Then She Was Gone | Book Review

Then She Was Gone

Written by: Lisa Jewell

Number of Pages: 368

Average Rating: 4.37 / 5 stars

My Rating: 2 / 5 stars

Originally Published: July 27, 2017

Re-released: April 17, 2018

Read in March 2018

Summary According to Goodreads

Ellie Mack was the perfect daughter. She was fifteen, the youngest of three. She was beloved by her parents, friends, and teachers. She and her boyfriend made a teenaged golden couple. She was days away from an idyllic post-exams summer vacation, with her whole life ahead of her. 

And then she was gone. 

Now, her mother Laurel Mack is trying to put her life back together. It’s been ten years since her daughter disappeared, seven years since her marriage ended, and only months since the last clue in Ellie’s case was unearthed. So when she meets an unexpectedly charming man in a cafe, no one is more surprised than Laurel at how quickly their flirtation develops into something deeper. Before she knows it, she’s meeting Floyd’s daughters - and his youngest, Poppy, takes Laurel’s breath away. 

Because looking at Poppy is like looking at Ellie. And now, the unanswered questions she’s tried so hard to put to rest begin to haunt Laurel anew. Where did Ellie go? Did she really run away from home, as the police have long suspected, or was there a more sinister reason for her disappearance? Who is Floyd, really? And why does his daughter remind Laurel so viscerally of her own missing girl?

My Thoughts

I received an e-arc copy of this novel from NetGalley to review, but that does not influence my opinion.

I love thrillers, and I was immediately intrigued in this novel after reading the synopsis. The beginning of the novel started strong, but then slowly began to weaken. Her writing was not anything extraordinary or addicting, and was something I would have expected from a debut author. 

My biggest issue with this novel was its predictability. I was able to guess from early on where the plot was going to go, and where the twists would lead - and that took away from the suspense of my experience. I was never sitting on the edge of my seat, because it was an overall flat story. It is classified as a mystery and thriller, but I would consider it to be more of an adult fiction with dark themes. In my opinion, there was nothing mysterious or thrilling about it.

I found our main narrator, Laurel, to be flat and bland, although I do assume her emotional detachments come from losing her daughter all those years ago. Her character did not make a lot of sense to me, describing herself as introverted and wary of everyone, but then all of a sudden diving headfirst into a relationship with someone she only just met. She talked to this man more than she talked to her children, and considering she’d already lost one I was discouraged by how distant she was from her other two.

This novel did grip me in the beginning being told in the “before” and “after” of the kidnapping, and it was nice to get the perspective of Ellie in order to sympathize with what happens to her later. I felt sorry for Ellie and what she went through, but I could not have cared less about any of the other characters. They didn’t feel real, they felt like every generic family you would see on a talk show after one of the members goes missing.I think if the author had done more research on this topic, and rounded out her characters a bit more, she would have had a much stronger novel.

Overall, I was disappointed in this read. It is difficult to write in the thriller genre, so I appreciate the effort, but she didn’t bring anything original to the table with this novel. I am not in a rush to go out and pick up another one of her books, but I will keep an eye out in case any sound interesting enough. 

Black Chuck | Book Review

Black Chuck

Written by: Regan McDonell

Number of Pages: 304

My Rating: 2 / 5 stars

Published: April 3, 2018

Read in March 2018

Summary According to Goodreads

Psycho. Sick. Dangerous. Real Dufresne’s reputation precedes him. When the mangled body of his best friend, Shaun, turns up in a field just east of town, tough-as-hell Real blames himself. But except for the nightmares, all Re remembers is beating the living crap out of Shaun the night of his death.

Shaun’s girlfriend, sixteen-year-old Evie Hawley, keeps her feelings locked up tight. But now she’s pregnant, and the father of her baby is dead. And when Real looks to her to atone for his sins, everything goes sideways. Fast. 

The tighter Evie and Real get, the faster things seem to fall apart. And falling in love might just be the card that knocks the whole house down.

My Thoughts

I received an e-book arc of this novel to review from NetGalley, but that does not influence my opinion in any way.

I went into this novel expecting a chilling darkness, which came from both the cover and the synopsis. Reading “psycho”, “sick”, and “dangerous” as the tag lines of a synopsis detailing a guy whose best friend dies, I thought this was going to be gruesome and heavy. Unfortunately it ended up being another contemporary following two teens who shouldn’t be together but fall anyway. 

There were more issues than positives in my reading experience of this novel, one of the biggest issues being the lack of plot development. It started out as engaging, but fell flat for about 70% of the story, before picking up as interesting again. The story slowly became less about the friendships and grieving, and more about the budding insta-love that was happening between Real and Evie. I felt as though there wasn’t enough consistency, too many cliches to count, and a few confusing plot elements that lost my attention.

However, I did appreciate that it is Canadian and focuses on some diverse characters - that being French and of Native heritage. Some of the religious and cultural beliefs recognized in this novel were ones that I was only partially familiar with, so I enjoyed being exposed on a deeper level. I did find this to be a quick read, probably aided by the fact that I read it on my iPad, since I tend to fly through ebooks. Her writing style was engaging and flowed well, but she was also descriptive in her atmospheres which I liked. But everyone cried all of the time, and that got old quite quickly. This is Regan McDonell’s first published work, and I hope she continues to write and develop her talent for storytelling. 

