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katschkekat's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Bullying, Miscarriage, Blood, and Pregnancy
thespinystacks'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Miscarriage, Blood, and Vomit
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Infertility, Infidelity, Medical content, Grief, and Medical trauma
thatswhatshanread's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
WOW!!! An incredibly fascinating second novel from Ashley Audrain. I was immediately invested in the deep tangle of suburban domesticity between the three families at the helm of this story, and even the fourth family’s insights sprinkled throughout. Audrain commands your attention with every page, every insane detail that feels hot in your hands, like juicy but disturbing neighborhood gossip you’re only so lucky to be privy too. Like you are one of the periphery moms, whispering about only the surface of the twisted, mangled iceberg.
This is as much a novel about marriages and parent-child relationships under pressure as it is a novel of suspense. Which is to say, this isn’t exactly a thriller, but very much so an intense domestic drama that leaves you clutching at your pearls, as they say, as the characters’ lives unravel. A child in a coma, due to mysterious circumstances. His parents, his neighbors, none of them quite who they seem. Rumors everywhere. Lies as abundant as a cup full of sugar.
I throughly enjoyed this one. I loved the intensity, the explicitness, the shock, every character interwoven into another in the most unexpected ways. This is a deliciously spiraling novel that makes you think a whole lot about the lives of those acquaintances around you that may be entirely different from what you only see from the end of the driveway. Or overheard from an open window…
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Domestic abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Abandonment, and Alcohol
znvisser's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Infertility, Infidelity, and Miscarriage
Moderate: Ableism, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Classism
mysterymom40'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
2.0
Graphic: Ableism, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Racism, Medical content, Suicide attempt, and Classism
emilyctrigg's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, and Blood
Moderate: Bullying and Alcohol
jasminechocklettslee'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Infidelity, and Miscarriage
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Suicide
maddireads13's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
katyannreads's review against another edition
4.0
I would also say it is more of a family drama than a thriller.
Graphic: Child death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Medical content