Scan barcode
technocracygirl's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
tfaison3's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
megdconway's review
fast-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia
Moderate: Religious bigotry
Minor: Abortion
sayshara's review against another edition
reflective
medium-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? It's complicated
4.0
thindbooks's review
3.0
This story follows 5 good girls who look for justice through fierce friendships. This is a book that I read in one sitting due to how short the story was. I enjoyed the overall plot of the story and the message that the author was giving to its readers. It showed a different side of society especially with the way people think in a small town and how it can affect the young ones. I do wish there was more of a strong conflict in the story as it was like nothing happened but instead we get a message. The story is told from the different perspectives of the girls with their wishes.
I won’t go into each character since there’s a lot of FMCs but I enjoyed most of them. I did feel a bit like I was missing some of their stories from the start of the book but I guess that’s the perspective we are supposed to get. I did enjoy the wishes aspect of the story for each character and how it is associated with them. They all developed in some way but the story mostly showed how the society worked in that world. There are many side characters in this book which most I didn’t enjoy but it’s because it was the way the characters thought of them.
The ending was well done but overall it was a pretty good read. I enjoyed the fierceness of each character and how their relationship was strong showing that no one can mess with them. I do wish there was more of a conflict to keep the story entertaining.
*this e-arc was sent to me by the publisher to give an honest review in return*
heykellyjensen's review
Maddy, Jenny, Jen, Louise, and Mags are long time best friends and textbook good white girls. Now, for their final birthdays before they graduate, each makes one wish to get revenge. That revenge begins small, but with each subsequent wish, the stakes get higher. This was a fun, well-paced, and short YA book that packed in a lot of fully-developed characters. The book takes on a lot of big, meaty topics, including hypocrisy and the church (religion and faith are handled thoughtfully!), abortion, white privilege, socioeconomic class, gender identity, and more.
Yes, there are a lot of similar names throughout. There is a character chart at the start of the book and more, this pretty accurately captures life in a small town: there are both very few people and a whole lot of people simultaneously.
Yes, there are a lot of similar names throughout. There is a character chart at the start of the book and more, this pretty accurately captures life in a small town: there are both very few people and a whole lot of people simultaneously.
momo4130's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Abortion, and Sexual harassment
tierraskye's review
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.0
lxmns's review
dark
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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
5.0
trr51591's review against another edition
2.75
This is a short read that follows 5 high school girls living in a small town in Canada and using their reputations as good girls to enact minor schemes of revenge on those they see as oppressors. In theory, that sounds really entertaining. In actuality, I felt like I was missing parts of this book. It focused a lot on the day-to-day lives of these girls and not as much on the revenge or fallout. There's several pages at the start that list out every single character, their relatives, jobs, etc, and if you didn't reference this at all you'd be super confused, because it felt like every other page that a new character would be mentioned in a way that implied I should know who they were. It didn't help that there were so many similar names: Jen, Jenny, Maddie, Mags, David, Uncle David, etc.
The small-town dynamics of famililes that have known each other forever and things that have always been done a certain way were well-done and entertaining. It tackled religion, gender identity, sexuality, abortion, etc and handled them with grace. I get that this wasn't telling a big splashy story and that part of the point was that sometimes change takes little efforts and might feel futile at times. But I wanted a little more from this book, especially at the end. Thanks to Penguin Teen and the author for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.