One of the most important elements in a novel is characters and their subsequent development, but I found both to be quite lacking in this novel. This story is told through alternating perspectives of the main characters, which was fine, but it also bounced between past and present randomly and confusingly. Real was built-up as this tough guy that people didn’t mess with, but all of a sudden he’s a crying mess that is torn between two girls? And Evie is written as a quiet girl that only joined the friend group because of Shaun, and is now suddenly centre of attention? Not believable enough for me. t found the characters to be unlikeable, but was able to find some compassion for them through the grieving of their best friend and boyfriend. Unfortunately once the two started pursuing a relationship together and falling too hard too fast, I lost respect for the both of them and just wanted to get to the conclusion of what happened to Shaun.

Overall, I went into this with the expectations of a murder-mystery, and was disappointed to find just another contemporary. If you enjoy reading dark contemporaries, I would recommend checking this one out upon its release, but it wasn’t anything that blew me out of the water. 

All Out | Book Review

All Out

Edited by: Saundra Mitchell
Number of Pages: 353

Average Rating: 4.15 / 5 stars
My Overall Rating: 3.35 / 5 stars

Published: February 27, 2018
Read in March 2018


Summary According to Goodreads

Take a journey through time and genres and discover a past where queer figures live, love, and shape the world around them. Seventeen of the best young adult authors across the queer spectrum have come together to create a collection of beautifully written diverse historical fiction for teens. 


My Thoughts

• Roja by Anna-Marie McLemore: 2 stars

    - This was different, but and I appreciated the story, I just could not get into the writing style. 

• The Sweet Trade by Natalie C Parker: 3 stars

    - I liked this one but would have liked to see more personality in the characters. I understand the time period and that women weren’t exactly “free”, but I would’ve liked to see more 

• And They Don’t Kiss at the End by Nilah Magruder: 4 stars 

• Burnt Umber by Mackenzi Lee: 5 stars

    - I loved this story! It is so relatable across any decade, I fell for it. The characters were sweet and real, and it is a concept that would be great as a full-length novel. 

• The Dresser & the Chambermaid by Robin Talley: 4 stars

• New Year by Malinda Lo: 3 stars

• Molly’s Lips by Dahlia Adler: 4 stars

    - Short and simple, which managed to work both in its favour and against it. 

• The Coven by Kate Scelsa: 2 stars 

• Every Shade of Red by Elliot Wake: 2 stars

    - Robin Hood has never been one of my favourite stories, so I didn’t expect to love a retelling of it. 

• Willows by Scott Tracey: 4 stars 

    - This story took a different turn than I’d originally expected, but I liked how dark the tone was. It was interesting and unique, and something I would read as a full-length novel. 

• The Girl with the Blue Lantern by Tess Sharpe: 4 stars 

    - I really liked the writing style of this story, it flowed so well and felt natural. The plot was different but enjoyable!

• The Secret Life of a Teenage Boy by Alex Sanchez: 5 stars

    - Oh my heart! This was such a sweet, romantic story but was also refreshingly real. It wasn’t some fairytale story but instead shared true struggles of a young boy coming to terms with himself. I loved the descriptive writing style, and want to read more from this author in the future!

• Walking After Midnight by Kody Keplinger: 4 stars 

• The End of the World As We Know It by Sara Farizan: 3 stars 

• Three Witches by Tessa Gratton: 2 stars

• The Inferno & the Butterfly by Shaun David Hutchinson: 4 stars 

• Healing Rosa by Tehlor Kay Mejia: 2 stars

Dime | Book Review

Dime

Written by: E.R Frank

Number of Pages: 305

Average Rating: 4.08 / 5 stars

My Rating: 4 / 5 stars

Published: May 26, 2015

Read in March 2018

Summary According to Goodreads

As a teen girl in Newark, New Jersey, lost in the foster care system, Dime just wants someone to care about her, to love her. A family. A that is exactly what she gets - a daddy and two “wifeys.” So what if she has to go out and earn some coins to keep her place? It seems a fair enough exchange for love. 

Dime never meant to become a prostitute. It happened so gradually, she pretty much didn’t realize it was happening until it was too late. 

But when a new “wifey” joins the family and Dime finds out that Daddy doesn’t love her the way she thought she did, will Dime have the strength to leave? And will Daddy let her?

My Thoughts

Trigger warning for child abuse, sexual exploitation of minors, and prostitution. 

I have been holding onto this novel for almost three years, and only picked it up because I’d grabbed it out of my TBR jar. I am so disappointed that it took me so long to get around to, because I ended up really enjoying it. 

This is such an important novel, I wish it was getting more attention. Prostitution is something that we are all aware of, takes place everywhere, and we need to stop being so ignorant of it. Following these young girls on this journey was devastating, because all they wanted was to be loved. As a psychology student I appreciate how important childhood experiences affect maturity and development, and it was reflected in the actions of these girls. 

It took me a few chapters to adjust to the writing style and language, but once I got through it I was hooked. I could not put this novel down, and when I did it was all I could think about. This is a novel that will stick with me long after I’ve read it, especially the ending. In my opinion, this topic was handled well and concluded well, it just wasn’t perfect enough to warrant a five star rating. 

Overall, I recommend that everyone (young, old, readers or not) pick this novel up. It is real and honest, heartbreaking but motivating, and there is something for everyone to take away from. I am still thinking about this story, and look forward to reading more from this author!