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Post by pennylane on Jul 23, 2017 15:01:03 GMT
Picked up my copy yesterday
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Post by littlereader on Jul 24, 2017 10:34:55 GMT
I must have missed something. I struggled to get through the first 80 or so pages and took it back to the library. Don't think I fancy this one either Aileen x
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Post by geminii on Jul 24, 2017 12:46:52 GMT
I finished reading this last night. My thoughts: I love the comment someone made above about Julian and Sasha being like Russell and Suzanne. I don't think that necessarily means Julian and Sasha would go killing people, just that the potential for being swept into something like that is in a lot more people than we may think. Thank you, I'm pleased you liked my comment ..
To me, the addition of J & S wasn't needed as part of the story, but I felt that they were put there as a sort of reminder to Evie that she was again on the outside of a relationship, only an observer, like with R & S .. a passively abusive dynamic that was toying with her over whether she, Evie, now an adult, would act and 'save the girl' .. what boundaries was Sasha prepared to cross to 'keep her man' .. today, lifting her top, tomorrow .. ?? Almost asking Evie, if you could go back, what would you do differently ?? Perhaps this was showing us how R & S started out .. " What will you do in return for my love ?? "
Loved your review ..
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Post by rosemary3 on Jul 24, 2017 13:05:13 GMT
Thank you, Suzanne! I was really glad of your comment. I hadn't really seen any point in the younger couple before (except to show that Evie was still on the edge of things).
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Post by elliej84 on Jul 26, 2017 19:48:57 GMT
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Post by natsplatt on Aug 8, 2017 8:21:53 GMT
I finished this one last night, and thought it was a really good book, I wouldn't say I "enjoyed" it exactly, as it was rather uncomfortable reading a lot of the time, but the writing was excellent, as it was, despite the uncomfortable subject matter, compelling reading! I've not really any more to add that's not already been said, agree with the comments about Julian and Sasha though, that mirroring of the relationship between Russell and Suzanne definitely there, and Evie, yet again standing on the outskirts, watching it happen, with no real clue as to how to stop it. There's almost a flicker of her not wanting to, perhaps a pathological desire to see if history would repeat itself in them.
Nat
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Post by sarita on Aug 15, 2017 10:39:18 GMT
I finished this a few weeks ago and just didn't know how to comment on it. I felt really underwhelmed by the book, finally got to the end of it and it was "meh". With hindsight though, it got me thinking about how vulnerable young girls (or boys for that matter) are, how they could make life changing decisions for the wrong reasons or just to be acknowledged. Then I started thinking about my own decisions at an early age....
So I'm glad I read it but I didn't like it.
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Post by pennylane on Aug 15, 2017 10:49:15 GMT
Just started this and am on page 63
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Post by pennylane on Aug 18, 2017 23:15:56 GMT
Just finished, loved it, more tomorrow ETA err.... later today lol I really enjoyed The Girls, I found it vividly evoked the time and place. Beautifully written, I love her style and it's hard to believe this was a debut. I found it hard to put down, it was a fascinating and intriguing read.
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Post by janetandjohn on Sept 11, 2017 12:26:09 GMT
When this book was first published I read a few reviews and decided that it was not for me. Then it turned up as our third quarter choice and so I decided that perhaps I should read it after all. I didn't read any comments until I'd finished - and I am really surprised!
I must have led a sheltered adolescence..... I never felt that I wanted more, that I should run away, that I would latch on to someone who seemed to love me. But then, I did not have Evie's background, with her father leaving her mother for his secretary, and his mother desperate for another man in the house. I couldn't recognise any of Evie's feelings about Suzanne either. I thought she was an odious character right from the get go, and no, I didn't want to know about her background, either. I remember the Manson murders, and I do remember at the time thinking that I would never have got mixed up with a bloke who looked like Charles Manson, let alone come under his spell, but perhaps I am alone in thinking that this would not have happened to me. And it really does depend on who you are and how you look at life, too. I never fancied older men, at 16 I remember having a boyfriend of 14 and that seemed quite OK - but when someone talked about older men I just thought "yuk", like having sex with my Dad! Perhaps all the girls in the cult had seen the loss of a father figure, whether by death or abandonment, and a strong will like Russell's would have hooked them in.
Having said all of this, it was certainly a well written book. A different subject, and I might have enjoyed the read. Mandyj surprised me by saying she "enjoyed" this book, whereas I, with a sense of dread, kept going just looking for some redemption for Evie. She never got that, did she? Even years later she lived in fear of any of them turning up and drawing her back into that life. She recognised herself in Sasha, but didn't know how to warn her - because, actually, how can you? She was lucky to have been thrown out of the car that night , but she felt a sense of loss for the rest of her life. And that, for me, was really sad.
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Post by elliej84 on Sept 11, 2017 20:12:41 GMT
Well done for reading it MrsMac, I appreciate you giving it a go even though it wouldn't be your normal read x
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Post by janetandjohn on Sept 11, 2017 21:56:20 GMT
Well done for reading it MrsMac, I appreciate you giving it a go even though it wouldn't be your normal read x Bless! I do read for enjoyment, and that one I didn't (enjoy), but that doesn't mean I should never step out my comfort zone.
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mattydog
Agatha Christie Whodunnit
Posts: 218
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Post by mattydog on Sept 20, 2017 18:22:17 GMT
My thoughts:
Sadly I found this a real chore to read. My main issue was that right from the get go it was clear that it was a variation on a theme of the Manson murders so I knew how it was likely to end which really put me off and it took a long time to get to that point. When it did, it was just skimmed over. I would have preferred to have read an account of the actual event written in a similar style to Truman Capote's 'In Cold Blood' or Norman Mailer's 'The Executioner's Song' both of which I couldn't put down so it's not the subject matter that was the issue. I struggled to find anything positive about it but I will concede that the author did have a good understanding of what it is like to go through teenage angst. I anticipated a lot more from this and I was disappointed. That said, thank you Ellie for the opportunity because I am pleased that I made it through to the end and clearly, others did enjoy it so maybe it's just me.
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Post by bookmadkirstie on Oct 22, 2017 17:24:33 GMT
For those that may not have seen my review on Goodreads...
Wow! I didn't think I'd enjoy this book as much as I did. There was times I found it difficult to read due to the subject matter, but it still gripped me and I loved the style of writing. Rather impressed I must say!
Thank you Ellie for bringing a book to my attention I never would have chose for myself
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