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A review by pagesplotsandpints
Girls Who Burn by MK Pagano
3.0
<b>Read Comleted 8/12/24 |</b> 3 stars
I've really been enjoying some YA thrillers this year so I added a bunch to my TBR when I was in the mood for them this month. GIRLS WHO BURN was an easy young adult thriller and perfectly readable but ultimately, it fell a bit short for me.
Mostly, I felt like this book was a bit too much of an outline without enough really being developed. There's plenty that happens and it's very clear who the characters are and what the plot is, but I felt like just a bit more attention to detail would have really pulled me in the story more. Addie was a little bit boring for a main character. Her sister died last year, and she thinks her sister was murdered, and I didn't really feel the grief of that loss. She's said to be so into math that she's going to be a math major but it wasn't really a part of her personality. I expected a little more calculation and maybe tying that in a bit more so that the only aspect of that wasn't just her reciting prime numbers. And that goes for the other characters too -- her sister's personality was only ballet, Kendall's personality was only being a rich girl. I actually liked Seth the most.
Plot wise, it's not really a fast-paced book. The description calls it "twisty" and "heart-pounding", and while it's not a super slow burn, it really wasn't super thrilling. There are a few moments that have some action but mostly it was detective work, but not a lot that gave me the chills. And that's also fine -- I don't mind thrillers that are a little slower paced, but the intrigue just wasn't there enough. By the time we got to the end of the book, I didn't really care who the killer was because I didn't really believe in any of these characters for it to be shocking. There's a bit too much of a villain speech and it was a shallow reason for the whole thing.
I wish I loved this one more but it's still a decent read.
I've really been enjoying some YA thrillers this year so I added a bunch to my TBR when I was in the mood for them this month. GIRLS WHO BURN was an easy young adult thriller and perfectly readable but ultimately, it fell a bit short for me.
Mostly, I felt like this book was a bit too much of an outline without enough really being developed. There's plenty that happens and it's very clear who the characters are and what the plot is, but I felt like just a bit more attention to detail would have really pulled me in the story more. Addie was a little bit boring for a main character. Her sister died last year, and she thinks her sister was murdered, and I didn't really feel the grief of that loss. She's said to be so into math that she's going to be a math major but it wasn't really a part of her personality. I expected a little more calculation and maybe tying that in a bit more so that the only aspect of that wasn't just her reciting prime numbers. And that goes for the other characters too -- her sister's personality was only ballet, Kendall's personality was only being a rich girl. I actually liked Seth the most.
Plot wise, it's not really a fast-paced book. The description calls it "twisty" and "heart-pounding", and while it's not a super slow burn, it really wasn't super thrilling. There are a few moments that have some action but mostly it was detective work, but not a lot that gave me the chills. And that's also fine -- I don't mind thrillers that are a little slower paced, but the intrigue just wasn't there enough. By the time we got to the end of the book, I didn't really care who the killer was because I didn't really believe in any of these characters for it to be shocking. There's a bit too much of a villain speech and it was a shallow reason for the whole thing.
I wish I loved this one more but it's still a decent read.