smithyreads's reviews
178 reviews

2.5 Stars in actuality. I'll be honest, I was REALLY looking forward to this book, and maybe that was my bad. Maybe I had too high expectations. Either way, I was quite disappointed. I had bought this book over a year ago and had finally gotten around to it, and when I noticed it was the same author as "We Were Liars" I was even more excited. In fact, I was fueled to finish it so I could look up other reviews to see if I was crazy or maybe just in a god-awful mood.

However, I think the consensus is pretty uniform. This book 1) starts off at the end of the story basically. I mean it is a story you read backwards after all. But I don't think that kind of formatting works at all with a mystery, something where you are supposed to be on the edge of your seat for, because we already know what happens. 2) Again, it's pretty predictable. I could guess what was coming up, the only real twists and shocks were at the very end. Once when we find out she never even went to Greenbriar, and then for the second (and last) time when the detective thought SHE was Imogen. And that brings me to this, 3) why would they assume that she was Imogen? Why wouldn't they assume that Jule ran off with all the new money she had just got from Imogen's "suicide". That part in particular made no sense to me. Side note- a small 4) some of the more feminist parts annoyed me. Felt like it was written to kind of forced. Like the main character was a girl so she had to sprinkle in this stuff, and maybe it was to make us like the main character more? But if anything it made me dislike her even more because it felt as if she thought it would win sympathy. I think it was just used in the complete wrong way and could've added so much to the story.

As much as this book angered me, I can't necessarily say that this was bad writing. Sure some of it was, but I think it might have just been me. Maybe this ISN'T my genre of books. I like the side characters a lot and like the complexity of the characters. And I think the details and the imagery in the book really did work well. Not only that but it definitely is an interesting plot idea. Again, maybe if I had read it in a different format of writing I would have enjoyed it more? And maybe tomorrow when it isn't 3:30AM I'll look back and see that these things aren't as big of a deal as I thought or maybe it will make sense more, but for now, this is my stand.

Overall it had some interesting and complex (likable) characters, a nice story to it, and good imagery in it. However, I absolutely despised the main character and there wasn't really a mystery or and twist and turns like I thought there might be. If you enjoyed this book then I genuinely am sorry about my review but good for you! Keep enjoying it, and I am genuinely happy for you. It is just simply not for me, unfortunately.

I got this book while I was in Manteo (Downtown Books) and I am so glad I did! It was so fun to read about a story that takes place somewhere I'm familiar with. When certain places came up, it was nice to be able to one, fully visualize it, and two know EXACTLY where they were talking about.

Now on to the actual plotline. It was fantastic and freaked me out quite a bit! This book had me closing my blinds and making sure my doors were locked. Not only that but the characters were easy to love and the fact that the bad guy could have been anyone made it all that more enjoyable to read. The twists and turns in this book were done amazingly well and I didn't see many of them coming. Not only that but the thought process of each character very much felt like their own. Each character did things that made sense to THEM and I find a lot of books have trouble with that.

There is however quite a bit of god-related thoughts and ideas. It may have felt a tad bit much at times, however, I also felt that it made a lot of sense to the story. Not only did I feel it made sense to the story and specifically to the characters these ideas and thoughts were surrounding, but also made sense because of the author's passion for religion. Overall, I loved this book. It was terrifying, mysterious, exhilarating, and genuinely felt very real. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves mystery books!

This may be a potential ***spoiler*** but this but does deal with sexual assault so please be wary if that is something you are sensitive to.

I got this book free back in 9th grade as a way to start a conversation about mental health. I'm so happy I decided to pick up a copy. It's been a few (like 6- oops) years but I finally got around to reading it. I think that this book does a really nice job describing mental illnesses and the issues surrounding them quite well. It doesn't, in my opinion, glorify it at all. I find that many books (and shows/movies) glorify it way too much. The different "perspectives" I find really help to feel or at least understand what it's like and how confusing life can get. Although I agree with some of these other reviews that it can really take you out of the story and the flow of it, I believe that that is kind of the point. It shows how fast everything can change, and how the reality of the situation can make its way into the delusions. I just generally like how real it feels and I also like that they are very honest with how mental illness isn't an issue you can see, solve, and then be done with it. Very well done.

Super fun and easy to read. So many short stories and most were quite good! I liked some more than others, my favorite probably being Julie and the Warlord, but never felt like I had to drag on to finish any. Overall, just fun. :)