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heartbrekker 's review for:
They'll Never Catch Us
by Jessica Goodman
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
TNCU had a lot of potential— I'm not gonna lie about that. Although, my biggest gripe will always be the handling of the killer and their motivations. It felt rushed and half hazard because there was so much build up for other character(s) that made far more sense. It was cheaply done in a way that felt like it wasn't the other characters just because the author didn't want the reader to guess beforehand. They wanted to be one of those few thriller authors who could pull a fast one on their readers. Well... this is what NOT to do.
This is a prime example of a author losing the trust of the reader because they themself don't trust the reader enough to come to their own conclusions. It's a backfire situation because it can then confuse and upset the reader since our knowledge and feelings are played with.
Moreover, I felt as if the voices of the two main MCs (Stella and Ellie) were one and the same. Besides Ellie's traumatic experiences and constant reference to it, I don't think there's much of anything that differentiates their tone and characterization.
Don't even get me started on the addiction and handling of abortion. This book had a chance to make these traumatic events more meaningful, especially for young adults who go through them, but instead, we are left with characters that do none of this at all. They just wallow and bring it up relentlessly as their only character trait. They're defined by this trauma instead of overcoming it., which I think is even worse because teens should work towards healing and bettering themselves. This novel doesn't give that meaningful theme or message.
Overall, a very sloppy book in terms of the planning for the true crime story. Mila was my favorite character, but I'm unsure if that’s because we got the least amount of time with her since she’s the killed teen. Personally, I think she had to die due to her maturity and common sense. You can't have a character live when their knowledge will deescalate the stress and tensions of immature characters like the rest of these students and adults. Maybe I'll further explain some of the issues about this book, but for now this is all I got.
This is a prime example of a author losing the trust of the reader because they themself don't trust the reader enough to come to their own conclusions. It's a backfire situation because it can then confuse and upset the reader since our knowledge and feelings are played with.
Moreover, I felt as if the voices of the two main MCs (Stella and Ellie) were one and the same. Besides Ellie's traumatic experiences and constant reference to it, I don't think there's much of anything that differentiates their tone and characterization.
Don't even get me started on the addiction and handling of abortion. This book had a chance to make these traumatic events more meaningful, especially for young adults who go through them, but instead, we are left with characters that do none of this at all. They just wallow and bring it up relentlessly as their only character trait. They're defined by this trauma instead of overcoming it., which I think is even worse because teens should work towards healing and bettering themselves. This novel doesn't give that meaningful theme or message.
Overall, a very sloppy book in terms of the planning for the true crime story. Mila was my favorite character, but I'm unsure if that’s because we got the least amount of time with her since she’s the killed teen. Personally, I think she had to die due to her maturity and common sense. You can't have a character live when their knowledge will deescalate the stress and tensions of immature characters like the rest of these students and adults. Maybe I'll further explain some of the issues about this book, but for now this is all I got.