This book is extremely problematic in its depiction of trauma, which is abundantly clear in the grand finale. Do we truly not care about the harm we do to those struggling with mental illness? Is an ending like that actually jaw dropping? I thought it was ridiculous, even without considering the implications it made surrounding PTSD. But as someone with C-PTSD, I found it immensely insensitive, as well.
Before I reached the end, I felt the story was stuffed with so much filler that it was splitting at its seams. I soldiered on because I wanted the truth just as much as Sloan did. I do believe this probably could have been a novella. I’d be less sour over my wasted time if it had been.
I didn’t feel the author had a firm grasp on what trauma and tragedy looks like. She tried, but there was very little depth to this. It was more of a superficial attempt to bring emotion into the narrative through a textbook comprehension of those emotions. I do not mean to imply that the author couldn’t have experienced her own tragedy or trauma, but it did not feel like she drew deep from the well of knowledge here. The girls’ codependency was well developed, although annoying at times, but my praise stops there. Everything else was flimsy and frustrating.
Don’t get me wrong. Going into this, I expected it to be more of a fun thriller, rather than a profound one, but if you’re going to take so long to build something, at least bring me out of those chilly shallow waters. This was more of an angsty love story revolving around a shared trauma than an actual thrill ride. I suppose I could have lived with that if I hadn’t hated the ending so much.
I am immensely grateful to Putnam Books, Penguin Teen, and BookishFirst for my copy. All opinions are my own.
Before I reached the end, I felt the story was stuffed with so much filler that it was splitting at its seams. I soldiered on because I wanted the truth just as much as Sloan did. I do believe this probably could have been a novella. I’d be less sour over my wasted time if it had been.
I didn’t feel the author had a firm grasp on what trauma and tragedy looks like. She tried, but there was very little depth to this. It was more of a superficial attempt to bring emotion into the narrative through a textbook comprehension of those emotions. I do not mean to imply that the author couldn’t have experienced her own tragedy or trauma, but it did not feel like she drew deep from the well of knowledge here. The girls’ codependency was well developed, although annoying at times, but my praise stops there. Everything else was flimsy and frustrating.
Don’t get me wrong. Going into this, I expected it to be more of a fun thriller, rather than a profound one, but if you’re going to take so long to build something, at least bring me out of those chilly shallow waters. This was more of an angsty love story revolving around a shared trauma than an actual thrill ride. I suppose I could have lived with that if I hadn’t hated the ending so much.
I am immensely grateful to Putnam Books, Penguin Teen, and BookishFirst for my copy. All opinions are my own.