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A review by annettebooksofhopeanddreams
We Played With Fire by Catherine Barter
4.0
It's very sad. But due to the new tax rules when importing from outside the EU the June Book Box Club will very likely be my last. I will really miss this box forcing me to read out of my comfort zone and most of all letting me discover books I never would have found on my own. I will also miss the Author chats, all so different and unique but always adding something new to the story. And this book, a book I never would have found and never would have picked up, is really why I'm gonna miss it all.
I totally understand this book isn't for everyone. Barter has a typical writing style that reminds a little of the classics. However, I read a lot of different writing styles so it didn't take long for me to get used to it and to start enjoying this story. Because the story was quite intriguing, from the very start, and I was quite curious how it eventually would end. Especially because there were a lot of possible endings. (Unless you knew the real story already, then you know how it ends, I guess!)
My favorite thing about this book is quite clearly the atmosphere. There were quite a few moments in this book being really creepy. Especially because our narrator, Maggie, didn't know anymore what was real and what wasn't. Eventually the book does reveal what has been really going on all the time, which I personally liked and hated at the same time, but for quite some time the biggest mystery was whether or not it was all fake or whether or not there were real things happening too.
And it's exactly that uncertainty that makes Maggie's journey quite an emotional one. She knows that if she wants to convince people that what she has seen and experienced is real, she will have to make sure others hear and see it too. But once they start faking things, her inner struggle only grows worse and worse. Which is also partly fueled by all the things going on in society at this point in history concerning slavery, human rights and women rights.
I understand why the story told like this doesn't work for everyone, but I do think it contains a great message and some really touching moments!
I totally understand this book isn't for everyone. Barter has a typical writing style that reminds a little of the classics. However, I read a lot of different writing styles so it didn't take long for me to get used to it and to start enjoying this story. Because the story was quite intriguing, from the very start, and I was quite curious how it eventually would end. Especially because there were a lot of possible endings. (Unless you knew the real story already, then you know how it ends, I guess!)
My favorite thing about this book is quite clearly the atmosphere. There were quite a few moments in this book being really creepy. Especially because our narrator, Maggie, didn't know anymore what was real and what wasn't. Eventually the book does reveal what has been really going on all the time, which I personally liked and hated at the same time, but for quite some time the biggest mystery was whether or not it was all fake or whether or not there were real things happening too.
And it's exactly that uncertainty that makes Maggie's journey quite an emotional one. She knows that if she wants to convince people that what she has seen and experienced is real, she will have to make sure others hear and see it too. But once they start faking things, her inner struggle only grows worse and worse. Which is also partly fueled by all the things going on in society at this point in history concerning slavery, human rights and women rights.
I understand why the story told like this doesn't work for everyone, but I do think it contains a great message and some really touching moments!