Fantastic YA horror thriller
This book really surprised me. It's a young adult horror novel, but it had so many different layers to it that I know I can't properly describe the different things it made me feel. For me personally, this book made me feel heavy emotionally, with the VERY intense backstabbing world of ballet, the pettiness and cutthroat nature of society, and the realness of self doubt and fear of abandonment. You know that Laure's actions are wrong, but you cheer for her to win after witnessing the horrible way she is treated. Add in a vindictive killer, this was a whirlwind of a thriller that took me on a ride.
At the beginning, Laure is already a bit of a tough nut. Abandoned physically and emotionally by her parents, she has had to raise herself by less than ideal ways and by the "charity" of her friend Coralie. Even when I thought Laure was rough around the edges, I was appalled by the treatment she faced from her fellow students in the ballet, the instructors, and even her supposed best friend. I couldn't wrap my head around why Laure kept trying to help and defend Coralie, insisting that was her best friend, when Coralie did nothing but make stinging remarks and refused to stand up for her when she really needed it. Throughout the whole book, it was a power struggle of who was the weaker person so the other could be the powerful one that bestows grace and shelter. The book did a good job of showing Laure's spiral and dragging me along with her, where I also craved Laure being powerful and getting revenge.
Everything culminated in a fantastic ending that I did not see coming. I appreciated that Laure reigned in her darker impulses that she didn't completely go off the rails, but her anger was still felt. And the tease that there's going to be more Acheron? Where do we go from here?!
At the beginning, Laure is already a bit of a tough nut. Abandoned physically and emotionally by her parents, she has had to raise herself by less than ideal ways and by the "charity" of her friend Coralie. Even when I thought Laure was rough around the edges, I was appalled by the treatment she faced from her fellow students in the ballet, the instructors, and even her supposed best friend. I couldn't wrap my head around why Laure kept trying to help and defend Coralie, insisting that was her best friend, when Coralie did nothing but make stinging remarks and refused to stand up for her when she really needed it. Throughout the whole book, it was a power struggle of who was the weaker person so the other could be the powerful one that bestows grace and shelter. The book did a good job of showing Laure's spiral and dragging me along with her, where I also craved Laure being powerful and getting revenge.
Everything culminated in a fantastic ending that I did not see coming. I appreciated that Laure reigned in her darker impulses that she didn't completely go off the rails, but her anger was still felt. And the tease that there's going to be more Acheron? Where do we go from here?!