Grade: 96
Characters 1-10: 10
Worldbuilding 1-10: 10
Plot: 1-10: 9
Writing style: 1-10: 10
Enjoyment: 1-10: 9


Thoughts:
This is a story of three sisters who endured unimaginable abuse by the one person who in my opinion should have loved them more than anything. This is the true story of Shelly Knotek and the unspeakable crimes that she committed against her children and guest who resided in her home.
I feel like Olsen did amazing research in making these people real life story so relatable. I found myself multiple times during my reading experience begging these girls to tell someone about what their mother was doing to them. I kept thinking about what I was doing when some of these events were happening and thinking about how my childhood was and how different the Knotek girls’ childhoods were from mine.
I think Olsen did an amazing job of conveying the tension in the Knotek house at all time and creating the atmosphere that Nikki, Sami, and Tori endured so well. I think that Olsen did an amazing job at describing the houses were they lived and the abuse in a way that didn’t glamorize the actions but also didn’t make it overly graphic.
I thought that the way that the narrative was formatted that the plot made sense. I feel like the plot was a little confusing in some points because we would go from being in the 2000s and then go back to something that happened in the 90s. I do think that it made sense to the story but it would through me off sometimes. I think keeping us guessing till the end about what happened was done really well.
I think that the writing was top notch. I think that the reader can definitely see how much time and research went into writing this book. I thought that the writing really captured the essence of who each person was and the parts that they played throughout the narrative. I also think that because of the physical reactions I had to some of the scenes that goes to show just how well the author described the tragedy of these three women’s lives.
I hate to say that I enjoyed my reading experience of this tragedy. I think I will say that this book kept me on the edge of my seat and made me have a physical reaction to the things that happened to Nikki, Sami, and Tori. I found myself wishing I could have been there to help them and I also felt the love that the sisters had for each other trying to protect each other from their mother.
This is something that I know won’t be for everyone but if you do like True Crime this is definitely one that I think you should check out.