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meredesmonstres's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Grief, Gaslighting, and Classism
amanda_reads13's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This is both a mystery about what happened to the kids and an exploration of misogyny in the 1970s. We get to see the treatment of women in not only various stages of life, but also various social economic standings. In this, she explores generational wealth, gender, and misogyny. She also explores the idea of class divide between the rich who summer here and the townies who live here year round. We get an insight into the differing treatment of the two groups. There's also the exploration of dysfunctional parent-child relationships as seen through many of the women in this story. This theme is weaved throughout every storyline in this book.
It was an interesting choice to set this in the '70s because we get two very different groups of women, those who are the older generation and are still controlled and gaslit by men and the younger generation who are fighting against that. We have characters like Barbara, Judy, and TJ who don't fit into the stereotypical role of" a woman" in the '70s. Then we have women like Louise and Alice who are still being controlled by the men in their lives. It's a very interesting dichotomy.
All this leads to a very interesting plot, that said, there's a lot of unnecessary storylines and information in this book that doesn't add to it. For example, we get Louise's story and a lot of information about her family, but this story doesn't lead anywhere. It just acts as a distraction. I get it serves to highlight the preferential treatment that the rich gets from the police, but we don't get a resolution, so why is it there? There's too many questions left unanswered about her. The same can be said for Tracy.
I have mixed feelings about the ending of this book. I think the resolution of Bear's story was anticlimactic.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Grief, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
aprorrison's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Grief
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Homophobia, Misogyny, and Forced institutionalization
inirac's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Transphobia, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
lisa3315's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Child death, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, and Classism
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
mittan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, and Grief
Minor: Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, and Injury/Injury detail
nicolestegall's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body shaming, Child death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, and Death of parent
wisconsingrrrl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Gaslighting
lexcellent's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
choufleur's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I really enjoyed the characters of Barbara, Judyta, TJ, Louise, Carl Stoddard, and Delphine & Vic (the 2 only ones in this list who is not a POV character). think the voices could have been a bit more distinct though. One thing that was also done really well was portraying the casual but chling misogyny some women were facing in their relationships, particularly from rich men who considered themselves in a position of power & more educated, etc.
Many people complain about the numerous POVS, and agree there are a lot and its a bit confusing at first, but think it was well done and worked out in the end. I also found the ending really satisfying, though it was a bit of a stretch/required suspension of disbelief, but that's what fiction is for guess. I personally felt very satisfied.
Anyway, great book, highly recommend if you want a disappearance mystery set in a forest summer camp. 4 stars because it started out slow and because it didn't change my life but a very well crafted story.
Moderate: Child death and Misogyny