Scan barcode
A review by sutoscience
Give Me Your Hand by Megan Abbott
2.0
So, I really enjoyed Megan Abbott's other book, 'YOU WILL KNOW ME.' I thought it was atmospheric and twisty, and an interesting look into a particular family drama. I was excited to start Give Me Your Hand -- and it began quite beautifully -- because it dealt with themes of female competition, female friendship, and ambition. I think Abbott is a talented storyteller and will be reading her other books, but unfortunately I'm a bit let down by this book.
This story stumbles because the wrong character is the protagonist. Or, the least interesting character. She's a bit of a Mary Sue -- nervous, bad at hiding things, and she only gets pushed into her field because of her friend, Diane. She's pretty passive, and it's unclear whether or not she'd be pursuing her current goal had it not been for her childhood competition.
There's also too few layers of the onion to unfurl. There are some twists, but they don't feel like they fundamentally change our perspective of the characters and feel a bit telegraphed or irrelevant.
The past storyline versus present storyline also feels gimmicky and I'm thoroughly uninterested in the past storyline. If the story had been told more linearly, with the past storyline truncated, it would have been a better paced book.
Speaking of the pacing, the middle section of the book and last third drags. This goes back to the layers of a character thing: the main character has one reaction and one emotional state for the entire rest of the book. There's nothing more to gain from her, nothing more to learn about her, and not enough interesting conflicts or tensions.
On the plus side, the feeling of claustrophobia and plot machinations are pretty strong, and I think Abbott is a skilled storyteller. I just think this book may not have gotten the editorial attention it needed to be more of a taut thriller.
This story stumbles because the wrong character is the protagonist. Or, the least interesting character. She's a bit of a Mary Sue -- nervous, bad at hiding things, and she only gets pushed into her field because of her friend, Diane. She's pretty passive, and it's unclear whether or not she'd be pursuing her current goal had it not been for her childhood competition.
There's also too few layers of the onion to unfurl. There are some twists, but they don't feel like they fundamentally change our perspective of the characters and feel a bit telegraphed or irrelevant.
The past storyline versus present storyline also feels gimmicky and I'm thoroughly uninterested in the past storyline. If the story had been told more linearly, with the past storyline truncated, it would have been a better paced book.
Speaking of the pacing, the middle section of the book and last third drags. This goes back to the layers of a character thing: the main character has one reaction and one emotional state for the entire rest of the book. There's nothing more to gain from her, nothing more to learn about her, and not enough interesting conflicts or tensions.
On the plus side, the feeling of claustrophobia and plot machinations are pretty strong, and I think Abbott is a skilled storyteller. I just think this book may not have gotten the editorial attention it needed to be more of a taut thriller.