CW: (view spoiler)[Pica (Xylophagia), panic attacks, child neglect, self-harm mentioned, off page suicide attempt and off page actual suicide, dealingCW: (view spoiler)[Pica (Xylophagia), panic attacks, child neglect, self-harm mentioned, off page suicide attempt and off page actual suicide, dealing with grief, off page description of death of a father, description of death of loved one from being buried alive, bullying, murder & attempted murder, death of a pet mentioned (hide spoiler)]
Well that was a deeply unsettling novel.
I keep starting sentences and then deleting them.
It was a very atmospheric novel that crept into my bones and nudged my fear button nicely. I can't think of who I would recommend this book to because it is quite disturbing. That's all I've got sorry. Absolutely NZ upper high school only....more
The next paragraph is a spoiler but not really. I’ll hide it just in case but I recommend not reading the blurb (view spoiler)[ if you like a2.5 Stars
The next paragraph is a spoiler but not really. I’ll hide it just in case but I recommend not reading the blurb (view spoiler)[ if you like a bit of mystery in your books because it is essentially a novel summary including the ‘dot dot dot’ at the end. (hide spoiler)]
I’ve got to say I’m pretty lucky I listened to this as an audiobook because there was a lot of rage at the end. Being on my phone meant that there was zero chance I would throw it out the window in annoyance. I can’t promise this wouldn’t have happened with a paperback. FYI, I’m not in the habit of throwing my toys out of the cot, it's just that the ending was the worst. The. Worst.
I went into this book with very low expectations and during the first third it lived down to those expectations beautifully. Nothing was special about it. Unoriginal characters and average writing. I can’t pinpoint exactly when it changed for me but I was sitting in the kitchen plunging my coffee and I felt anxious (when will the cafes be open again? seriously, I’m over it!). I said to myself, “Self, why are you feeling anxious about coffee?”. Then I realised it was during quite a suspenseful scene in the book. I have read a lot of supposed YA thrillers but very few of these elevated the heart rate of this seasoned Reader. Don’t get me wrong people, this isn’t an amazing book but Ms Preston certainly managed to build tension during some of the scenes. I enjoyed that aspect of it, hence the 2. 5 stars (down graded from 3 because I still can't get past the ending).
My biggest issues are that not one of the people in Ivy’s life believed her! Imagine all your close friends right now. Are you picturing them? Say a random person they have never met comes in and talks smack about you what would they do? There’d be a verbal beat down of this interloper right? Not according to our author. Instead your nearest and dearest would turn on you in a flash. Completely and annoyingly UNREALISTIC. Yes there may have been a person or two with an axe to grind but come on people, everyone? Nope.
My next issue and perhaps it was done intentionally to explain the above issue is that Ivy is a total muppet. I have never seen a more ‘passive helpless victim’ mentality in a book. Fight back damnit! FIGHT. Rage against the dying of the light and all that good stuff. By the time she had realised what was happening (an embarrassingly long time) it was all over, red rover.
My last main issue was the ending. Ending a book like that is not clever. It is not mind-fudgey. It is not suspenseful.
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