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emilyctrigg
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an advanced audio copy in exchange for my honest review.
The girl who knew too much is the story of Riley and her decisions after a huge fallout at her school that has basically ruined her life. In order to rehab her reputation, she decides to enroll in this new reality show that is basically like Survivor for teens. She'll spend several weeks with 19 other teens who all have something to prove. The island where the show is taking place is legendary for a hidden treasure that was supposedly buried there hundreds of years ago, and the teens are encouraged to try to find the treasure as part of the show. But Riley has a secret-- her father is a venture capitalist who is very involved in treasure hunts, so she has actually been to the island before to search for the treasure. She even saw her father's best friend get captured by "gold fever" and die as a result of his treasure seeking.
There is SO much promise in this premise and I'm genuinely sad about how disappointed I was in this book. Riley was one of the most insufferable main characters I've read in a long time. She spends most of her time alternating between whining, pining over a guy she met 10 minutes ago, and being super fake in order to try to make herself look good on TV. The other teens in the show were way more interesting. Even though we had several stereotypes of kids-- the goth, the jock/s, the influencer, the rich kid, the nerd, etc-- they each had a lot more nuance than you would expect based on how they were initially presented. I especially loved AJ and Marin. Willa was also a really interesting character who grew on me.
But all that aside, the writing wasn't great, and the actual plot was just absolutely insane. I couldn't suspend my disbelief for the accidental clue solving, the worst Survivor knock-off I've ever heard of, 20 teens being sent off to an island for a month with no parents, instalove, and the extremely convenient ending. My least favorite part was the ending-- the bad guy who has been trying to sabotage the show and the treasure hunting is someone who makes absolutely no sense. I was hoping it would turn out to be the show runner or the love interest, but instead it was this rando person. After the bizarre ending, we get a whole chapter about how everything is SO perfect now for Riley and she has the guy, the best friend, the super dad, etc. It was almost sickening.
Some parts of this were fun and campy and there were several characters I genuinely enjoyed. But those few positives weren't enough to help me suspend my disbelief and just lean into the camp. This book tried to take itself too seriously when it just isn't a serious book-- it could benefit from changes that would make it more intentionally silly and campy.
The girl who knew too much is the story of Riley and her decisions after a huge fallout at her school that has basically ruined her life. In order to rehab her reputation, she decides to enroll in this new reality show that is basically like Survivor for teens. She'll spend several weeks with 19 other teens who all have something to prove. The island where the show is taking place is legendary for a hidden treasure that was supposedly buried there hundreds of years ago, and the teens are encouraged to try to find the treasure as part of the show. But Riley has a secret-- her father is a venture capitalist who is very involved in treasure hunts, so she has actually been to the island before to search for the treasure. She even saw her father's best friend get captured by "gold fever" and die as a result of his treasure seeking.
There is SO much promise in this premise and I'm genuinely sad about how disappointed I was in this book. Riley was one of the most insufferable main characters I've read in a long time. She spends most of her time alternating between whining, pining over a guy she met 10 minutes ago, and being super fake in order to try to make herself look good on TV. The other teens in the show were way more interesting. Even though we had several stereotypes of kids-- the goth, the jock/s, the influencer, the rich kid, the nerd, etc-- they each had a lot more nuance than you would expect based on how they were initially presented. I especially loved AJ and Marin. Willa was also a really interesting character who grew on me.
But all that aside, the writing wasn't great, and the actual plot was just absolutely insane. I couldn't suspend my disbelief for the accidental clue solving, the worst Survivor knock-off I've ever heard of, 20 teens being sent off to an island for a month with no parents, instalove, and the extremely convenient ending. My least favorite part was the ending-- the bad guy who has been trying to sabotage the show and the treasure hunting is someone who makes absolutely no sense. I was hoping it would turn out to be the show runner or the love interest, but instead it was this rando person. After the bizarre ending, we get a whole chapter about how everything is SO perfect now for Riley and she has the guy, the best friend, the super dad, etc. It was almost sickening.
Some parts of this were fun and campy and there were several characters I genuinely enjoyed. But those few positives weren't enough to help me suspend my disbelief and just lean into the camp. This book tried to take itself too seriously when it just isn't a serious book-- it could benefit from changes that would make it more intentionally silly and campy.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this graphic novel in exchange for my honest review.
Urbex is a graphic novel telling the story of urban explorers Alex and Julie. One day they find this amazing abandoned villa.... but then creepy and unexplainable things start to happen.
The vibes in this graphic novel were great-- it was very atmospheric and creepy. I wanted to know what would happen next, so this was definitely super readable. But unfortunately that's where my praise for this graphic novel ends. The story didn't really make much sense, the characters were flat, and the writing was nothing special. While the story was readable, it was largely set up with little to no pay-off. I will not be reading the next volume.
Urbex is a graphic novel telling the story of urban explorers Alex and Julie. One day they find this amazing abandoned villa.... but then creepy and unexplainable things start to happen.
The vibes in this graphic novel were great-- it was very atmospheric and creepy. I wanted to know what would happen next, so this was definitely super readable. But unfortunately that's where my praise for this graphic novel ends. The story didn't really make much sense, the characters were flat, and the writing was nothing special. While the story was readable, it was largely set up with little to no pay-off. I will not be reading the next volume.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this novella in exchange for an honest review.
The wedding setup is a short story about second chance romance, family dynamics, and grief. Ayesha has been in love with her brother's best friend for as long as she can remember. Many years ago, they finally got together, only to be devastated soon after by a horrible loss. In her grief, Ayesha pushed Emmitt away to protect herself and the family she has left.
Now seven years later, Ayesha's best friend is getting married and her mother has set her up with a proper Desi man. But sparks fly when Emmitt turns up out of the blue.
I absolutely adored this story. Even though it was only about 50 pages, I really connected with Ayesha. The characters were fleshed out and nuanced even though we had such a short amount of time to get to know them. Sonali's writing is exquisite and I can't believe I've never read anything by her before! I will immediately be picking up more of her work because I enjoyed this one so much.
The wedding setup is a short story about second chance romance, family dynamics, and grief. Ayesha has been in love with her brother's best friend for as long as she can remember. Many years ago, they finally got together, only to be devastated soon after by a horrible loss. In her grief, Ayesha pushed Emmitt away to protect herself and the family she has left.
Now seven years later, Ayesha's best friend is getting married and her mother has set her up with a proper Desi man. But sparks fly when Emmitt turns up out of the blue.
I absolutely adored this story. Even though it was only about 50 pages, I really connected with Ayesha. The characters were fleshed out and nuanced even though we had such a short amount of time to get to know them. Sonali's writing is exquisite and I can't believe I've never read anything by her before! I will immediately be picking up more of her work because I enjoyed this one so much.