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A review by pastelwriter
Under This Red Rock by Mindy McGinnis
dark
emotional
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Another day, another Mindy McGinnis book I’ve read and loved 😔👌🏼
For the sake of full transparency, I must first admit the reasons why this is not getting 5🌟 despite having literally brought me to tears by the end. One of the key reasons is that the summary of this book reveals far too much than it needs to. There’s a key moment that happens about 140 pages in (almost 50% into the novel!) which is shared with the reader in the blurb. Absolutely foul decision that then had me just anxiously waiting for it to happen and feeling annoyed with how long it took. Trust me when I say that you shouldn’t read the full blurb for this one!
Now that that’s out of the way, I can continue with what I loved.
The biggest thing about this novel was how it felt like a punch to the gut. It was devastating. My emotions felt raw whenever I picked this up. I literally just kept telling one of my friends “I was not expecting to be clocking in for Sad Girl hours, but it keeps happening!” It was an unexpected experience while reading a Mindy McGinnis book. I’m usually expecting unhinged energy and chaos, but not to feel sad. I’m not complaining, but it’s definitely one of the things that made this novel stand out!
Something else that was vital here was the overall message about people who struggle with mental health problems. I was so worried and unsure about how and where McGinnis was going to take this novel because our main character has auditory and visual hallucinations and starts believing she was responsible for a heinous act…but of course I needed to follow what I preached to my friend before I started this novel: In Mindy McGinnis I Trust! Of course McGinnis didn’t lead me astray! She handled difficult topics with her usual mix of deranged energy but also grace.
Finally, I had the pleasure of being pleasantly surprised by the main plot twist of the novel! I was committed to a specific narrative being the one that was surely the truth, but I was wrong! The seeds for it all were truly there, so when it was revealed many other things immediately clicked into place. And that’s something I appreciate about a McGinnis book. She might be chaotic in the routes she takes, but she always has solid character motivations and breadcrumbs to support her big twists!
I truly was not expecting this year to become a Mindy McGinnis year, but boy am I glad about that! She just keeps throwing bangers my way 🙏🏼
For the sake of full transparency, I must first admit the reasons why this is not getting 5🌟 despite having literally brought me to tears by the end. One of the key reasons is that the summary of this book reveals far too much than it needs to. There’s a key moment that happens about 140 pages in (almost 50% into the novel!) which is shared with the reader in the blurb. Absolutely foul decision that then had me just anxiously waiting for it to happen and feeling annoyed with how long it took. Trust me when I say that you shouldn’t read the full blurb for this one!
Now that that’s out of the way, I can continue with what I loved.
The biggest thing about this novel was how it felt like a punch to the gut. It was devastating. My emotions felt raw whenever I picked this up. I literally just kept telling one of my friends “I was not expecting to be clocking in for Sad Girl hours, but it keeps happening!” It was an unexpected experience while reading a Mindy McGinnis book. I’m usually expecting unhinged energy and chaos, but not to feel sad. I’m not complaining, but it’s definitely one of the things that made this novel stand out!
Something else that was vital here was the overall message about people who struggle with mental health problems. I was so worried and unsure about how and where McGinnis was going to take this novel because our main character has auditory and visual hallucinations and starts believing she was responsible for a heinous act…but of course I needed to follow what I preached to my friend before I started this novel: In Mindy McGinnis I Trust! Of course McGinnis didn’t lead me astray! She handled difficult topics with her usual mix of deranged energy but also grace.
Finally, I had the pleasure of being pleasantly surprised by the main plot twist of the novel! I was committed to a specific narrative being the one that was surely the truth, but I was wrong! The seeds for it all were truly there, so when it was revealed many other things immediately clicked into place. And that’s something I appreciate about a McGinnis book. She might be chaotic in the routes she takes, but she always has solid character motivations and breadcrumbs to support her big twists!
I truly was not expecting this year to become a Mindy McGinnis year, but boy am I glad about that! She just keeps throwing bangers my way 🙏🏼