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trisha_thomas's review against another edition
4.0
"Not everybody can be a fighter."
Hmmm...this one is tough to rate. On one hand, it was dark and twisted and I love those kinds of stories. I was never really sure what the real story was and I turned pages, holding my breath, as Finley stumbled around the town shoving everyone and lighting fires. I loved how utterly devastated she was - torn down to her very core - it gave her personality real fire and grit and made her feel very flawed and very real. She was angry and ready for revenge and she hated that her best friend was gone.
I did like how flawed Finley was, although it almost made her too hard to like. Owen and Serena - I like how the story gave us enough interaction to get to know them but not too much that we were buried in their personalities. I also loved the glimpses of her father. You could almost feel his grief and fear for what Finley was going through. You just knew it was tearing him apart too, but that he was giving her space to make her way in the world - all the while calling frantically trying to find where she was each night.
But was it too dark? Maybe. a little dark for a YA title. I hate knowing this book can be checked out easily by my 12 year old. And when we're talking about dark themes in YA, I always think the publisher and/or author should include help hotlines at the end. You never know who you could help just be including that.
Hmmm...this one is tough to rate. On one hand, it was dark and twisted and I love those kinds of stories. I was never really sure what the real story was and I turned pages, holding my breath, as Finley stumbled around the town shoving everyone and lighting fires. I loved how utterly devastated she was - torn down to her very core - it gave her personality real fire and grit and made her feel very flawed and very real. She was angry and ready for revenge and she hated that her best friend was gone.
I did like how flawed Finley was, although it almost made her too hard to like. Owen and Serena - I like how the story gave us enough interaction to get to know them but not too much that we were buried in their personalities. I also loved the glimpses of her father. You could almost feel his grief and fear for what Finley was going through. You just knew it was tearing him apart too, but that he was giving her space to make her way in the world - all the while calling frantically trying to find where she was each night.
But was it too dark? Maybe. a little dark for a YA title. I hate knowing this book can be checked out easily by my 12 year old. And when we're talking about dark themes in YA, I always think the publisher and/or author should include help hotlines at the end. You never know who you could help just be including that.
opticflow's review against another edition
1.0
By the time I got to the three quarter mark in this book I started fantasizing that a tsunami would wipe out this entire degenerate town and all the miserable, twisted people in it.
kmzajac's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
idahrg's review against another edition
3.0
It is a book which is normally not really my genre but it was a blind date book and a surprise. The book describes a teenager life from a couple of high school kids with a lot of common issues these days. It described drug problems, dealer life, depression and also the feeling of not feeling to be in the right place and no one would see you.
I couldn't really relate the story to my own life because in some parts of the book it didn't really feel like a "normal" teenager life. Also since from the beginning on I tried to figured out how the title fits the story and I still don't know it after I finished the book.
Still it was nice to get into a different genre than my usual books.
I couldn't really relate the story to my own life because in some parts of the book it didn't really feel like a "normal" teenager life. Also since from the beginning on I tried to figured out how the title fits the story and I still don't know it after I finished the book.
Still it was nice to get into a different genre than my usual books.
lexbian's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
iheartya311's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
It was a bad idea to read this book. I don't know why I keep picking up books written in 1st POV when I usually struggle through them. The writing was plain and the characters were unlikable.
raechsreads's review against another edition
3.0
This book kept me on my toes! I kept trying to guess as to what would happen and I didn't at all guess the ending.
alisarae's review against another edition
Grungey rural noir set in a gloomy costal town in Maine. In the summer between high school and college, Fin heads back to her hometown to stay with her journalist dad and to try to crack the case of her best friend Betty’s presumed murder. No body, no witness, and yet Fin is dead set on unearthing new evidence using whatever means she can scheme up.
A few random thoughts:
1. The audiobook narrator was not helping this story. I honestly think I would have enjoyed it way more with a different voice. I mean, I think they wanted a cracky scratchy female voice because Fin is always either just waking up, smoking, yelling, or getting done getting it on with someone; also, she is queer and every hot queer woman sounds like Jillian Michaels right? But anyways, she did the “annoying self absorbed teen” thing really well. Too well.
2. How did these teens always have tons of pills and alcohol? And drive around all the time? Like even the DDs drank and stuff? Where was the money for all that coming from if this is supposed to be in a rural town that relies on summer tourism yet the book repeatedly mentions that there aren’t any tourists anymore?
3. I thought the discussion about mental health was going in a “it takes a village” direction, but the end didn’t have the final punch to hammer that home. I did like the end, though.
A few random thoughts:
1. The audiobook narrator was not helping this story. I honestly think I would have enjoyed it way more with a different voice. I mean, I think they wanted a cracky scratchy female voice because Fin is always either just waking up, smoking, yelling, or getting done getting it on with someone; also, she is queer and every hot queer woman sounds like Jillian Michaels right? But anyways, she did the “annoying self absorbed teen” thing really well. Too well.
2. How did these teens always have tons of pills and alcohol? And drive around all the time? Like even the DDs drank and stuff? Where was the money for all that coming from if this is supposed to be in a rural town that relies on summer tourism yet the book repeatedly mentions that there aren’t any tourists anymore?
3. I thought the discussion about mental health was going in a “it takes a village” direction, but the end didn’t have the final punch to hammer that home. I did like the end, though.
notlikethebeer's review against another edition
I really enjoyed this, although I do have some critiques. Mostly, I think the plot and circumstances surrounding Betty's death were a bit contentious- could've done with an author's note in the back maybe, or some kind of 'discussion group' questions to make the reader think a bit more about it all. I was also a little confused by what the takeaway point was, as right at the end it seemed to raise the question of 'what can a human do' even though this didn't really come into it before. Also that Finley's approach towards Calder at the end was a bit odd, especially given - however, admittedly, I don't know how I'd feel towards Calder in the same scenario. Lastly, I think that the character of Silas was somewhat odd- I guess it might be my own stereotypes etc., but I didn't really get how he was so sinister, aside from it being explicitly said, which . That sounds like a lot of critique, but honestly, I did really enjoy this one! It's fully cemented my love for thriller and noir, and has made me add a lot more of the same genre to my reading list, which is definitely a sign of a good read!