This book had so much potential, but I didn’t like the writing style or the organization of it. The characters were interesting and had really important stories but Baker failed to tell them in a way that made the reader really believe in and support the characters- they were underdeveloped. Definitely an important story, but I didn’t walk away having learned something which was disappointing. A generous 3 stars for sure.

its like when ur watching you on netflix and ur like!!!! rooting for joe!!!!! and then it makes u feel so incredibly icky and u hate urself :( idk why i subjected myself to this book!! it was very very interesting and i genuinely think oj thinks he’s innocent, but thats the thing abt pathological liars, right!?!? i wish it covered more the trial, but then again most ppl reading this book watched it live ://

Hooked me in the beginning, got super slow in the middle, and the ending was predictable. Other than Avery, and maybe Sadie, the characters were a bit underdeveloped. I also found the timeline of everything a bit confusing- why have sections separating two years if Avery was just going to talk about 2017 during the 2018 sections, ya know?? I liked Miranda’s voice though- she’s very strong writer and storyteller otherwise.

Genuinely confused by how I feel about this book. It started off so strong- there was intrigue and I loved the characters. But after about 80 pages, I had to force myself to sit down and keep reading. I like the way it was organized by each year and took us through Laurie’s twenties, but her moving abroad and then Jack getting in an accident, and then her getting married and her dad dying, while he moved to Edinburgh was just too!! much!!! This book could’ve been half as long and still told an effective will they/won’t they, decade long love story. Also, Jack kinda becomes an ass and it was incredibly hard to find him redeemable after the things he says to Sarah and Laurie. The only really interesting relationship in this story was Sarah and Laurie’s friendship.

I have no idea how I went this long without reading a Mary Oliver poem. I feel inspired. Highly recommend reading right before bed or outside, laying on the grass on a warm Spring day.
My favorites, mostly for later reference, but also for you:
foolishness? no, it’s not
hurricane
the gardener
i have decided*
green, green is my sister’s house*
the morning paper
the poet compares human nature to the ocean from which we came
for i will consider my dog percy

"That was the morning I committed the first sin of love, which was to confuse beauty and a good sound track with knowledge."
This book mostly worked for me because of where I am in my own life- 6 weeks away from graduating college, with a plan to move half way across the country alone. Danler creates another set of characters that you love to hate. Jake was an asshole, but everyone needs one of those types in their history. Simone is a straight up bitch, but of course I am still asking myself if I want to date her or be her. And Tess, oh what a dramatic, insecure young woman, to say the least. I truly feel like the only thing she learned during the course of what could've been a huge growth year for her, is how to describe fancy foods and wines.
There's something about Danler's writing that makes me go kinda feral. It's some of the most beautiful prose I've ever read, and therefore makes everything I didn't like about the book redeemable. While it's really just Tess's sort of coming of age story over the course of a year, I do wish it had a bit of a more structured plot. But then again, sometimes I feel that way about life, so perhaps (re: most definitely) that's the point.

not nearly as good as pretty girls :// but! slaughter does know how to write an engaging mystery with compelling female characters. once again, surprised by the ending

“...what we see isn’t only determined by what comes through the eyes. What we see is affected by our memories, our feelings, and by what we’ve seen before” (408). This book is incredibly warm.