There is some really great writing in this novel, however, there isn't enough to make this book a worthy read. I hated that the timeline was so hard to follow. Also, the focus on the characters wwas often unclear. I could not wait to finish this one.

I, in all honesty, wish I could give this book 0 stars or maybe negative stars.

I'm sure the author is a talented writer, but this book was poorly written. Probably one of the worst books I have ever read.

I don't think I've ever been annoyed while I read a book, but this one accomplished that.

I listened to this book on a hike and thought I would dislike it, based on how much some disliked it... but the fact that it interrogates the notion of the truths a small community establishes as children (particularly young men) grow into adulthood, makes it an interesting coming-of-age story for a community. Does anything unusual happen? Not really, but a lot of speculation takes place to create a comfortable answer for the questionable experiences that life doesn't provide answers for.

3/15 Addendum: After reading Eugenides' Virgin Suicides, I almost feel like I should modify this review. While I truly loved this book, it is (unfortunately) terribly derivative. I am truly torn...while the book is terrific, so very much is borrowed (stylistically, thematically, even some of the small details). I am surprised more hasn't been made of the similarities.

4 1/2 stars. When I teach Point of View to my students, I almost always offer the first person plural as an option and then balk, "Though that's probably not something you should attempt in a novel -- unless you're writing about a cult." The truth is, I've never actually read a novel written in the plural first person "we." Until now. Hannah Pittard's magical little book breaks all sorts of creative writing teacher's rules, but somehow, in spite of (or perhaps because of) this blatant disregard for literary convention, the book works. I found myself captivated by the narrator who speaks for a collective group of teenage boys (and later men) as they engage in the seemingly endless and futile task of imagining what might have happened to their friend, Nora, who disappeared one Halloween night. The language is lyrical, the characters are engaging, the scope is sweeping, and I found myself wishing, more than once, that I'd dared to be so brazenly defiant as a writer. The only complaint I had was that the end left me feeling just the slightest bit hollow. No matter. Bravo, Ms. Pittard. You've got a new fan, and I can't wait to see what you do next.

Well written and interesting but just too depressing for me!

Shallow, stupid characters. Back and forth for no reason

As others have remarked, this seems like a failed attempt to be a Jeffrey Eugenides novel. I continuously wondered if the author has ever actually interacted with other people, because each character seemed like an alien’s disturbing interpretation of a person. It came across as both disjointed and contrived in my reading. Do not recommend.

This story revolves around the obsessive thoughts of a group of high school boys surrounding the disappearance of their sixteen year old classmate Nora. The boys imagine several scenarios over what happened to Nora that Halloween night and the possibilities grow as they age into their forties.

The premise of the story is intriguing as is the weaving of the events of their lives as the boys grow into men. What holds them together is this common event in their lives.

Here's where the book fell terribly short for me. The entire book is written as a narrative by one of the guys. You never know his name. A narrative approach may have worked, however the author had so many characters going on over the span of 20+ years, so there was essentially no character development that went deeper than surface level. This made it impossible for me to connect with and care about any of them. Also, over this 20+ years, why is this group of guys still so incredibly pre-occupied with Nora's dissapearance. It would be understandable for their to be lingering thoughts, but obsession?

Another area of difficulty was that the author seemed to find a way to throw in nearly every tragic event possible, rape, molestation, the early death of a parent, terroist bombing, etc. Instead of being a book about the collective musings over the missing Nora, it was a bombardement of the worst of society.

I enjoyed the concept of the book, but not the execution.

From The Book Wheel:

I love when I pick up a book and just fall right into it. I was a little wary when I picked up The Fates Will Find Their Way because the Goodreads rating is only so-so, and I try not to read anything that has less than a 3.5 star rating. But this one, with its little 3.18, was fantastic.

If you’re a fan of The Lovely Bones and The Virgin Suicides, then you will love this book. The basic premise is this:

At 17, a well-like girl named Nora Lindell went missing. Over the next couple of decades, a group of boys in her class concoct various stories about what may have happened to her. In some, she’s married and happy, and in others she’s a long-time dead. But in all of them, the details are vivid and the longing palpable. Even as they grow up, get married, and have kids, the boys from Nora’s childhood can’t seem to let her go.

For the full review, click here.