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A review by thereadingmum
Down the Rabbit Hole by Shaeden Berry
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This immediately brought to mind Holly Ringland's The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding. I enjoyed Down the Rabbit Hole a lot more. Here's why:
- I prefer Shaeden Barry's writing. It is contemporary yet well executed and the dialogue is believable but not annoyingly realistic.
- The plot is well-paced and I was sucked in to Hannah's spiralling obsession from the start.
- I loved the Alice in Wonderland quotes and thought they were very appropriate.
But the main reason was that although Hannah is also a twenty-something woman with questionable morals and a track record of bad decision-making, her bad decisions aren't quite as bad (how is it ok to hook up with your dead sister's boyfriend so soon after her death?!), she is not as annoying or at least she is cognizant of her lack of consideration, and she actually redeems herself at the end. Esther did not IMO and I really could not stand her.
I admit I had to skim a bit over Marnie and Rachel's stories as they were a teensy bit cliched and I didn't really need all the details. However, I think put together, their 3 stories do tie in very well. Alice's disappearance isn't solved though you get a very strong idea of what happened, but this is ok and I felt satisfied at the end.
Excellent debut and I look forward to what she can do next and how she will develop as an author.
- I prefer Shaeden Barry's writing. It is contemporary yet well executed and the dialogue is believable but not annoyingly realistic.
- The plot is well-paced and I was sucked in to Hannah's spiralling obsession from the start.
- I loved the Alice in Wonderland quotes and thought they were very appropriate.
But the main reason was that although Hannah is also a twenty-something woman with questionable morals and a track record of bad decision-making, her bad decisions aren't quite as bad (how is it ok to hook up with your dead sister's boyfriend so soon after her death?!), she is not as annoying or at least she is cognizant of her lack of consideration, and she actually redeems herself at the end. Esther did not IMO and I really could not stand her.
I admit I had to skim a bit over Marnie and Rachel's stories as they were a teensy bit cliched and I didn't really need all the details. However, I think put together, their 3 stories do tie in very well. Alice's disappearance isn't solved though you get a very strong idea of what happened, but this is ok and I felt satisfied at the end.
Excellent debut and I look forward to what she can do next and how she will develop as an author.