This book is all about the environment - it creates an atmosphere and urgency around the rest of the story that really breathes life into it. A 6 day timeline that comes only once every 100 years - and our characters have only this one chance to fulfill their goals, their dreams. And at the same time, they must learn to come to terms with their individual pasts and pains. This novel got rave reviews from Gillian Flynn, famous now for Gone Girl, and I can see why. The mysterious air of the story, each character's need to take what they can from this short lived miracle at the expense of all the others, it definitely fits in that genre. But at the same time, it just wasn't as compelling for me. I enjoyed the story, and I think the struggles each character was facing (and the way they dealt with them) were interesting portrayals. And I really loved the beginning/ending - the end of Rachel's voice in the story. We are left wondering who to point our finger at: Dr. Hooper (possible - we saw fear in his face at the end because maybe he was afraid of what John knew), John (possible - but his goals seemed to be achieved when he dumped her experiments), Harry (possible - his shoes were all sandy and he was out of his mind and thought "Becca" was harming people/we know he thought Rachel looked like Becca; but was he physically capable?)... And that really wrapped up the story with a perfectly frustrating and mysterious tone. I don't always think open-ended endings work, but I applaud this one. However, I was frustrated about some things. I think certain plot points came up too suddenly at the end (all of a sudden we learn that Rachel upped/increased dosage and concentration of meds, that her symptoms have progressed to things like hair falling out, etc.) and John's motives are clear but too easy (he wants to protect his culture, etc. but we get almost no information from him about WHAT that means - it's relying too much on a "native" trope and I thought that left a hole in the plot), while Hooper's role and thoughts and motives are all over the place (what exactly was his game, was he sold out from the beginning or only after John told him Rachel was up to, what precisely was he afraid of in the end, what was John referring to when he said Hopper lied to Rachel/to them ALL), and how likely, actually, is Tilda's survival of the storm at sea? Plus, I mostly thought Tip and his entire role/storyline was unnecessary. I think there is a line between the mystery of open-ended-ness/confusion and too much of a good thing...my opinion is that this novel flirted back and forth across that line a bit too much. But all in all, a compelling and atmospheric read that kept me on my toes as it followed it's well-paced rush to a satisfying conclusion.