookshelf's review
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Disclaimer: I have voluntarily reviewed this book after receiving a free copy from the publisher via Edelweiss+, thank you!
Caroline’s best friend went missing. She’s gone, and it seems no one can do anything about it. The cops are looking in all the wrong places. Caroline, unable to turn to her parents, who’d sent her to conversion therapy after learning she’s bi nor her girlfriend who’d left to California two weeks ago, starts her investigation, which may prove there’s more to Madison’s disappearance that it seems.
Throwaway Girls was a bit of a let down to me. I was happy to finally get a thriller with some queer representation, and also disappearances are usually one of my favorite tropes in those kinds of books. Sadly I didn’t feel like the writing style fit the story at all. There was a ton of very lyrical lines that almost felt out of place and made the pacing weird. It was not bad, mind you; it felt out of place. Some quotes were meaningful and beautiful, but it’s just not what I was looking for in a fast-paced thriller. I think some people wouldn’t mind, but personally, this was not my style.
The plot itself was good, even though the beginning felt like reading from the middle of a story. It was a bit slow from there, but it picked up towards the end. It was still very much the “rich, privileged kids, who will never be pulled to consequences for their actions, playing cops,” but the mystery was engaging, and I wanted to see what happened to Madison.
When it comes to the characters, I didn’t think any of them were memorable or even likable besides maybe Aubrey. Caroline was feeling sorry for herself all the time, and we’d get those long, lyrical monologues about how bad her lie was, and while I agree her parents were the worst, her friends didn’t do anything for her to doubt them. And yet she was always avoiding telling them the truth while trying to use them to help her with the investigation. She called them out for being privileged and alienated herself, but acted just as privileged as them. Reading her perspective made you forget that she went to the same school, was an outstanding student, and the only thing that made her situation worse was her shit parents. She spends so much of the book complaining that her girlfriend left, while all their relationship was built on her lying about her identity. The other characters didn’t do much for me either, besides maybe Audrey, who was super sweet and supportive, and I kind of wanted to see some romance between her and Caroline. Jake was very flat and underdeveloped, and it felt like his personality mainly gravitated around his attraction to Caroline. I’d guessed who the kidnapper was quite early on, but it was still satisfying to see that I was right, though we could have used more depth to him.
All in all, Throwaway Girls was an alright book, but it wasn’t my kind of thriller. Maybe it’s because I don’t read YA thrillers most of the time, so I don’t know the standards for the genre. It just wasn’t my thing, although I’d still recommend it for people who are looking for a mystery book with a lot of sapphic longing.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Biphobia, and Death
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
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